Brent and Luke Ganger — the brothers of Renee Good — testified at a Capitol Hill hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 3, addressing the use of force by federal immigration agents.
They described the family’s deep grief following their sister’s killing in January — and their frustration that her death has not yet led to changes in how agents conduct enforcement operations.
Good was fatally shot inside her SUV by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7. She and her partner, Becca, had just dropped off their 6-year-old child at school and stopped to observe law enforcement activity in Minneapolis. Good was a mother of three.
“The deep distress our family feels because of Nae’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” Luke Ganger told lawmakers. “In the last few weeks, our family took some consolation, thinking that perhaps Nae’s death would bring about change in our country, and it has not.”
Luke said he continues to struggle with how to explain the killing to his own young daughter, who he said reminds him of Good.
“The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation,” he said. “This is not just a bad day or a rough week or isolated incidents. These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever. I still don’t know how to explain to my 4-year-old what these agents are doing when we pass by.”
The hearing was organized by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, both Democrats.
Luke described his family as “a very American blend” — people who vote differently and “rarely completely agree on the finer details of what it means to be a citizen of this country.”
“We attend various churches and some not at all, and despite those differences, we have always treated each other with love and respect,” he said, adding that they have grown closer during a deeply polarized period. He told the panel that the family hopes their experience can serve as an example of not letting politics erase basic decency — and of remembering who Good was beyond the headlines.
“But the most important thing we can do today is to help this panel and our country understand who Nae is and what a beautiful American we have lost,” he said.
“A sister, a daughter, mother, a partner and a friend,” he added.
Brent Ganger grew emotional as he read from a eulogy he said he delivered for Good on Saturday, Jan. 31.
“When I think of Renee, I think of dandelions and sunlight,” he said. “Dandelions don’t ask permission to grow. They push through cracks in the sidewalk, through hard soil to places where you don’t expect beauty, and suddenly there they are, bright, alive.”
He described Good as someone who made life feel lighter, “even on cloudy days.”
“Renee had a way of showing up in the world that made you believe things were going to be okay, not because she ignored the hardship, but because she chose optimism anyway,” Brent said. “She chose to look for what was good, what was possible and what was worth loving.”
He said she poured her love into those closest to her, including her children and siblings.
“Her children were and are her heart, walking around outside her body, and she made sure they felt safe, valued and endlessly loved,” he said. “As a sister, she was constant, someone you could lean on, laugh with, or just sit in silence beside.”
Good is one of two U.S. citizens who were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month. Her death — and that of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti — were recorded on video, fueling outrage and intensifying calls for accountability amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Within hours of Good’s killing, Trump claimed she “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer.” He has since shifted his tone.
“Bottom line, it was terrible. Both of them were terrible; the other was terrible too,” Trump said during an appearance on The Will Cain Show last week, referring to the two shooting deaths. “And I’m not sure about his parents, but I know her parents were big Trump fans, makes me feel bad anyway. But I guess you could say even worse, they were tremendous Trump people, Trump fans.”
