Hundreds rally in Boston, demand ICE leave city after agent-involved shootings
For the second night in a row, hundreds of demonstrators flooded Boston's streets to demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents leave the city and halt operations nationwide, after federal agents killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis.
"We are sick and tired of ICE. We're sick and tired of the ICE terror in our city of Boston, in our state of Massachusetts," said spokesperson for Boston Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Ximena Hasbach.
She stood surrounded on Boston Common by drumbeats, the cacophony of brass instruments and crackle of megaphones that echoed off skyscrapers. Several hundred people had gathered at 6 p.m. near the Park Street MBTA Station, catching the attention and support of many commuters passing by.
Protesters in Boston on Jan. 8, 2026, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to leave the city and cease operations after recent fatal agent-involved shootings.(Irene Rotondo)
"We stand in solidarity with people all over the country, including in Minneapolis," Hasbach said. "We are demanding justice for Renee."
She called for the arrest of the ICE agent involved in the shooting.
"Clearly, people here are sick and tired of seeing this happen again and again," she said, gesturing to the wider crowd around her. Her words were then drowned out, as the crowd began to march the toward City Hall and she quickly ran to join.
The protesters held signs that read, "From Boston to Minneapolis Stop ICE Terror," "Resist ICE, "(expletive) ICE" and "Who will be illegal next?" They chanted and were led down the street by dozens of Boston police officers on bicycles and at least one on a motorcycle, who ensured the streets were clear of traffic as they made their way to City Hall.
Protesters in Boston on Jan. 8, 2026, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to leave the city and cease operations after recent fatal agent-involved shootings.(Irene Rotondo)
At least six different leaders from organizing groups spoke at the Common, such as the Boston Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Boston Party for Socialism (PSL) and Liberation, the Independent Socialist Group (ISG) and Boston Refuse Fascism. Members of LUCE, a volunteer ICE watch network, and other groups were also present.
One of the speakers identified himself as an educator from East Boston — where a man was taken into custody by ICE just hours earlier on Thursday morning , inside the East Boston District Courthouse.
The man had apparently entered the courthouse for a court date, community watchdog group members said, but he was detained by plainclothes ICE agents inside the lobby before entering a courtroom, video showed.
Some who attended the protest traveled from out of town, while others were local to the city. Their sentiments were much of the same: justice for Renee Nicole Good, for ICE to end its "terror" operations and for others to come to protests and "join the resistance."
Protesters in Boston on Jan. 8, 2026, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to leave the city and cease operations after recent fatal agent-involved shootings.(Irene Rotondo)
"This harrowing tragedy should never have happened, and my heart breaks for the victim, their loved ones, and the entire Minnesota community." U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley , D-7th District, said in a statement.
Trump administration officials defended the agent, saying he was acting in self-defense.
Vice President JD Vance told r eporters on Thursday the agent was "doing his job" and implied Good's actions led to her death. "I can believe that her death is a tragedy, while also recognizing that it's a tragedy of her own making," Vance said.
Federal officials similarly defended agents who shot two people in Portland, Oregon Thursday afternoon, according to The Oregonian .
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents shot and wounded a man and a woman believed to be a married couple in a medical clinic parking lot near a medical center in Southeast Portland, authorities and witnesses told The Oregonian. Portland police said they didn't know their immediate conditions as of Thursday night.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, said agents were trying to make a traffic stop and characterized the shooting as self-defense, The Oregonian reported.
This second shooting was referenced at the end of the protest in Boston, when speakers called for continued resistance in another protest scheduled outside the State House at noon on Saturday.
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