On Friday, CDF President & CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson spoke out against the Trump administration’s use of force in immigration enforcement at a press conference outside the White House in Washington, D.C.
Media Contact: John Henry, JHenry@childrensdefense.org, CDF Media Relations Manager, @johnhenrydc, 708-646-7679
WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Friday, youth advocacy organization Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) joined Faith in Action and faith leaders from across the nation outside the White House to call for greater accountability and transparency in federal law enforcement practices, including those carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On Wednesday, an ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis during a federal immigration enforcement operation. Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, was in her vehicle when she was shot. Local authorities and community members have publicly disputed the federal account of the incident as described by Department of Homeland Security officials, and questions remain about the circumstances leading to her death.
The following day in Portland, Oregon, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers shot and injured Luis David Nico Moncadaand Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras during a traffic stop in a residential neighborhood, further intensifying national concern about the expanded use of federal immigration enforcement agents in communities.
In a press conference, Children’s Defense Fund and allied coalition members urged federal leaders to end ICE operations and the militarized use of immigration enforcement in communities across the country. They also called for Minneapolis and Minnesota law enforcement agencies to be empowered to lead an independent, transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Renee Good and for the release of information held by federal authorities to local officials.
The coalition also urged the public to contact the White House and members of the U.S. House of Representatives to demand accountability and raise concerns about the expanded use of federal immigration agents across the country.
Our CDF-Minnesota team reports that after a year marked by ongoing violence and instability in their state, parents and caregivers continue to shoulder the burden of trying to keep their families safe amid what they describe as coordinated attacks on childhood, including cuts to after-school funding and the detention of immigrant parents as they drop off their children at school.
At Friday’s press conference outside the White House, Children’s Defense Fund President & CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson stated that the actions of federal agents in communities across America are terrorizing children and young people, directly harming their well-being and mental health.
“We know the children in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and broader in Minnesota are not well. We know the children in Portland are not well. We know the children in Chicago are not well. We come here [to the White House] because someone must give account for the trauma to our children. When armed agents are sent into our communities to make sense of the political divisiveness that has sought to divide neighbor from neighbor, our children end up traumatized.”
“We believe our communities ought to be just. We believe our communities ought to be caring. When they are just and when they are caring, our children can sing and dance like nobody is watching. So, we come today asking for the enforcement of justness and care in our communities.”
About Children’s Defense Fund
Founded in 1973, Children’s Defense Fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being, and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive. The only national, multi-issue advocacy organization working at the intersection of child well-being and racial justice, CDF advances the well-being of America’s most diverse generation, the 74 million children and youth under the age of 18 and 30 million young adults under the age of 25. CDF’s grassroots movements in marginalized communities build power for child-centered public policy, informed by racial equity and the lived experience of children and youth. Its renowned CDF Freedom Schools® program is conducted in nearly 100 cities across 30 states and territories. Learn more at www.childrensdefense.org.
