NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville residents and local lawmakers marched through Germantown Sunday morning, demanding the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the death of a 37-year-old woman shot by an ICE agent in Minnesota.
Organizations including Nashville Indivisible, The ReMIX Way, and Music City MigraWatch organized the rally near Nashville's Bicentennial Capitol Mall with a unified message opposing ICE operations in their communities.
"We're here to say we don't need ICE in our community, our local law enforcement take care of any problems we have," said Becky Dan, with Nashville Indivisible.
The demonstration comes days after Renee Nicole Good died after being shot by an ICE agent in Minnesota.
The Trump administration maintains the agent acted in self-defense.
According to CBS News, President Trump addressed the Minnesota incident Friday, reaffirming his administration's support for ICE operations.
"We will always be protecting ICE, and we're always going to be protecting our Border Patrol and our law enforcement," Trump said.
Nashville neighbor Caryn Shelton, who attended the rally Sunday, said Good's death resonated deeply with her.
"It could be any one of us. People are dying," Shelton said. “ I find it extremely important to be out here with my fellow Nashvillians and Tennesseans in support of abolishing ICE, and recognizing Renee Nicole Good."
Despite the short planning timeline, the crowd at the rally appeared to be several hundred people.
"We put this together in about 24 hours, we started planning this Friday, when we all got off work," said Becky Dan.
While Shelton praised the community response, she hopes for greater participation in future demonstrations.
"I'm proud of my fellow citizens, neighbors, community members that are here, but it's not good enough, we need more people out here," Shelton said.
I reached out to ICE for comment on this story and received the following statement from Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin.
“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. DHS is taking reasonable and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers. ICE officers are facing a nearly 1300% increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, and gang members. Secretary Noem has been clear: if you obstruct or lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Law and order will prevail."
This story was reported on-air by Robb Coles and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Coles verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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