Hundreds rally in southwest Detroit in opposition to ICE, Trump

Max Reinhart, The Detroit News on Jan 9, 2026

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DETROIT — Hundreds of protesters gathered Friday evening to passionately and peacefully protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to mourn a Minnesota woman killed by an ICE agent.

Assembled at Clark Park in southwest Detroit, protesters carried signs and chanted slogans critical of President Donald Trump and his aggressive enforcement of immigration law while a steady stream of motorists passing by on Vernor Highway honked in support.

One protester carried a sign saying "vote blue," a nod to voting Democratic. Some community organizers who spoke during Friday's rally said that's not a viable option for curtailing ICE.

"We cannot rely on the Democrats or the Congress to do the right thing … We cannot even rely on the corrupt legal system to convict this ICE Gestapo murderer because Donald Trump will make sure to pardon (him)," said Justin Cheong, with the immigrant rights group By Any Means Necessary. "The only thing that can defeat Donald Trump is this mass movement taking to the streets and staying in the streets."

An ICE officer shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, on a snowy Minneapolis street on Wednesday, as she appeared to attempt to drive away from federal agents. According to an Associated Press report, the shooter was 43-year-old Jonathan Ross, an Iraq War veteran who has served for nearly two decades in the U.S. Border Patrol and ICE.

Trump administration officials have not named Ross as the shooter, but have the shooter's actions, saying that he acted according to his training and in self-defense as Good was driving her vehicle toward him, the AP reported.

Friday's protest in Detroit included the reading of a poem written by Good, plus a moment of silence in memory of not only Good, but others who have lost their lives due to violence by law enforcement officers.

"It is not lost on me that Renee Nicole Good was murdered by ICE agents blocks away from where George Floyd was murdered by police," said Tristan Taylor from both Detroit Will Breathe and Left Voice.

The protest was organized by several local groups focused on political action, social justice and minority rights and held in the heavily Latino southwestern part of the city. Clark Park is right across the street from Western International High School, which has seen three of its students and one recent graduate detained by ICE agents in the past two months.

"We will defend our city, our people from ICE. We will ultimately end this fascist, imperialist regime," said Josh Medina from the People's Assembly of Detroit.

Detroit City Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero, whose District 6 encompasses southwest Detroit, and Council President Pro Tem Coleman Young II are seeking to have the city ban or limit ICE activity inside city limits, on city property, around areas like schools, hospitals, and places of worship.