Statement on Recent ICE Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis

“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command…..And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed – if all records told the same tale – then the lie passed into history and became truth.”  – 1984, George Orwell

“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution, 1968

Merrick Community Services mourns the tragic and avoidable death of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE Agent in Minneapolis. We share with Renee and her neighbors an affinity and concern for our Latino and Somali brothers and sisters (and other People of Color), who ICE has been targeting in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul and throughout Minnesota with an unprecedented 2,000 Agents (and hundreds more just announced by DHS to be deployed that will only further inflame a grieving community). This has resulted in families being ripped apart and tremendous terror and great pain and fear among some of our most vulnerable members of our community.

We believe that Dr. King’s assertion that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice is true. And, we also know that we cannot reject the evidence of our eyes and ears, as George Orwell admonished.

We hope a thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation with local, state, and federal agencies will take place and confirm what transpired and ensure justice for Renee and her family. In the meantime, we will continue to offer (as we have for over 118 years) a variety of welcoming resources and services for immigrants, refugees, and other new arrivals to the East Side of Saint Paul and beyond. Everyone we are privileged to serve deserves to feel safe and welcomed and celebrated for the innate value they bring to our community. We are, indeed, growing stronger together.

Along with our local and state leaders and all people of goodwill, we implore ICE to leave Minnesota, to end further violence and cruelty, which has been predicted and is avoidable. ICE’s departure will allow us to overcome the fear and hatred and division that their presence has created.

Minnesota is better than this. America is better than this.