A protest by about 20 people outside a federal immigration detention center Friday afternoon in south Albuquerque sparked several physical confrontations, resulting in the arrests of two protesters, and ended after federal officials threatened the crowd with arrest if they did not disperse.
Dare to Fight New Mexico held the protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in response to the fatal shooting by an ICE officer in Minnesota of 37-year-old Renee Good.
“We’re here to let them know that we’re here, that we’re angry, that we want to block them and get mad at them,” one of the organizers, Lizzie Nutig, said through a megaphone outside the gates. “We have to be loud, we have to be brave, we have to do things to block them.”
She continued. “We need them to know that people are crazy.”
Using a megaphone, Nutig and organizer Brian McQuaid sang songs including “Be like Renee and embarrass yourself”; “Fuera ICE; » “Destroy the mass deportation machine”; as well as several others containing profanity.
About five minutes into the protest, several protesters approached the gates outside the facility and hung photos of the immigration officer who shot Good, as well as a photo of President Donald Trump with a hand-printed expletive.
DHS officials, who were observing the protests from their office, came out of the building and pushed the protesters away from the fence, and told them they had to stay on the sidewalk to protest. Officers also arrested a person who Source NM has not yet been able to identify.
Other officers wearing camouflage patches and enforcement and removal operations patches are filed outside, carrying non-lethal firearms and Saber Red pepper spray. No DHS personnel identified themselves when asked to do so by protesters or the media.
Protesters shouted, sometimes using expletives: “Do you like hurting people? “Get out of here” and “go to hell.”
Officers rushed one of the protesters who was shouting profanities, Adeo Herrick, and as protesters attempted to intervene, one of the officers in fatigues fired pepper spray at himself and at least one protester.
Herrick was then dragged to the ground and provided his name to Source NM while being taken by several officers into the building.
Shortly after 12:40 p.m., a car bearing the Federal Protective Service logo drove up, blaring the message over a loudspeaker: “This is considered an illegal assembly,” ordering protesters and media to disperse or face arrest.
Reached by phone after the protest, Nutig and McQuaid said they did not yet know whether charges were being filed against the two detained protesters and said they were in contact with lawyers. In a statement, they called for the release of the two detained demonstrators and “the arrest of the police officers who attacked the demonstrators today.”
A request for comment from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement remains pending.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a statement earlier today calling for a “thorough and transparent investigation” into Good’s death.
The governor’s statement also expressed support for “those who raise their voices in protest. Protest is fundamental to democracy – it’s how we get our government to listen when something goes terribly wrong. But protests must remain peaceful.”
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Friday’s protest.
About 18 officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Albuquerque responded to the approximately 20 protesters on January 9, 2026. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)” aria-label=”Open image in lightbox” data-thumb=”https://sourcenm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/HK7A2414-150×150.jpg” class=”tile-inner module-item-link”/>
About 18 officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Albuquerque responded to the approximately 20 protesters on January 9, 2026. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials line up to confront protesters who demonstrated in Albuquerque on January 9, 2026 after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minnesota woman, by an ICE agent. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)” aria-label=”Open image in lightbox” data-thumb=”https://sourcenm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_3039-150×150.jpg” class=”tile-inner module-item-link”/>
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials line up to confront protesters who demonstrated in Albuquerque on January 9, 2026 after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minnesota woman, by an ICE agent. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
Two people were arrested during the protests, during which officials also pushed demonstrators to the sidewalk, sprayed pepper spray and declared it an “unlawful assembly,” ordering demonstrators to disperse or face arrest. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)” aria-label=”Open image in lightbox” data-thumb=”https://sourcenm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/HK7A2343-150×150.jpg” class=”tile-inner module-item-link”/>
Two people were arrested during the protests, during which officials also pushed demonstrators to the sidewalk, sprayed pepper spray and declared it an “unlawful assembly,” ordering demonstrators to disperse or face arrest. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
Immigration agents and protesters jostle during a demonstration Jan. 9, 2026, outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Albuquerque. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)” aria-label=”Open image in lightbox” data-thumb=”https://sourcenm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_3022-150×150.jpg” class=”tile-inner module-item-link”/>
Immigration agents and protesters jostle during a demonstration Jan. 9, 2026, outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Albuquerque. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
About 20 people gathered in 35-degree weather around noon on Jan. 9, 2026, in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Albuquerque. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
” aria-label=”Open image in lightbox” data-thumb=”https://sourcenm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_2992-150×150.jpg” class=”tile-inner module-item-link”/>
About 20 people gathered in 35-degree weather around noon on Jan. 9, 2026, in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Albuquerque. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security official, who declined to give his name, ordered protesters and media to move to the sidewalk. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)” aria-label=”Open image in lightbox” data-thumb=”https://sourcenm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/HK7A2334-150×150.jpg” class=”tile-inner module-item-link”/>
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security official, who declined to give his name, ordered protesters and media to move to the sidewalk. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent brandishes pepper spray at protesters during a Jan. 9, 2026, demonstration outside the Albuquerque Field Office. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)” aria-label=”Open image in lightbox” data-thumb=”https://sourcenm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_3058-150×150.jpg” class=”tile-inner module-item-link”/>
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent brandishes pepper spray at protesters during a Jan. 9, 2026, demonstration outside the Albuquerque Field Office. (Danielle Prokop/Source NM)
” aria-label=”Open image in lightbox” data-thumb=”https://sourcenm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ICE-Clash-Jan.-9-2026-150×150.jpg” class=”tile-inner module-item-link”/>
This is breaking news and will be updated as necessary.
