Demonstrators take to the streets of Covington against ICE

An estimated 400 to 450 demonstrators showed up Saturday afternoon, Jan. 10 on a Covington main street to share their grief and outrage at the fatal shooting of an American citizen in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.

The protest was one of many locally and nationwide against the shooting of Renee Good, 37, a mother of three, on Jan. 7 as she drove a vehicle near ICE officers after they ordered her to stop.

Good was an active volunteer in a network of neighborhood patrols that organized to witness and record ICE activity in Minneapolis, according to time.com. The White House has defended the agent who fired the fatal shots, alleging that Good tried to ram the officer and that he fired in self-defense. Videos of the encounter show an immigration agent shoot Good three times at point-blank range as she attempts to drive away after taking part in a protest, according to time.com.

That shooting causes protests across the nation, including locally.

“Our counters estimated 400 to 450 attended,” said Connie Compton, of Indivisible Covington, in a Jan. 12 email. “Considering that it was only announced late Thursday night (Jan. 8) with details sent out Friday that’s pretty amazing.”

As they have in previous protests last year against the Trump administration, demonstrators gathered in Covington along SE 272nd Avenue (aka Kent-Kangley Road) and Highway 18, just east of Kent.

A few of the signs held by people included, “Ice Out for Good” and “Hold Ice Accountable for Renee Good’s Murder.”

Partners with Indivisible Covington during the protest included South King Indivisible Alliance (SKIA), which brings together leadership from Indivisible organizations in Des Moines, Southend, Maple Valley, Auburn, Enumclaw/Bonney Lake and Covington as well as a group that has just begun to organize a Kent Indivisible, Compton said.

“We have many members mourning the murder of an individual by ICE and others shocked that such a thing could happen in our country,” Compton said.

Indivisible is a nationwide grassroots movement of thousands of local groups with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild democracy and defeat the Trump agenda, according to its website.

Letter to Schrier

As part of the Indivisible nationwide movement to demand Congress to take action to rein in ICE, Indivisible Covington and Indivisible Auburn organized the signing of a letter this week to U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, whose 8th District includes parts of Covington and Kent, demanding accountability for ICE violence. The groups plan to deliver the letter Friday, Jan. 16 to Schrier’s office in Issaquah.

“The administration’s illegal actions and relentless destruction of our democratic institutions have been escalating in plain sight,” according to a portion of the letter. “As their actions and policies grew more dangerous and more violent, we have been sounding the alarm and urging stronger, more vocal, more decisive action from you.

“We have brought forward disturbing and lawless incidents occurring in our own communities and connecting them with similar reported incidents and ICE violence around the country. We have been telling you and your staff what we know from history – no one is safe. No one. Not immigrants. Not American citizens. Not children. Not women. No one.”

The group asks for specific actions by Schrier:

• “Speak out. Ms. Good’s death was not the first death or the first shooting by ICE agents. It was not the last. Deaths in ICE detention centers are mounting. Conditions are unhealthy and unsanitary. A number of your Congressional colleagues have visited and reported on this. It is time to break your silence.

• “Demand an independent investigation. You have called for a thorough investigation and accountability. Thank you. We agree. President Trump’s DOJ is compromised. To have any chance at accountability, any investigation must be an independent investigation.

• “Urge House Democrat Leadership to refuse more funding for ICE in the upcoming budget negotiations. The public does not support ICE’s attacks in our communities. House Democrats led a principled and successful effort to explain to the American people what was at stake in the shutdown and to protect access to health care by preserving the ACA (Affordable Care Act) tax credits. The recent House vote on the ACA was a victory. Thank you. We need another House victory on this.”