LI Communities Hold Numerous Vigils For Renee Good, Shot Dead By ICE: 'Love Is The Antidote'

EAST END, NY — From Riverhead to East Hampton, Westhampton to Greenport, East End residents, both outraged and heartbroken after Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot and killed by an ICE officer Wednesday morning in south Minneapolis, turned out for a series of seven vigils Friday night to honor her life and protest her death.

On Friday, "Shine A Light" vigils took place for Good and other victims of ICE. The events took place at various locations across the East End, including East Hampton, at Hook Mill, Hampton Bays, at Macy's, Sag Harbor, at the windmill, Southampton, at Agawam Park, Greenport, at Mitchell Park, Westhampton Beach, at the Village Green, East Quogue, at the EQUMC lawn, and Riverhead, at Town Hall.

Two vigils were also held Thursday night in East Hampton and Greenport.

In Riverhead, a group of mourners turned out carrying signs that read "Justice For Renee Good," "If Not Us, Who? If Not Now, When?" and "Stop the Insanity," among others; they carried candles and flashlights to light the dark night just after a soft rain had fallen.

Brienne Ahearn spoke to the group gathered before introducing Rev. Dr. Sean B. Murray of the First Congregational Church of Riverhead, who led the group in solemn prayer.

Ahearn read a list of all the names of those who have lost their lives to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. She then spoke of all the neighbors and community members "who have been taken and are now being detained."

Ahearn also read a poem written by Good, to remember not only her but all those she'd mentioned, "as whole human beings with full lives, to think of them in their full humanity — not just the way that they died."

The East End vigils all held a simultaneous moment of silence to remember Good and those lost to ICE, as well as those detained.

The night also included song and reflection.

Community advocate for immigrant rights Osman Canales spoke to those gathered.

"Your presence is very important, now in this time that we are living in, in this country. We need more of us," he said. "We're so grateful, to all of you, for all that you are doing. We see you. You are valued by our Latino community, who appreciates your presence, appreciates you for speaking up, for being here, for being out there — the voice for those who are fearful to speak up."

He then read a written statement: "Since the new White House administration took office, we have witnessed widespread abuse and mistreatment of immigrant communities. I have spent countless hours on the street monitoring and reporting ICE activity. I have personally witnessed unidentified individuals abducting individuals on their way to work, or dropping off their children to school, or simply while getting breakfast or groceries in the morning."

Canales added: "We have seen ICE racially profiling and detaining innocent workers without judicial warrants. ICE has entered homes, ripping families apart, and leaving children without their parents. We have also witnessed acts of cruelty and brutality. Workers have been violently attacked and left in critical condition requiring medical attention."

He referred to an individual "in Huntington, in September. Another individual in Copiague, and a worker in Westhampton."

Canales said he visited two of the individuals in the hospital but said ICE officers were stationed outside the rooms and he was not allowed inside.

Canales also discussed the death of an inmate who died in a Nassau County correctional facility while in ICE custody. He described the family's despair when they learned that their loved one had died.

He also questioned why New York State troopers were present when ICE was in Riverhead recently.

NYSP told Patch at the time that they "did not work with or assist ICE today regarding the raids in Riverhead. Our presence was strictly to manage the large crowd that gathered in the area outside of our station and to ensure public safety."

Canales said he has often seen ICE staging grounds at local correctional facilities. He said he has also received "urgent requests for help from families whose loved ones were pulled over by Nassau County police, for minor traffic violations, only for ICE to arrive and detain them on the spot. This happened to a group of three female workers on their way to work and most recently, to two men on their way to work."

He added: "Our immigrant communities are living in constant fear and pain."

Workers, he said, are afraid to go to the businesses where they are employed for fear of being detained; parents are afraid to drop off their children at school.

"These are not criminals," Canales said. "They have work permits, green cards, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and TPS (Temporary Protected) status."

ICE did not immediately return a request for comment.

Another woman, Natalie, who is helping to organize a vigil at Macy's in Hampton Bays on Saturday at 10 a.m., also spoke: "We have a lot of work ahead of us in 2026," she said. "We don't have to agree. We can agree to disagree with our Republican neighbors. It's all right. But the thing we need to make clear is, 'Is this the America that we grew up in? Hell, no.' And we need to remind people young and old to get out and vote for that change."

John McCullough of Riverhead thanked the organizers of the event. "It's happening all over the country. And it's symbolic of the fact that the American people are not onboard with where this administration is going."

The group gathered also sang "We Shall Overcome."

"Community and love is the antidote," said Ahearn. "That's how we're going to get through this — together."

She urged those who want to serve as Rapid Response volunteers for OLA of Eastern Long Island should text their names to 631-500-5001.

Canales thanked those volunteers and other "local heroes," who, when upon hearing ICE is present, race to laundromats and delis to let the immigrant population know.

He added: "We love you. We love this country. So many portray us as criminals, but we love this country and appreciate the opportunities this country has given us."

"We love you, too!" the crowd called out.

One woman ended the evening by thanking Canales for his tireless work to protect the immigrant community. "I have not met a human being who's done more for Long Island immigrants and for our communities than Osman. And I think you'd get sainthood."

The 37-year-old woman shot and killed by an ICE officer Wednesday morning in south Minneapolis has been identified as Renee Nicole Good, the mother of a 6-year-old child whose father died in 2023, according to reports.

Good was identified in a joint statement issued by 11 members of the Minneapolis City Council.

“This morning an Ice agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a member of our community,” according to the statement.

“Renee was a resident of our city who was out caring for her neighbors this morning and her life was taken today at the hands of the federal government. Anyone who kills someone in our city deserves to be arrested, investigated, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, in an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune, described Good’s killing as “so stupid,” noting her daughter lived in the metro with her partner but was not involved with protesters challenging ICE agents.

“She was probably terrified,” Ganger told the Tribune, describing Good as “one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.”

Good was previously married to Timmy Ray Macklin Jr., who died at 36 and with whom she had a child, Macklin’s father, Timmy Ray Macklin Sr., told the newspaper.

In a video taken at the scene, a woman, who described the victim as her spouse, is seen crying near the vehicle targeted in the shooting. The woman, who was not identified, said the couple had only recently arrived in Minnesota and that they had a child.

Federal officials say Wednesday’s shooting was an act of self-defense, but city leaders and witnesses have described it as an unjustified killing captured on video.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the ICE officer fired after the woman used her vehicle in an attempt to strike officers.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem described the woman’s actions as an act of domestic terrorism. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he has personally viewed video of the incident and rejected federal claims that the shooting was an act of self-defense.

Video shows ICE officers approaching a Honda Pilot stopped across the roadway near East 34th Street on Portland Avenue.

One officer is seen demanding that the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, a different ICE officer standing in front of the SUV draws his weapon and fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle continues moving.

The Honda Pilot then crashed into parked vehicles and came to a stop.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the 37-year-old driver was shot in the head.

The fatal shooting has now triggered a joint investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

With reporting by Anna Schier/Patch.