Lamont, Blumenthal, Simmons Address “ICE Out for Good” Rally in Stamford

On Sunday Indivisible Stamford organized an “ICE Out for Good” rally at Latham Park on Bedford Street to protest the killing of US Citizen and Minneapolis, Minnesota resident Renee Good by an by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday.

Homemade signs included, “How Many Mothers,” “Trump Must Go,” “ICE – Due Process = Gestapo.”

The event featured remarks from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, US Senator Richard Blumenthal, State Rep Matt Blumenthal (D-147) Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons.

“Was Kristi Noem neutral when immediately after the tragic, merciless killing of Renee Good, she called her a domestic terrorist? Was she being neutral?” Governor Lamont asked. “Is JD Vance reserving judgement? He didn’t reserve  judgement. He went right after that woman. He attacked Renee Good and said she had it coming.”

“The silence of good people can bring on more tragedies like this,” Lamont added. “Silence is not reserving judgement. Silence is complicity. We will not be silent.”

Lamont said he was working closely with Connecticut Senators Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and US Congressman Jim Himes, representing Connecticut’s Fourth District, to protect the rights of residents of Connecticut.

“When they’re picking up these poor folks at the courthouse, they’re not going to the courthouse because they want to break the law. They’re going to the courthouse because they want to follow the law,” Lamont added.

Mayor Simmons said it was important to stand with Renee Good and other victims of harsh tactics.”

“Say enough is enough. We refuse to be silent as ICE comes into our communities.”

Senator Blumenthal said Wednesday’s brutality was not an isolated incident.

“It is happening across the country. The excessive use of firearms and force, the indefensible abuse of power is repeatedly happening across the country by ICE and the Customs & Border Patrol. I know first hand, because as ranking member of Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, I’ve done an investigation showing 22 people, American citizens subject to the same kind of brutal assault. And the 22 of them are only a subset of hundreds of others – American citizens who have been detained, dragged out of cars, injured and denied medical care and detained for days.”

Senator Blumenthal’s son Matt Blumenthal, State Representative for the 147th district that includes parts of Stamford and Darien, also shared remarks.

“We should be shocked and horrified, but we should not be surprised because this tragedy is an entirely predictable result of this administration’s lawless, reckless, belligerent and dangerous immigration enforcement policies. There is no reason why Renee Good should be dead today.”

“You shouldn’t have to be a poet. You shouldn’t have to be the mother of a 6-year-old, and you shouldn’t have to have a glove box full of stuffed animals not to get shot in the face three times by your government as an American,” he said to cheers, adding that  not only is no one is above the law, including federal officials.

“We all have eyes. We can see it from four angles in 4K,” he added. “They don’t even care what the truth is because they think that they are above the law.”

The State Rep said his colleagues on the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut legislature plan to explore every avenue to deter similar legal misconduct in Connecticut and hold anyone accountable who engages in it.

On Friday Senator Blumenthal released a statement in response to the killing of Nicole Good:

“This horrific tragedy was both predictable and preventable. For months, armed ICE and CBP agents have roamed American cities and brutally assaulted American citizens with seemingly no repercussions – and now, a woman is dead. My heart breaks for her family and loved ones. I join my colleagues from Minnesota and the many local and state lawmakers and law enforcement officials who have called for peace in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy. And I also join them in demanding justice and accountability for this American killed by an ICE agent; for this community, which has been terrorized by lawless immigration agents; and for our country, which deserves a government that follows the law and abides by the basic values of our Constitution.”

After the tragic and reckless killing of Good, Blumenthal wrote to (DHS) Secretary Noem seeking information about “how thoroughly, if at all, agents are being trained on DHS policies governing the use of force, what those policies are, and whether, in light of the rapid expansion of its forces – 12,000 officers and agents hired in less than a year – speed is being prioritized over safety and substance in the training and hiring of these new officers.”

Full text of Senator Blumenthal’s letter to Secretary Noem here.