Moral Clarity Matters – Voices From Minneapolis

Over the past week, our nation has experienced horrifying events, including violence perpetrated by ICE targeting immigrant communities and U.S. citizens. The increasingly violent and inhumane actions of ICE demand moral clarity, and we stand with those in Minnesota calling for accountability and justice.

A Tragedy in Minnesota and a Growing Crisis

In Minneapolis last week, an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, during an immigration enforcement operation. The video recordings of the moments that led to Good’s death clearly challenge the White House’s narrative that she was a domestic terrorist or that the ICE officer was engaging in self-defense. The Trump administration has taken full control of the investigation, sidelining state authorities and framing the victim and protesters in ways that ignore the evidence we can all see with our own eyes.

Rather than acknowledging the complexity and pain surrounding this incident, President Trump and Secretary Noem continue to defend ICE’s actions, which continue to terrorize the people of Minnesota and other states. This is the result of an unprecedented large-scale deployment and militarization of ICE, which has led to thousands of arrests, violence, and deep unrest across the country.

A member of our community on the ground in Minneapolis shared what life has been like in the past week:

“The violence is intended to intimidate us into silence; it is a feature, not a bug… For the first time, I am afraid for myself, for my children. I know many immigrants, people of color, and others have always lived in this state of fear. And I can’t help feeling that we are in a new stage, in which those in control feel so unencumbered by rules, immune from accountability, ready to use all levels of force to silence us as they consolidate power and remake our country in their image.”

Another member of our community in Minneapolis shared the following observations:

“Employees aren’t coming to work out of fear of ICE, and they [ICE] are also in the parking lots of our Minneapolis schools. Our lawmakers are unable to impact this, from our members of Congress to our state elected officials. And the protests continue unabated. People are using their voices at their own peril. We must stand up to this.”

As Jews, we hold on to the value of tzedek – justice. That means speaking out when policies undermine civil liberties, disproportionately harm and target vulnerable communities, and weaken the democratic institutions – and law and order – that protect all of us, including Jewish Americans.

We must stand for a just and equitable application of the law here in the United States, where protest is a constitutional right and where all citizens deserve transparency and accountability from federal authorities. That means standing up and speaking out against masked federal agents who are acting with impunity, putting our neighbors in danger, and causing harm and perpetrating violence in our communities.

This moment calls for principled advocacy and a recommitment to the values that unite us. Given the militarization of ICE and the killing of Renee Nicole Good, take action with us by urging your members of Congress to call for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s impeachment and to conduct a clear, lawful, and transparent investigation into this tragedy.

Thank you for standing with us as we continue this work.

In solidarity,

Sam Crystal
COO and Chief of Staff, Jewish Democratic Council of America