SLO vigil honors Minneapolis woman killed by ICE. ‘We’re heartbroken’
Candles flickered in the hands of about 200 people Thursday night in San Luis Obispo as they gathered to honor the woman killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis and the hundreds of other people taken into custody by ICE during the past year on the Central Coast.
The community group SLO Action for Peace hosted the vigil at Mission Plaza from 6:30 to about 7:30 p.m. A crowd gathered around the water fountain as people made speeches, sang and chanted together.
“We’re heartbroken, and we’re mourning together,” SLO Action for Peace co-founder Butterfly Mackay said. “We’re also trying to show that we’re going to keep fighting.”
An ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, 37, as federal agents descended on a residential neighborhood on Wednesday.
At a press conference on Wednesday, federal officials defended the ICE agent. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Good tried to hit the agent with her vehicle, so he shot her in self-defense.
However, a New York Times analysis of video footage of the shooting showed that the wheels of Good’s SUV were pointed away from the agent when she tried to drive away from the confrontation.
Meanwhile, the ICE agent’s feet also were pointed away from the vehicle, indicating that he was not hit by the SUV, the New York Times reported.
805 UndocuFund rapid response organizer Cesar Vasquez said ICE agents have taken 1,401 people into custody from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties since the start of 2025.
According to 805 UndocuFund’s data, 33% of those people were taken from Santa Maria, he said.
“The violence that was felt across the country is not isolated,” Vasquez said. “It is felt in our community every single day.”
He urged people to call 805 UndocuFund’s rapid response hotline at 805-870-8855 if they spot ICE. He also encouraged the crowd to volunteer with 805 UndocuFund.
“We all have to be in this fight together,” Vasquez said. “We all have to mourn these lives together.”
Atascadero residents Theresa and Erik Stanton attended the vigil to fight to build a country that they would be proud to share with their children, they said.
“We’re just trying to make America a better place for our kids,” Theresa said through tears.
As a first-generation immigrant, she said she’s afraid of ICE — even though she’s a citizen.
“I’m brown-skinned. I could be snatched any day,” she said.
Theresa said she’s concerned that the ICE agent’s decision to shoot Good indicates an escalation of force that makes protesting more dangerous for everyone.
“If it can happen to her, it could happen to anyone,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what skin color, age — it could be anyone.”
San Luis Obispo County residents Mary and Tom Freeman moved to the Central Coast from Minnesota, so the shooting hit close to home, they said. The pair attended the vigil to fight for a safer future.
“We just have to speak up. We have to be here,” Mary said. “The only way things are going to change is from the people.”
