Minneapolis Council Member Sees 2020 Echoes After ICE Agent Kills Renee Nicole Good

On his third day in office, Minneapolis City Council member Soren Stevenson confronted a new crisis when an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good on the edge of his district.

The next day Stevenson sat in the usually bustling food court at Plaza Mexico, a mall of primarily Latino businesses in south Minneapolis, eating carne asada and describing how his neighborhood had once again become the center of national attention.

“We’re sitting here in Plaza Mexico, a place that is bustling at lunchtime, and it is virtually empty,” Stevenson said. “Half the stores are closed, and that’s because people are afraid to go outside. And so if we want to talk about what’s making a good city, what’s making a good economy, what’s making us feel safe, it’s not this.”

Stevenson represents a district that includes part of George Floyd Square, the intersection where a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd in 2020 and sparked nationwide racial justice protests. Stevenson, whose work has focused on housing policy, participated in those demonstrations and was struck in the face by a police rubber bullet. He lost his left eye and much of his sense of smell, later settling a civil suit with the city for $2.4 million.

“It’s been dredging up a lot of feelings from 2020,” Stevenson said. “Last night, I’m sure a lot of my neighbors were feeling the exact same way, hearing the helicopters go over the site. It’s really reminiscent in a scary way.”

Community Response

Residents have responded quickly. Mutual aid networks that sprang up after the 2020 protests are reactivating: neighbors are giving rides for children, delivering groceries to those afraid to leave their homes, and organizing vigils and barricades. On Thursday the shooting site was blocked off by wooden boards, old Christmas trees and makeshift barriers; people passed out food and lit small fires to keep warm. Flowers, candles and notes lined the sidewalk in a growing memorial to Good. By Friday, the temporary barricades had been removed.

Investigation And Local Concerns

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken the lead on the federal inquiry into Good’s death. State and local officials have requested access to FBI files so they can conduct parallel investigations and ensure transparency for the community. Stevenson has argued that local authorities should be involved given that the killing occurred in Minneapolis and the victim was a Minneapolis resident.

Some federal officials have publicly suggested the ICE agent acted in self-defense; local leaders and residents have pushed back and demanded a full accounting. Stevenson says he has been receiving a steady stream of calls and emails from constituents urging the city to push ICE out of Minneapolis, echoing Mayor Jacob Frey’s blunt call that ICE should “get the fuck out of Minneapolis.”

What City Leaders Are Considering

Stevenson, still settling into his new office, says he is determined to explore how the city can respond — legally, politically and through community organizing — to limit ICE’s presence and better protect residents. He told constituents he will listen and work with them to identify concrete steps, even as the practical limits of confronting a federal agency are apparent.

Walking from Plaza Mexico to the site of the shooting, Stevenson described a city facing heightened enforcement, the potential for National Guard deployment, and intense media scrutiny. Yet he also saw resilience: the same networks and experience that sustained residents in 2020 are now mobilizing to support neighbors.

“We’re not gonna go quietly,” he said. “I like that about us.”