Renee Good’s brothers ask Congress to help change ICE, Border Patrol behavior

Renee Good’s brothers sat before a congressional forum and asked for help.

Luke Ganger said his family has experienced “deep distress” over the death of his sister, who was killed Jan. 7 by a federal officer in south Minneapolis, and had hoped the incident would be a turning point for the country.

“It has not,” he said during a forum on Feb. 3 called by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, to discuss “violence and disproportionate use of force” by Department of Homeland Security officers.

During the forum, several Democratic members of Congress heard about incidents in Minnesota, Illinois and California and called for action, including the firings of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino.

Some called for defunding DHS if reforms are not passed.

“These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever,” said Luke Ganger, who testified alongside his brother Brent.

The family, they said, is hoping for reform.

Blumenthal invited seven people to share their stories and shared his thoughts on the fatal shootings of Good and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident also killed in south Minneapolis in January.

“These stories are not just about Minneapolis. ... These stories span the country,” Blumenthal said. “The nation is Minneapolis. We are all Minneapolis. And these stories are a call to action.”

The forum came hours after the U.S. House voted to end a partial government shutdown including a bill that funds the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks while Congress discusses possible operational reforms.

Luke Ganger said his family was a “completely American blend.”

”We vote differently," he said. Some attend churches, some don’t.

Brent Ganger, quoting from the eulogy at Good’s funeral, said his sister “believed tomorrow could be better than today.”

“There are billions of people who now know her name,” he said.

Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, opened the forum by saying that DHS, ICE and other immigration agencies “are completely out of control” and “terrorizing communities.”

Aliya Rahman, a resident of south Minneapolis, told the Congress members she was on her way to a health care appointment on Jan. 13 and was caught in a traffic jam.

She said she has a traumatic brain injury and was immediately confused after federal agents surrounded her car and shouted conflicting messages.

She was carried face down through the street and said she now “cannot lift my arms normally.”

Her ordeal, she said, was terrifying and unjust but nothing compared with the conditions she witnessed during detainment at the Whipple Federal Building.

“Approaching the Whipple center, I saw black and brown bodies chained together,” Rahman said. ”I continued to hear the words ‘bodies’ because that is how agents referred to us."

She said she was never charged with a crime nor even asked for her ID. Rahman described dehumanizing language and a substantially ill-equipped facility.

“These practices must end now,” Rahman said.

“Our state is once again the center of heartbreak,” said Klobuchar, who is running for governor. “I also hope my colleagues see my state is America’s center of courage and hope.”

Klobuchar asked Rahman about the moment when agents surrounded her car and if she tried to follow instructions.

Rahman said she has auditBry processing challenges and has trouble distinguishing multiple voices at once.

“I did comply with at least one of those officers,” she said.

Klobuchar called for investigations of the incidents in Minneapolis and other cities.

Federal officials, like they did with Good and Pretti after their deaths, called her a “domestic terrorist.”