ICE, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is a federal agency that enforces immigration laws and conducts investigations regarding undocumented immigration. Before President Donald Trump entered office in the fall of 2024, ICE raids weren’t publicized as they are now. Currently, almost every raid is publicized, not out of praise, but out of illegality. People around the country are speaking out against these raids, even more so as U.S. citizens and immigrants have lost their lives, and the protests have made their way to Arkansas.

  If this is not known, on January 7th, 2025, 37- year old Renee Good was murdered by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  A U.S. citizen, Good’s death was claimed to be self defense as Good tried to drive away from ICE agents when she was shot. Since her death, people across the nation have been protesting and don’t seem to be toning down anytime soon. 

     The protests began in Minneapolis a few days after her death, facing both backlash and legal consequences for the protesters themselves. At a protest on Friday, January 11th, the police arrested about 29 people. In response to these protests and arrests, the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, released a statement on social media, condemning any acts of violence.

     “To anyone who causes property damage or puts others in danger: you will be arrested. We are standing up to Donald Trump’s chaos not with our own brand of chaos, but with care and unity,” Frey wrote on social media, reported by NPR.

     Recently, a protest took place in Fayetteville, Arkansas in front of ICE offices as an attempt to highlight concerns about ICE practices and U.S. domestic and foreign policy. Organizers cited the January 7th shooting of Good as an example of alleged agency misconduct.

     “The murder of Renee Good this week was only the most recent, among many others,” organizers stated, told by KNWA News on January 10th. “We are witnessing a deep erosion of our Constitutional rights and civil liberties…Thus, we are protesting to Abolish ICE and to defend the U.S. Constitution.”

     On the same day that the protest occurred, January 11th, Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, pledged that the agency would send “hundreds more” ICE agents to Minneapolis.

     Reiterating her position, Noem stated, “We’re sending more officers today and tomorrow. There will be hundreds more in order to allow our ICE and border patrol individuals that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely,” she told Fox News, rereported by The Guardian. 

     More and more people around the country are speaking up against ICE’s decisions and the government that isn’t changing any policies or speaking up. There is advocacy for justice for Good’s family as well as the other people who have lost their lives while in ICE custody. It is unclear if the ICE agent responsible for Good’s death, or any ICE agent who has committed a crime will be prosecuted. All that is clear is that the American people are using their voices to speak up and out about the state of our country and their concerns of if it will get better anytime soon.