On Friday evening, about 85 Dartmouth students and community members gathered for a candlelight vigil mourning Renée Nicole Good.
Good, a 37-year-old American citizen and mother of three, was shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minn. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7. The shooting has sparked protests and vigils across the U.S. On Saturday, another American citizen — 37-year-old Alex Pretti — was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
The vigil, which lasted about 30 minutes, was organized by the Dartmouth Democrats and cosponsored by the Mexican Students Association, Let Us Lead, Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc., the Hanover and Lyme Democrats, The Tabard, The Upper Valley Immigrant Solidarity Group and the Coalition for, Immigration Reform and Equality at Dartmouth.
In an interview with The Dartmouth before the event, Dartmouth Democrats executive director and New Hampshire College Democrats chairman Quinn Allred ’26 said that people attended the protest for “different reasons.”
“Obviously, Renée Good is one of the main focuses, commemorating her and memorializing her,” he said. “[But] also just ICE as a larger terrorizing unit upon Americans [and] upon our community members.”
Before the event, organizers placed plastic candles and paper lanterns around the Green and distributed pamphlets with resources about approaching ICE agents to attendees.
The event began with a moment of silence, after which history professor Bethany Moreton, Upper Valley Immigrant Solidarity Group representative Kate Collins and an anonymous representative of the Coalition for Immigration Reform and Equality at Dartmouth each gave speeches.
Referencing the Minneapolis shooting, Moreton said that “this country can be better than that.”
“The Department of Homeland Security has just unleashed ICE onto northern New England,” Moreton said. “This is happening around here. There are detention facilities in … New Hampshire, where people are being held.”
During the CoFIRED representative’s speech, the audience took part in a moment of silence while she read the names of 33 people killed by ICE or in ICE custody, concluding with Good.
“Across the country, we have seen deadly, harmful and terror tactics used by federal immigration officers resulting in missing relatives, death, rape and imprisonment,” she said.
A resident of the Upper Valley holds an acrostic sign that reads, "Immoral, Cruel, Evil." A handful of people held signs or photos at the vigil held on Jan. 23.
In her speech, Collins gave instructions on what to do if ICE is seen on campus.
“If you see something, say something,” Collins said. “If it’s not safe for you to stay, or watch, or get photos, just call the number [on the card], they can call other people to try to intervene [and] to document.”
In an interview with The Dartmouth after the event, Joe Deffner, a resident of Thetford, Vt., said he joined the vigil due to his “ongoing concerns” about ICE.
“Particularly, [ICE’s actions] in schools and parking lots of schools, and hospitals, and home invasions and those sorts of things,” Deffner said.
The Dartmouth and Upper Valley communities gather on The Green at 5 p.m. on Jan. 23 to commemorate the life of Renée good, a Minnesota woman who was shot and killed by ICE on Jan. 7. Over 80 students and community members were in attendance.
Hanover resident Michelle Schembri said the vigil offered her a “sense of community” and “solidarity.”
“I was feeling a sense of helplessness, and wanted to come together with other people who are feeling similarly,” Schembri said.
Sophie Shabel ’29 also described feeling “helpless” at being far from her family, who she said are participating in protests in Minneapolis.
“It’s nice to see people coming together so far away,” Shabel said. “[With] events like this, and the cards that they handed out, I can tell they’re really putting in the effort to try and make this community safe.”
Ben Buurma ’29 said the vigil was “really inspiring.”
“It was really great to see a lot of people coming together and promoting unity at a time where our country is being driven apart and divided and polarized,” Buurma said.
A vigil attendee holds a photo of Renée Good, a wife and mother of three who was killed by ICE on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.
A member of the Upper Valley community holds a sign that reads "Due process is law."
A resident of the Upper Valley holds a sign that reads, "Trump & Co. Worst of the Worst." The vigil was cosponsored by Dartmouth and Upper Valley organizations.
