photo by: Rochelle Valverde/Special to the Journal-World

Hundreds gathered in downtown Lawrence on Jan. 11, 2026 to protest ICE violence and the killing of Renee Good, who was killed in Minneapolis as part of incident where ICE agents tried to remove her from her vehicle.

Hundreds turned out Sunday in downtown Lawrence for a demonstration against federal violence after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Demonstrators filled each corner of Ninth and Massachusetts Street in Downtown Lawrence on Sunday, with people standing on the concrete planters and spreading down each block. Cars slowly passed through the intersection, with drivers honking in support, giving the thumbs-up or flashing peace signs as the demonstrators waved flags, held their protest signs aloft and chanted. “Love, not hate, makes America great,” “Immigration built this nation,” “Renee Good — say her name” and “Believe your eyes, not their lies” were among the many calls that rose up from the crowd.

The rally was organized by Lawrence’s Sanctuary Alliance, a collective that advocates for and provides resources and support to the local immigrant community. As people streamed into the area around noon, Sanctuary Alliance Co-founder Mariel Ferreiro stood on the plaza at the southeast corner of the intersection with a bright winter sun directly overhead. Microphone in hand, Ferreiro read a list of names, including immigrants killed by ICE agents or who died in ICE custody, as well as Black Americans killed by police, reminding the crowd that such violence goes back far beyond this week.

“We have known that this state sponsored violence is very American,” she said. “If this is the first time you have seen yourself reflected in the murder of Renee, I ask you this: Feel this in your body. Metabolize and process the grief, the rage, the anger, confusion, and uncertainty. Take all of this now and feel it with the people around you.”

Renee Good, a U.S. citizen who was shot to death in her car, was a mother of three who had been protesting ICE’s presence in Minneapolis with her wife. According to the Associated Press, Good’s killing is at least the fifth tied to immigration sweeps since Trump took office. The agent shot Good in the head in a residential neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis as part of an incident where ICE agents had ordered Good to get out of her vehicle.The shooting occurred about a mile from where police killed George Floyd in 2020.

Elijah Jackson, who grew up in Lawrence, said he went to school in Minneapolis and was living in the city when Floyd was killed. Holding a sign stating, “Say no to tyranny before it’s too late,” Jackson said that he attended protests in Minneapolis in the wake of Floyd’s murder, and his motivation for coming to the Lawrence rally was similar.

“Then as now, I feel the need to exercise my First Amendment right to stand up to what I feel like is an overreach and abuse of authoritative power by the president and in effect ICE,” Jackson said.

Ashley Depenbusch-Otzoy attended the rally with her husband Alex Otzoy and their daughter Luna Otzoy. She said that especially with Trump in power, her family has been mindful about coming out to protests, but that they wanted to take a stand against Good’s killing, which she called “incredibly unjust, inappropriate and despicable.”

“We’ve been trying to make good decisions about our family’s safety, but also when it’s time to say we’re going to go out and take a stand,” she said. “To stand with our community to say this is unjust, this is not okay.”

Luna and Otzoy agreed, and he added that he felt it was important to show up, even with the fear that recent events had evoked.

The Lawrence demonstration was among at least 1,000 that have taken place in cities and towns across the country in the days since Good’s killing, according to the progressive grassroots coalition Indivisible. The Ninth and Massachusetts location has also been the site of weekly protests aimed at the Trump administration, and many demonstrators who have taken part in those protests joined with Sunday’s rally.

As those gathered continued to grow, local organizers called for the action to extend beyond that afternoon. Before putting down her microphone and joining the crowd, Ferreiro told the hundreds present that Sanctuary Alliance didn’t call the demonstration just to hold signs and chant, but so the community could mourn together. That collective grief was a reminder of our humanity and the experience of all those who have mourned and grieved, both in the U.S. and internationally — as well as their resistance.

“Now is the time for action,” she said. “And the harrowing truth is, no one is coming to save us. Not our city and county officials, not state electeds, not Democrats. The establishment will not seek justice and change, so we must. I know that may not sit well with some of you, but this is the reality. The change must come from us.”

Specifically, Ferreiro called on those gathered to get to know their neighbors, coworkers and community members and to start organizing themselves.

“We need to be ready to protect and defend each other,” she said. “Do not allow what happened to Renee or any who have put themselves in front of state violence to happen in vain. This is your call to action. We can train. We can educate. We can rise up and resist.”

Ferreiro said Sanctuary Alliance would be providing more opportunities to learn, train and prepare. Additionally, she later told the Journal-World that those who suspect or witness ICE activity can call hotlines established by the Sanctuary Alliance and the group Somos Lawrence at (785) 289-5143 and (785) 813-1098, respectively.