Say Her Name

Renee Nicole Good. Say her name. And while you are at it, say the names of the other people who were murdered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Silvero Villegas Gonzalez, a father fatally shot by an agent during a brief altercation after dropping his children at school; Marimar Martinez, a US citizen and teacher shot by a Border Patrol agent during a dispute. Multiple people have been shot by immigration agents, claiming self-defense.

Say these names too; these people died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers. Genry Ruiz Gullen, 29; Serawit Gezahegn, 45; Maksym Chernyak, 44; Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, 44; Brian Garzon-Rayo, 27, Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, 55; Marie Ange Blaise, 44; Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, 68; Jesus Molina-Veya, 45; Johnny Noviello; Isadiro Perez, 75; Tien Xuan Phan, 55; Chaofeng Ge, 32; Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32; Oscar Rascon Duarte, 58; Santos Benegas Reyes, 42; Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39; Norlan Guzman Fuentes, 37; Miguell Angel Garcia Medina, 31; Huabing Xie; Leo Cruz-Silva, 34; Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, 67; Josue Garcia Aviles, Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, 4; Jean Wilson Brutus, 41; Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, 46; Delvin Francisco Ridriguez, 39; Nenko Stanev Gantchev, 56; Keith Porter.

So far this year, thirteen days into January, four people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. All these people were husbands, fathers and sons. They were wives, moms and daughters. Each of them has a rich history and a story to tell.

Those who died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers died from not receiving proper medical care or receiving it too late to save their lives. A few died by suicide. Several others died from living in squalid conditions with improper nutrition

Renee Nicole Good was a US citizen and a mother of three. She was 37 years old, a veteran and the wife of Becca Good. Immediately after her murder, the regime started to smear her character. She was called a domestic terrorist. They said she engaged in threatening behavior. They said she threatened the agents with her vehicle and the agent fired in self-defense. This false narrative is eclipsing the truth of who she was. 

Controlling the narrative of these lives cut short by violence and neglect is a tactic of an authoritarian regime. That’s why we say their names, to remind ourselves that, whether in the country legally or not, they were human beings who deserved to be treated with respect and care.

In the first testament, stories  were how people came to know who they were. They were the people of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They traced their line back through the generations as a way of grounding themselves in history. In the second testament, the gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus. All the generations are represented. They connect Jesus to his history. Men’s last names were often bar-___ a last name. It means son of, like Simon bar Jonah. The naming reaches back in history to claim a familial identity.

Every family has its stories that they tell over and over again. Aunt Bessie and Uncle Clyde and the way the used to…. These stories keep us connected to our history and to our family line. They are passed down generation to generation and form an integral part of who we are. At family gatherings, funerals and wakes, there is story telling. The stories bring laughter and sometimes tears. They lead us to daydream and connect us to our clan.

There is power in saying the names, being reminded that these people are more than a number. They were beloved family members. They had jobs and careers. They were people of faith and people of no faith. Each an individual with a story. Learn their stories; tell their stories; lest we forget.

There is power in naming. It is why I have stopped saying ICE and say the whole name. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is a reminder that goon squad is not law enforcement. They have no jurisdiction to detain citizens, issue driving or parking violations. Their work is with the immigrant communities. And for the record, they suck at that. By targeting immigrant communities they are often detaining US citizens. Their presence is an attempt to normalize uniformed personnel with tactical gear, war guns and face masks in cities and neighborhoods. Make no mistake; this is not about immigrants. It is about terrorizing cities and neighborhoods in order to make us afraid. It takes us one step closer to a police state.

Say their names. Keep their names and stories before your friends, neighbors and families. Refuse to be silenced.