Hundreds of people filled Post Office Park in Midtown Kingston on Thursday evening in a candlelight vigil and protest in response to the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis earlier this week. The gathering drew area residents, activists and local officials united in grief and opposition to federal immigration enforcement practices that they said have created fear in communities nationwide. Hundreds to thousands of mourners gathered in various locations across the country to honor Good’s life and protest ICE’s actions.
Good, a mother of three and US citizen, was shot and killed on January 7 during a federal immigration enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. Federal officials have defended the use of lethal force, saying an ICE officer acted in self-defense as Good’s vehicle moved in the direction of agents. Local leaders and observers have disputed aspects of the official account, and the shooting has sparked intense debate nationwide about the conduct and scope of federal immigration operations.
The vigil in Kingston reflected those broader concerns. As dusk fell in Post Office Park, participants carried signs and lit candles in memory of Good and in protest against what they described as systemic cruelty and violence in federal immigration enforcement. The crowd spilled onto sidewalks at the intersection of Broadway, Prince and Pine Grove streets, filling the Midtown space with a visible show of solidarity with communities protesting elsewhere across the United States.
Organizers and attendees framed their demonstration as part of a larger movement calling for the dissolution of ICE. For many, the shooting of Good—and similar incidents in other parts of the country—has become a catalyst for renewed opposition to current immigration policy and enforcement practices. The death of a civilian, particularly a mother of three, resonated deeply with those gathered, prompting calls for accountability, policy change and increased oversight of federal agents operating in local communities.
Kingston’s vigil was one of hundreds held in cities nationwide, underscoring how events in Minneapolis have reverberated far beyond Minnesota and tapped into longstanding tensions over immigration enforcement and civil rights.
