Several hundred protesters gathered at the New Mexico State Capitol today to protest the January 7 killing of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minnesota. The protest remained peaceful, as many carried signs calling for the defunding of ICE and criticizing President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. Some circled the capital, waving their signs, while others gathered on the east side of the building and passed around a bullhorn, sharing what motivated them to brave the cold weather.
“Whenever there is a tragedy like what happened in Minneapolis with our sister, Renee Good, it’s heartbreaking and can break our spirits. So, it's really important that we gather,” Mateo Peinxiho told KSFR. Peinxiho has organized past protests with Santa Fe Better Together.
Peinxiho’s aunt, Concha Garcia-Allen, opened and closed the protest with an Indigenous blessing, calling in the four directions. Peinxiho said that practice helps protesters remember the sacred nature of their resistance.
“All of these actions are a prayer,” Peinxiho said. “When we protest, we're expressing our consciousness.”
Garcia-Allen said the prayer helps unify protesters. “Beginning with something that brings us together reminds us that we're community,” she said. “And that we're responsible for each other.”
Peinxiho highlighted that idea of community as he repeatedly called Good his sister.
“She seems like a very kind and gentle person, someone I would want to call sister,” he said. “If she was in my community, I imagine she'd be the one showing up with a pot of food for the people.”
Others spoke more directly to practical actions protesters could take moving forward. Some protesters called on local and state officials to proactively ensure that something like the killing of Renee Good would not happen in Santa Fe.
“We don't need to wait until our sister is murdered in cold blood like that before our mayor steps up and says something,” one man said. “We need them to step up now and say ‘This [expletive] is not going down in our city.'”
Another man encouraged fellow protesters to put pressure on state and federal legislators to rein in ICE enforcement, exclaiming, “The gloves are off!” A woman addressed the crowd and encouraged people to boycott Amazon and big-box stores, Home Depot and Target. “Home Depot is letting ICE into their stores,” she warned.
This was one of many protests nationwide this weekend, organized by the Indivisible Project. Youth United for Climate Crisis Action, or YUCCA, will hold a march and rally at the roundhouse on January 20, the opening day of the State Legislative Session. The rally will push back against what YUCCA calls “climate collapse, rising fascism, corporate greed, and escalating attacks on our communities.”
Peinxiho ended today’s protest by speaking directly to Renee Good.
“Thank you for being a kind, gentle person, and for the sacrifice that you've made,” he said. “The loss of your life could be an inspiration to us, across this country, across this world, to work for our betterment.”
