The family of Renee Good is taking the Trump administration to federal court — and this isn’t a lawsuit aimed at just one ICE officer.
Two federal civil lawsuits filed Thursday seek damages and accountability over Good’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis, with one case naming the U.S. government and another targeting a long list of current and former Trump administration officials and federal agents.
Among those named are ICE officer Jonathan Ross, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and border czar Tom Homan.
The lawsuits were filed by Good’s partner, Becca Good, and her brother, Brent Ganger.
And they are going after much more than the government’s handling of the shooting itself.
The first lawsuit names the *United States of America as the sole defendant and alleges wrongful death under Minnesota law, including claims involving battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
The second lawsuit takes aim at the broader immigration operation that surrounded Good’s death.
It alleges a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and names Ross along with senior Trump administration officials and other federal agents, alleging that they played individual roles in the operation that led to Good’s death.
That’s a much broader legal challenge than simply suing the officer who fired the shots.
Good, 37, was fatally shot by Ross on Jan. 7 during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.
Bystander video captured the confrontation. According to reporting on the footage, Good was sitting inside her SUV when officers ordered her to get out. She then began driving away, and Ross fired three times.
Federal authorities have maintained that Ross acted in self-defense, while the family’s lawyers argue that the shooting violated federal policies and Good’s rights. Those competing accounts are now part of the civil litigation.
The lawsuits also go after the larger operation in which the shooting occurred.
The family’s attorneys allege that Operation Metro Surge involved a broader campaign that targeted immigrant communities and sought to suppress opposition to the federal crackdown. Those are allegations in the lawsuit, not findings by a court.
For the Good family, however, the case is about more than what happened in those final moments.
It is also about who was responsible for the policies and operation surrounding them.
And that’s why the names at the top of the Trump administration are now appearing in the same lawsuit as the ICE officer who fired the fatal shots.
The legal action comes months after Good’s death sparked protests and intense scrutiny of the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics in Minneapolis.
It also comes after federal authorities declined to pursue a criminal investigation into the agents involved, while a state investigation by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has continued.
While Ross has not been charged with a crime, a future administration could revisit the case and potentially pursue murder charges.
Meanwhile, the fight is moving into federal civil court.
The lawsuits seek damages and a jury trial, and they could force the administration and the individual defendants to defend their actions in a proceeding that will put the events surrounding Good’s death under renewed scrutiny.
Read the full details of the lawsuits here.
