How Minnesota's Deadly ICE Shooting Is Shaking Up CA's Gubernatorial Forums: Report

Following the shooting death of a Minnesota woman by a federal immigration agent, California’s gubernatorial candidates faced pointed questions about immigration policy over the weekend at two separate forums, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The killing of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, has drawn national attention and further inflamed the debate over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies.

Good’s death has sparked protests in California and across the country, as critics question whether the shooting was justified and call for greater accountability from federal immigration authorities.

At a labor forum in Los Angeles over the weekend, Democratic candidates said that federal agents are not above the law, the Times reporetd.

Former Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon, who is running for Gov. Gavin Newsom's seat in 2026, spoke on the issue.

“You come into our state and you break one of our f— ... laws, you’re going to be criminally charged. That’s it,” he said, according to the newspaper.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) addressed David Huerta, who was injured and arrested during ICE raids over the summer in Los Angeles. Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union-United Service Workers West (SEIU-USWW), was moderating the event.

“Ms. Good should be alive today. David, that could have been you, the way they’re conducting themselves,” Swalwell said.

READ MORE: Peaceful Rally In L.A. Demands Release Of SEIU Leader, End To ICE Raids

Meanwhile, at another candidate forum that was hosting the top two Republican candidates in the 2026 race were also discussing the issue.

Republican candidate Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told attendees that politicians who support "sanctuary state" policies should be voted out of office, according to the Times.

“I wish it was the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s — we’d take them behind the shed and beat the s— out of them,” he said.

“We’re in a church!” an audience member was heard in response.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times: Deadly ICE shooting in Minnesota, affordability stir up California gubernatorial forums

Good was killed Wednesday in Minneapolis after three Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers surrounded her Honda Pilot SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home. Video taken by bystanders show an officer approaching the SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle.

The vehicle begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.

READ MORE: RivCo Freeway Billboard Vandalized With Message Celebrating Fatal ICE Shooting: Report