I see it as an obvious, cold-blooded murder that has some similarities to the death of George Floyd.
Stephens lives just a mile from the scene of the shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on Wednesday. In recent days, she has attended several memorial services for Good and protests against ICE. She is also helping organize a local warning system that uses whistles, car horns and other messages to alert people when ICE agents are active in an area.
Tens of thousands are getting involved. This weekend's protest brought together participants of all ages. Several had not demonstrated before but said they wanted to resist what is happening at the federal level, she says.
An attack?
President Trump has long accused migrants in the United States of committing violent crimes and has promised mass arrests and deportations. The shooting in Minnesota came just days after the Trump administration sent 2,000 ICE officers there - even though the city’s Democratic mayor declined to take the initiative. The city has been plagued by fraud cases involving Somalis, and the Department of Homeland Security says ICE is there to catch “fraudsters, murderers, rapists and gang members.”
But Sarah Stephens calls the agents sent there “an attack” on Democratic-controlled and progressive Minneapolis. She rejects the Trump administration’s claim that the ICE officers felt threatened and fired in self-defense when Renee Good tried to drive away.
It's a blatant lie, as anyone who has seen the films knows. Accusing her of being a terrorist is ridiculous.
More on the way
The shooting has sparked strong emotions across the United States. In Minneapolis, protesters and police have clashed and tear gas has been used. Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, has therefore promised to send “several hundred” more federal agents to ensure ICE’s work. Sarah Stephens says the move is increasing tensions in the city, that people in some areas are afraid to go out and that families are keeping their children home from school.
ICE is raiding schools. Even teachers are afraid.
Stephens, who is active in the civic organization League of Women Voters, believes that the migrant raids are wrong, that there should be a path for the country's millions of undocumented people to obtain citizenship.
I hope that we in Minneapolis can lead the resistance and that the trend can be reversed, she says.
