Two brothers of Renée Nicole Macklin Good, the queer Minnesota U.S. citizen fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis in January, are testifying in Washington, D.C., today at a Capitol Hill hearing examining the use of force by federal immigration agents.
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Brent Ganger and Luke Ganger, Good’s brothers, were added to the speaking lineup just a day before the hearing. On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and California U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, both Democrats, will convene a public forum to hear testimony on what they describe as “the violent tactics and disproportionate use of force” by Department of Homeland Security agents.
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Blumenthal is the ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, while Garcia, who is gay, serves as the ranking member of the House Oversight Subcommittee. Lawmakers say the forum is intended to highlight cases that, together, raise urgent questions about accountability for federal agents operating in U.S. communities.
Good’s killing has become one of the most closely watched cases in a widening national debate over immigration enforcement and federal policing power. ICE Agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Good on January 7, as she was trying to drive away in her SUV. Top government officials, including Vice President JD Vance and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, falsely called Good a “domestic terrorist.” Federal officials have said the ICE agent involved acted in self-defense, a claim disputed by eyewitnesses and video, local officials, and the Good family. The mother of three’s death sparked protests in Minneapolis and intensified calls from Democrats for greater oversight of federal immigration operations far from the border.
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Friends and relatives have described Good as a devoted parent, a poet, and a deeply engaged member of her community, known for looking out for others. Days after Good’s killing, two immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a VA intensive care nurse, who was filming enforcement activity with his phone when he was tackled to the ground after he tried to help a woman pushed to the ground by an agent. More than half a dozen men jumped onto Pretti, restraining him and taking his legally owned gun from his holster before agents Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez fired at the now unarmed health care provider multiple times, killing him.
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]The witness list also includes Marimar Martinez, a Chicago resident shot five times by Customs and Border Protection agents; Aliya Rahman, a Minneapolis resident with autism and a traumatic brain injury who was dragged from her car after disclosing her disability; and Martin Daniel Rascon, who survived a traffic stop in which a CBP agent fired multiple shots into his family’s vehicle. Antonio Romanucci, the Good family attorney, will also speak.
