Gallery • 7 Photos

Salem Dinh

Two attendees of the vigil holding signs saying "We Stand for Good" and "Abolish ICE"

“ICE out for good.” “Make lying wrong again.” “We stand for good.”

These were the words scattered across signs lined up on Liberty Plaza in downtown Ann Arbor. On Jan. 9 starting at around 6 p.m., multiple different local Ann Arbor people came together for a candlelight vigil dedicated to Renee Nicole Good. From University of Michigan students to native Ann Arbor residents to newly moved citizens, the night sky of Ann Arbor was lit up with candles and phone flashlights. 

Renee Nicole Good was a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and US citizen that was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Jan. 7. 

Statements by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during CNN’s “State of the Union” on Jan. 11 have described the situation as a matter of self defense. According to Noem, Good had refused to step out and tried to run over the agent with her car, “weaponizing it.”

A video of the encounter between Good and the agent has spread across America online, though, and brought into question these statements from officials.

Many are concerned about this event in light of recent events of violence surrounding ICE with Trump’s nationwide initiative to identify and detain any undocumented immigrants in the country. This “many” includes Ann Arbor Indivisible, a chapter of the nationwide Indivisible project against Trump’s recent policies. 

Ann Arbor Indivisible gave candles out to everyone who appeared, and the event, according to Teschke, was strictly non-political. The vigil was dedicated to honoring Good’s life and mourning her death, but stood for something more amongst the Ann Arbor community as well.

“Trump is busy trying to scare people, trying to threaten them,” Teschke said. “But, if we stand together, we are stronger than him.”

The night was spent reading poems and honoring the names of those killed by ICE enforcement agents. Moments of silence with sparkles of light united the Ann Arbor community towards a mutual cause to care for, continuing the fire of hope for democracy.

“The question is will Americans unite and stand up for democracy,” Teschke said. “They want you to feel like you’re alone, and you’re powerless. But, together, we’re good.”