Donna Ganger Says She Voted for Trump, Calls ICE Response to Her Daughter’s Death “This Is Madness”

Renée Good, 37, was shot and killed in January by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis. Good was described in the reporting as an activist who was partly blocking a roadway and was not a target of ICE. The agent who fired, identified as Jonathan Ross in reporting, has since transferred states and returned to duty.

Donna Ganger, Good's mother, spoke at a forum on deadly shootings by federal immigration agents. The event was hosted by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA). She testified about the personal toll of losing her daughter and described her political background and expectations of federal agents.

Ganger said she is a registered Republican and that she voted for President Trump. She explained her rationale: she believed the agents were meant to "protect the citizens of the United States — innocents like our family and the others here — against terrorists." She stated that she did not expect agents to "accuse those here of being terrorists and take precious lives."

She described the family's grief bluntly: "It's torture that as her mom and as her family, we could not protect Renée." She concluded her remarks at the forum by saying, "This is madness."

Reporting cited a CNN analysis noting that at least 21 people have been shot by ICE and Border Protection personnel during the second Trump administration so far. The killing of Renée Good has been reported as one of several recent fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents, with other names mentioned in coverage including Alex Pretti.

Political reaction and timeline notes

President Trump initially made an inaccurate claim that Good had "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer." Reporting says he later learned that Good's father was a "tremendous Trump fan," and after that he expressed that he "felt terribly" about the shooting and said he "understand[s] both sides of it."

Along with Donna Ganger, other relatives of people killed in encounters with federal immigration agents attended and spoke at the forum. Names reported include Rachel Reyes (mother of Ruben Ray Martinez), Stella Carlson (who recorded the killing of Alex Pretti), and Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado (sons of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo).

Ganger's testimony illustrates a personal perspective that crosses expected partisan lines: a Republican voter who supported increased enforcement but now publicly condemns how an agency carried out its powers after her daughter's death. The forum linked that personal testimony to a broader legislative and public debate about the use of deadly force by federal immigration agents.

Congressional hearings and oversight activity that follow this forum could examine ICE policies, agent training and accountability, and whether administrative or legislative changes are proposed in response to recent fatal encounters.

Donna Ganger told lawmakers she voted for President Trump believing federal immigration agents would protect innocents. After her daughter was killed by an ICE agent, she called the agency's conduct "madness" while urging lawmakers to address the issue of deadly shootings by federal immigration personnel.