The Catholic Spirit: Protests, school closures and ecumenical gathering follow deadly shooting involving federal agent in Minneapolis

Protesters gathered at a federal building in Minneapolis that includes an immigration court, an ecumenical faith gathering was held and the city’s public schools closed for the week due to safety concerns the day after a woman was shot and killed in a Jan. 7 incident involving a federal immigration agent.

In addition to protests at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, thousands of people marched in Minneapolis near the site of the shooting Jan. 10 and mourners gathered at the site in the days that followed the incident. Political leaders urged that people remain calm and peaceful.

The shooting and subsequent protests occurred as immigration enforcement efforts increased in Minneapolis, St. Paul and some Twin Cities suburbs in what federal officials have called Operation Metro Surge.

Similar enforcement actions have taken place around the country, including Chicago; Portland, Oregon; and Charlotte, North Carolina.

The shooting victim has been identified as Renee Nicole Macklin Good, 37, of Minneapolis. Police said a preliminary investigation indicated the victim was in her vehicle and was blocking the roadway.

“At some point, a federal law enforcement officer approached her, on foot, and the vehicle began to drive off,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a Jan. 7 news conference about the incident. “At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed on the side of the roadway,” O’Hara said.

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A vigil was held for the victim in Minneapolis Jan. 7. Also in response to the shooting, a gathering of faith leaders was held Jan. 8 that included Father Dale Korogi, pastor of Ascension in north Minneapolis, and Robert Haarman, director of Indian Ministry in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and community minister at Gichitwaa Kateri in Minneapolis.

Public schools in Minneapolis (MPS) issued a statement Jan. 7 that schools would be closed Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 “due to safety concerns related to today’s incidents around the city. All MPS-sponsored programs, activities, athletics and Community Education classes, including adult education, will be canceled.”

That decision impacted Catholic schools because many Catholic school students within the school district’s boundaries rely on district busing services. Thus, “Catholic schools in Minneapolis are making site-level decisions on whether to remain open for families this week,” the archdiocese’s Office for the Mission of Catholic Education (OMCE) said in a statement.

OMCE urged parents to watch for updates from their Catholic schools and to pray for peace. “We urge all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese and people of goodwill to pray for peace in our community,” OMCE officials said.

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Archbishop Bernard Hebda issued a statement shortly after the shooting, calling for prayers for “the person who was killed, for their loved ones, and for our community.

“We continue to be at a time in this country when we need to lower the temperature of rhetoric, stop fear-filled speculation and start seeing all people as created in the image and likeness of God,” the archbishop said, echoing a similar statement he made when some raised concerns about immigration enforcement as they looked toward attending Christmas Masses.

The archbishop continued, “I echo today the repeated call of the U.S. Catholic bishops that we come together as a nation and pass meaningful immigration reform that does justice to all parties. The longer we refuse to grapple with this issue in the political arena, the more divisive and violent it becomes.

“It is only by working together — with God’s help — that we will have peace in our communities, state and world.”

Archbishop Hebda and Auxiliary Bishops Michael Izen and Kevin Kenney said in a Jan. 8 letter in English and Spanish to pastors and lay leaders in the archdiocese that they were attending a bishops’ retreat but had “received news from some of our priests of challenges at our parishes serving immigrants and have seen reports in the media that things may become even more challenging in the days to come.”

“We believe that you, our pastors, and lay leaders, know your communities and what is best for helping them feel safe these days. We will stand with you as we all try to figure this out. You are not alone,” the bishops said.

“It is important that we not give in to fear as we strive to serve our immigrant communities with dignity and love,” the bishops continued. “We, as well as our brothers and sisters in the Archdiocesan Office of Latino Ministry, are ready to help where we can by offering our presence, an encouraging word of support or advice, or just a phone call.”

Archbishop Hebda’s Jan. 7 call for immigration reform echoed a statement from Minnesota’s Catholic bishops in a Feb. 7, 2025, document issued through the Minnesota Catholic Conference. That statement began with a verse from Leviticus 19:33: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.”

“Sadly, our nation’s immigration system is broken,” the bishops’ statement said, in part. “For too long, our laws on paper said ‘stop, no entry,’ while in fact, for economic and political reasons, undocumented migrants were allowed inside, sometimes with the encouragement of business interests and even our government. As Pope Francis has said, migrants have been too often treated ‘as pawns on the chessboard of humanity.’

“Elected officials in both major political parties have failed to rise above political calculation and collaborate on a solution rooted in respect for migrants and the common good of the nation. This leadership failure has resulted in repeated conflicts at the border and in our communities that have only grown worse,” the statement continued.

The statement stressed the need to keep families together, noted contributions to the United States by immigrant communities, acknowledged that some migrant brothers and sisters may have broken the law and proportionate penalties might be warranted, and stressed that public officials have a responsibility to protect citizens and institute orderly migration policies, including protection of a nation’s borders.

The statement concluded with a prayer:

“May Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, intercede for us so that we can see and respond to each other, immigrant and citizen, through our common identity as children of the one Father, and therefore as brothers and sisters. This is the identity that transcends all others, including legal status.”

Read the full article from The Catholic Spirit.