An American Essay

Renee Good, Aardvarks, ICE, Baseball, and the end of MAGA

I have a friend who is an immigrant.

This story is shared with their permission.

For their safety, I will refer to them as Aardvark.

Aardvark and I work in Minneapolis. One night after my shift, I offered to pick them up and give them a ride home.

Just days after Renee Good was shot and killed, Minneapolis feels subdued in a way that goes beyond the usual January freeze. There’s a heaviness in the air that’s difficult to quantify but impossible to miss. We wrapped up early where I work—not out of convenience, but because the city itself seemed to retreat. Streets emptied sooner than normal, restaurants and bars thinned out, and more people are choosing to stay home. It’s a shift that’s hard to fully understand unless you’re here, watching a city quietly pull inward.

I had to park a couple of blocks away, so I asked Aardvark, “Do you feel comfortable walking with me to my car, or do you want me to go grab it and come pick you up?”

Aardvark took roughly seven or eight seconds to very seriously contemplate the two options. Those seven or eight seconds felt like an eternity. I felt my gut sink from my chest, realizing that something as inherently mundane and ordinary as walking to my car for a ride home is just not that simple right now.

“Okay, I can walk with you,” Aardvark said.

They zipped up their jacket up to to their nose and put their hood up so that you could only see their eyes. They took a deep breath. Then I did too. And we left.

Aardvark made it home safely.

There are more than 50 million Aardvarks in the United States today.

That’s nearly 15% of the population of our country, and approaching 20% of the American workforce— as in, people who work in America.

Here are some of the jobs held in the United States that have a predominantly immigrant representation: Farmworkers, Construction laborers, Roofers, Food preparation and Kitchen workers, Dishwashers, Housekeeping, Janitorial, Landscaping, Groundskeeping, Meatpacking, Food processing, Home health aides, Rideshare and Delivery drivers, and Textile manufacturing workers.

These are not stolen jobs. There aren’t a bunch of white people lined up waiting to get their jobs back as a bedmaker at the Hilton. Immigrant labor is embedded in the American economy. And if you disappear the immigrant workforce from the United States, our entire economy will crater.

We are already experiencing a microcosm of this in the Twin Cities and suburbs, as privately-owned businesses are struggling to get their employees in to work, and dozens of restaurants, hotels, and other businesses have already begun to reduce hours or cease operations indefinitely due to the surge of I.C.E in our communities.

The Big Beautiful Lie

Out of the tens of thousands of lies and misleading statements that have come from our current administration, the biggest one is the incessant rhetoric surrounding a singular idea: immigrant = bad. And the idea of all immigrants being criminals is absurd and grossly untrue.

Being an immigrant is not a crime.

Raise your eyesight slightly and read that sentence again.

Unauthorized presence is a civil violation— not a criminal one. Immigrants include lawful permanent residents, visa holders, refugees, asylum seekers, among others. Simply being foreign-born and being present in the United States is not a criminal offense. If that were the case, Immigration & Customs Enforcement should look into the President’s wife— an immigrant, born in Yugoslavia, which is technically a country that doesn’t even exist anymore. Did she steal the job of First Lady from Americans?!

I’m not suggesting we deport the President’s wife. It might make for a grabby headline, but would serve no purpose, have no substance, and would inevitably be a blip in the internetosphere.

But the idea of ‘stolen jobs’ by immigrants is a lie regurgitated by MAGA.

It’s important to note that if an immigrant is on a company’s payroll, just like any other employee— local, state, and federal taxes are almost always being deducted. That means the vast majority of immigrants working legally are giving back to society. And in fact, the total federal, state, and local tax contribution by immigrants in 2022 was nearly $600 BILLION - not million. Immigrants are helping to fund things like Social Security for example, a federal social insurance program. Do you have a gung-ho politically polarized parent living off social security paychecks? Kindly remind them to thank their immigrant neighbors for contributing to that fund which they themselves are typically not eligible for just by being an immigrant.

“On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America.” - 🍊

Everyone agrees we want violent criminals and major drug traffickers off the streets. And no sane and reasonable person would label all immigrants - “legal” or not - as criminals. But this administration is not targeting criminals. They lied to you.

Over 70% of people detained by I.C.E. have no criminal history. And only 5% of them have specifically a violent criminal history.

Here’s an example directly from the I.C.E. website of a detainee who died by presumed suicide. There is no criminal history cited of this individual. The tone of this official government post would have you believe that Victor Manuel Diaz was a wanted criminal. When in fact, all he was potentially guilty of was a civil violation. That’s not much different from getting a parking ticket. Victor Manuel Diaz was detained and lost his life over the equivalent of a parking ticket violation.

What this means: Instead of detaining people based on their criminal record, I.C.E. is detaining people based on their race. I.C.E. is therefore operating on a foundation of racism. And if you support I.C.E.— funded by the Big Beautiful Bill by way of the MAGA movement— You are now a cog in the wheel of systemic racism, even if you yourself are not an I.C.E. agent, or say things like, “Just let them do their jobs.”

The term “illegal alien” is propaganda. The claim that immigrants are criminals taking American jobs is a product of political hyperbole, not reality. Repeating it ignores decades of data and replaces evidence with fear.

And fear leads to people trying to protect their communities.

Fear led to the death of Renee Good.

From I.C.E. to ICE

We must acknowledge that the moment Renee Good was killed, I.C.E. was transformed. I.C.E. is no longer the federal agency of Immigration & Customs Enforcement. I.C.E. is now just ICE - the societal moniker for what is essentially a federalized militia.

militia: a private group of armed individuals that operates as a paramilitary force and is typically motivated by a political or religious ideology

I’m not going to get into what has already been widely debated… whether or not and to what degree Jonathan Ross was hit by her car, and whether or not Renee Good was turning the steering wheel to get away, etc. Instead, I want to start with a simple fact.

Renee Good was deliberately blocking the officer’s way with her vehicle in protest. That was wrong. But blocking a road is not a death sentence. It may anger people—clearly it did (see: Jonathan Ross calling her a fucking bitch)—but it is still not grounds for lethal force. Using a car to obstruct state or federal law enforcement is, at most, a low-level offense. Responding to it with deadly violence is not justice; it’s a failure of restraint.

One has to wonder: if Jonathan Ross hadn’t drawn his gun and Renee Good had driven off, ICE and the Minneapolis Police could have easily tracked her down using the license plate he filmed, arrested her, and she would be alive today.

Moreover, I take serious issue with the Vice President of the United States offering the context of Jonathan Ross suffering severe prior injuries from a similar incident as a justification for his action of putting a bullet in her head.

“So you think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile?” - the couch guy

That prior incident was a traumatic one - Jonathan Ross was dragged by a moving vehicle while caught on a broken windshield and suffered significant lacerations requiring dozens of stitches. Your brain remembers the trauma and does everything it can, even in a split second, to protect your body from experiencing that injury again. This level of an incident should have been investigated, detailing exactly what happened in their operations and how it could have been handled differently in the future to avoid putting federal agents in harm’s way again.

Maybe Jonathan Ross shouldn’t have been the agent to approach the vehicle to begin with, considering this similar incident happened just seven months prior. Maybe Jonathan Ross should never have set foot in front of the vehicle. Maybe ICE should have worked more closely with state and local law enforcement to prevent the encounter from happening at all. Maybe, maybe, maybe…

The bottom line is this: the Vice President essentially framed Renee Good’s death as acceptable because the ICE agent who shot her had been injured in an unrelated incident months earlier. Yet it was that same agent, Jonathan Ross, who walked around to the front of her vehicle and pulled the trigger. How could that possibly be a tragedy of her own making?

A prior injury does not justify killing someone— especially when the outcome was a fatal shot to the head. For an administration to even imply otherwise, and to release that message into the public zeitgeist, is a deeply troubling and dangerous precedent.

Without diminishing the gravity of her death, this was not an isolated incident, but one of many that would follow.

This is an humanitarian crisis

One of the reasons I’m writing all of this is because I don’t think most people in other states and around the world have seen what’s really happening in Minnesota.

Here are some examples of the wrongdoings of ICE to help everyone fully understand the scope of this ongoing humanitarian crisis.

ICE agents are going into hospitals without warrants and are literally bedside with some immigrant patients, waiting until the hospitals release them to detain them.

ICE agents are using chemical irritants on children at schools in operations to detain immigrant staffers, creating anxiety and traumatizing kids for life.

ICE agents are mistreating U.S. citizens, kneeing them in the face while being held to the ground, as well as chokeholds and neck restraints— all after being presented with proper identification proving their citizenship.

ICE agents shackled an innocent bystander, removing her clothes, cutting off her wedding ring, and was threatened to be charged with obstructing a federal officer, when witnesses confirmed she did no such thing.

ICE agents “forced open a door and detained a U.S. citizen in his Minnesota home at gunpoint without a warrant, then led him out onto the streets in his underwear in subfreezing conditions.”

ICE agents threw flashbangs and tear gas into a van with a family of eight coming home from a basketball game, and the mother had to perform CPR on her infant child who fell unconscious. The other kids were pouring milk on their eyes.

Trust that the list keeps going. And you should be worried about all of this happening in more cities around the country.

These are inhumane actions by armed and masked federal agents. ICE is causing terror and chaos domestically. ICE is making people scared for their lives, whether they’re an immigrant or not. ICE is making our cities unsafe. ICE is ignoring the rule of law, and by that alone, on its way to becoming the American version of ISIS.

This is not the change you wanted or voted for.

We are living in a dystopian nightmare.

But in order to even possibly move forward in a way that is productive, we need to make a crystal-clear distinction…

You’re either MAGA, or a Republican.

Now, I imagine many people reading the sentence above would scoff at that statement… but as a legend from my childhood, Bill Nye the Science Guy would say…

🫵 Consider the following:

• Strong support for free trade, globalization, and open markets

• Strong respect for democratic institutions

• Emphasis on checks and balances under the United States Constitution

• Fear of concentrated executive power

• Leaders should model decorum and restraint

These are examples of core traditional Republican party values and virtues. Each of these can be found in respected Republican leaders since the beginning of U.S. history, including: Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, George W. Bush, Nancy Kassebaum, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Margaret Chase Smith, William Howard Taft, Ulysses S. Grant, and Abraham Lincoln.

And if you so cherish those values and honor these individuals among many more, you are a true Republican. But you must distinguish yourself from MAGA. Here’s why:

MAGA has obliterated free trade and isolated the United States from the rest of the world. MAGA has destroyed democratic institutions like peaceful transfer of power, judicial legitimacy, and nonpartisan civil service. MAGA has bombed multiple countries and captured a country’s leader— acts of war without congressional approval. MAGA has completely concentrated its executive power in the Presidency. MAGA has belittled and childishly nicknamed its adversaries, frequently attacks journalists and threatens freedom of the press, and mocked a person with a disability.

If you support these ideals, you are no longer a Republican. You are MAGA.

So if you call yourself a MAGA Republican, it’s time to recognize that MAGA—much like ICE—has completed its transformation. MAGA is no longer a paired identity with the Republican party. MAGA is its own party.

This has gone far beyond the normal evolution of politics in a changing world.

Time to throw you a curveball

Like many great stories, the American story has arcs. Arcs that span generations, including the glory, the good, the bad, and the ugly. From prosperity to slavery. From the Revolutionary War to World War II. From the Great Depression to making it Great again. From lunar landing to A.I. lunacy.

One important part of our story that is widely considered to be America’s pastime, is the cherished American-born sport of baseball.

I played baseball for many years growing up. There were some core memories for me that helped me grow. Like many sports, it teaches you important human values:

• Patience and self-control

• Failure is normal— and survivable

• Teamwork over limelight

• Respect for rules and officials

• Emotional regulation

• Leadership by example

• Love of the game

Now gaze your eyes up to read them once more, except this time from the lens of a true American Patriot, replacing the last bullet with “Love for your Country.”

If these values resonate with you, congratulations. I hereby declare you released from the trance of all things MAGA. It’s time to go back to being a true Republican. And equally as important, it’s time to vote all things MAGA out of our government.

One of the greatest traditions in sports is the postgame handshake, when two teams line up and cross paths in mutual respect. You’re deep in your emotions from winning or losing, but you swallow your pride, eat your ego, and shake their damn hand. Every single player and coach.

Dear Republicans,

The game is over. And in fact, you won. But for politicians, winning and losing is all that matters. For the rest of us, and for life itself, those labels are meaningless—because right now, we are all losing.

It’s time to come out of the dugout.

My fellow Americans,

I implore you take a moment to think about these core American values, including but not limited to the pursuit of happiness for an aspiring American. Understand that the overwhelming majority of immigrants are human beings trying to get by just like everyone else. They are not the enemy. They are not stealing jobs or healthcare. They are not illegal aliens. They are not blanketed criminals that some of our political leaders have portrayed them to be.

Remember back in grade school learning about the United States being a melting pot? That was directly referring to immigration. Immigration is embedded in our society. Immigration is the lifeblood of what it means to be an American. Immigration is why we are all here today.

You should be proud to be an American, as I am, and help other good people to become one themselves; to pay taxes, to buy houses, to build families, to join our military, to further their careers, to contribute to the economy, to diversify our society, to pursue their dreams, and to live a healthy life in prosperity.

So if you call yourself a Democrat, remember you are part of a republic.

And if you call yourself a Republican, remember you are part of a democracy.

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, political party affiliation is merely a label, and labels should not erase our shared civic reality.

If you have ever eaten at a restaurant, if you have ever stayed in a hotel room, if you have ever had your home cleaned, if you have ever relied on a caregiver for a loved one, if you have ever hired roofers or construction workers, or if you have ever received fresh produce at a grocery store, you have benefited from immigrant labor. But you cannot benefit from the fruits of their labor while also supporting the ideals and actions of MAGA and ICE.

It’s time we all come together to condemn the horrible wrongdoings of MAGA. It’s time we make an effort to return to the normalcy of a shared humanity, empathy, respectful politics, and civil discourse.

And finally, remember in your heart, bones, and soul what it truly means to be an American. Remember how each of us has far more in common with an immigrant neighbor like Victor Manuel Diaz, or a protester like Renee Good— than a rich and powerful authoritarian dictator taking advantage of our delicate democracy while masquerading as a president.

Americanism is not something you own. It’s not a flag you wave, a political party you align with, or an anthem you sing. It’s an intangible commitment, rooted in rights that must never be taken away from anyone— including peaceful, law-abiding aspiring Americans whose cultural diversity only makes us a stronger Nation.

No matter who you are, no matter where you are, we need to end MAGA together.

It’s time to face the music.

March to a new beat.

Make your voices heard.

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness …whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

- Our Founding Fathers;
The Declaration of Independence

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Hi, thanks for reading. I’m new to Substack and this is my first post.

If anybody wants to subscribe, I will donate 50% of proceeds to vetted anti-ICE non-profit organizations and mutual funds to support the Minneapolis community. I will continue to do so until ICE leaves Minnesota.

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