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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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An attorney representing the family of Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, said on Tuesday that legal efforts to hold federal officers accountable face significant obstacles and urged changes to federal law.
Benjamin A. Berkman, a civil rights lawyer with the firm Romanucci & Blandin, made the comments during a panel at The People’s Hearing on Immigration Enforcement: Minnesota, a community forum in St. Paul focused on immigration enforcement practices.
"What happened to Renee, Alex Pretti, Marimar Martinez and countless others is intolerable in a civilized society and has led to a collective cry not only for justice and accountability, but also for this to stop," Berkman said.
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Why It Matters
Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent during a large‑scale federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on January 7.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the shooting as a use of defensive force, with some senior administration figures claiming without evidence that Good’s actions amounted to “domestic terrorism” and that the agent acted to protect himself, claims that have been disputed by local officials and witnesses.
Video footage taken by bystanders appears to contradict the government's account, showing an ICE officer approaching Good’s SUV as it was stopped on a residential street and then firing multiple shots into the vehicle at close range as it began to move away. Less than three weeks after Good's death, federal agents from the Customs and Border Protection shot and killed 37‑year‑old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on January 24.
What To Know
Berkman described the current legal framework as a “narrow and uphill climb” for the Good family’s lawsuit against federal officers, highlighting structural barriers that make civil claims against federal agents difficult under existing law.
Under current federal statute, individuals can generally seek civil remedies for constitutional violations by state and local law enforcement under Section 1983 of U.S. law, but that statute does not clearly authorize similar suits against federal agents such as ICE and U.S. Border Patrol.
"Unfortunately, in the civil justice system, the deck is stacked against accountability for federal officers," Berkman said.
Berkman said the firm supporting Good’s family will continue to pursue justice but called for legislative reform to level the legal playing field.
He urged Congress to amend Section 1983 to add the phrase “or the United States,” thereby explicitly allowing civil suits against federal officers for constitutional violations. He also noted that states such as Minnesota could adopt laws creating a state‑level cause of action for such conduct.
What People Are Saying
Benjamin A. Berkman, a civil rights lawyer with the firm Romanucci & Blandin, said: "The current path to hold federal officers accountable is a narrow and uphill climb. That will not deter us in the slightest from pursuing justice for Renee and our clients. But the system can and must change to ensure that our constitutional guarantees are not just words on paper."
President Donald Trump told Fox News in January of Renee Good's death: "Look, I watched that yesterday, and there were a lot of different forms to it, but there was a woman screaming, shame, shame, shame, shame. She was an agitator, probably a paid agitator, but in my opinion, she was an agitator, a very high-level agitator, so professional, she wouldn't stop screaming."
What Happens Next
Investigations into Good's death are ongoing.
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