Renee Good's Brothers Testify as Democrats Push DHS Reforms
Luke and Brent Ganger testified Feb. 3 urging reforms after Renee Nicole Good's Jan. 7, 2025, death as Congress weighs DHS funding through Feb. 13, 2025.
Overview
Luke Ganger and Brent Ganger testified Feb. 3 before a congressional forum organized by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Robert Garcia, recounting Renee Nicole Good's Jan. 7, 2025, fatal shooting and calling for accountability.
The hearing came after the House passed a spending package funding the Department of Homeland Security only through Feb. 13, 2025, records show, and Democrats used the moment to press reforms including body cameras, judicial warrants for arrests and a ban on agent masks.
Department of Homeland Security officials defended agents' actions, with Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin saying in a statement to USA TODAY that politicians were to blame while DHS Secretary Kristi Noem pledged agents would begin wearing body cameras on patrols.
Lawmakers and advocates say federal immigration agents have been involved in more than a dozen shootings since Jan. 2025, including the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7, 2025, and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, 2025.
The Justice Department has declined to open an investigation into Good's death, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Fox News, leaving congressional demands for impartial probes and DHS reforms to shape negotiations before the Feb. 13, 2025, funding deadline.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the coverage around victims’ testimony and Democratic oversight, foregrounding emotional accounts and evidentiary contradictions while giving DHS rebuttals less prominence. The reporting privileges relatives’ and injured civilians’ narratives, highlights alleged agent misconduct (texts, dropped charges), and structures the story to emphasize calls for reform.
Sources (3)
FAQ
Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent on January 7, 2025, in Minneapolis while in her Honda Pilot SUV, which DHS claimed posed a threat by blocking federal vehicles; she suffered four gunshot wounds including to the head and chest per fire report.
Luke and Brent Ganger testified on February 3, 2025, before a forum by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Robert Garcia, recounting her death and urging DHS reforms like body cameras, judicial warrants for arrests, and a ban on agent masks amid funding debates.
The Justice Department declined to open an investigation, as stated by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche; the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension withdrew from joint probe with FBI alleging restricted evidence access.
Democrats are pressing for DHS reforms including mandatory body cameras, judicial warrants for arrests, and a ban on agent masks, using the hearing amid short-term DHS funding through February 13, 2025.
DHS defended the agent's self-defense shooting, with Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin blaming politicians and Secretary Kristi Noem pledging body cameras on patrols.
History
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