Hundreds Rally in Fort Worth Against Immigration Enforcement Following Fatal Minneapolis Shooting
More than 800 community members gathered at General Worth Square in downtown Fort Worth on Saturday, January 10, to demand the removal of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from their city, according to Fight Back News. The protest came three days after ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, an incident that has sparked nationwide demonstrations and fierce debate over the use of force during immigration enforcement operations.
Wave of ICE-Related Deaths Sparks Outrage
Good’s death on January 7 marked the latest in a series of fatal encounters with immigration enforcement officers. According to Fort Worth Weekly, Keith Porter Jr., 43, was shot by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve in Northridge, California, during a confrontation over celebratory gunfire. Just one day after Good’s death, Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras were both shot by ICE agents in Portland.
The deaths occurred shortly after 2025 ended as the deadliest year for ICE operations in over two decades, with 32 detainees dying in custody, according to Fort Worth Weekly. An analysis by Time magazine found that immigration agents have shot at or into vehicles 13 times since July, frequently claiming the vehicles were being used as weapons.
Disputed Account of Minneapolis Shooting
The circumstances surrounding Good’s death remain hotly contested. Federal officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, characterized the shooting as an act of self-defense, claiming Good attempted to use her Honda Pilot to run over officers and calling it “an act of domestic terrorism”. Noem stated that an ICE agent was injured by Good’s vehicle and treated at a hospital.
However, an ABC News frame-by-frame analysis of multiple videos showed Good turning her steering wheel to the right, away from agent Jonathan Ross, just over one second before he fired the first of three shots through her windshield. The three shots were fired within less than 700 milliseconds. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the ICE agent’s actions “reckless” and dismissed the self-defense claim, telling the agency to “get the f--- out of Minneapolis”.
“The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing, and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer.”
— President Donald Trump, in a social media post addressing the shooting
Fort Worth Demonstrators Demand Action
Protesters in Fort Worth carried signs reading “Justice for Keith Porter & Renee Good” and “Arrest Jonathan Ross for murder now,” according to Fight Back News. The crowd marched through downtown Fort Worth, chanting “No ICE, no KKK, no racist USA,” “ICE out now,” and “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here”.
Martin Ramirez, representing the Dallas Chapter of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said the organization attended “in response to the ongoing national crisis of state repression carried out by ICE and the lives lost to state violence over the past year”. Andy Ayala, speaking for the same organization, declared: “We are not scared. We will not back down. You have started something here, and we will continue to act in solidarity with Renee Nicole Good”.
Fort Worth Weekly reported that organizers from progressive groups, including Indivisible12 and the DFW branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, emphasized the importance of community action, highlighting the case of Maher Tarabishi, a 62-year-old Arlington resident and primary caretaker for his disabled son, who was recently detained by ICE and is being held at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Dallas.
National Implications and Ongoing Tensions
The protests in Fort Worth were part of a broader wave of demonstrations across the country. CBS Texas reported that roughly 300 demonstrators gathered near the Fort Worth Convention Center, joining similar actions happening nationwide. The BBC noted that Good’s death has ignited protests across multiple cities, with activists carrying signs proclaiming “Justice for Renee”.
The controversy has drawn high-profile attention, with billionaire Bill Ackman donating $10,000 to support agent Jonathan Ross’s legal defense, Forbes reported. GoFundMe has faced criticism for hosting a legal defense fund for Ross despite its own policies, as reported by Wired.
As investigations continue into the Minneapolis shooting and other recent ICE-related fatalities, the tension between immigration enforcement operations and community concerns about civil liberties and use of force shows no signs of abating. The Fort Worth protesters’ call to remove ICE from their communities reflects a growing movement questioning the agency’s tactics during what the Trump administration has characterized as an enhanced immigration enforcement campaign.