by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

Last August, I wrote it was only a matter of time until President Trump’s poorly trained, lawless  Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection goons would shoot and kill someone. Back then they were just beginning their clumsy siege, swaggering through Democratic cities throwing people around and detaining and deporting children and legal U.S. citizens without a hint of due process.

Well, here we are six months later, and it’s much worse than any of us could have imagined.

The masked and anonymous cosplaying tough guys (and gals) killed two protesters in Minneapolis this month. Renee Good’s last words were, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.” Seconds later, Good was shot four times by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. As Good lay mortally wounded, her brains splattered all over the inside of her Honda SUV, Ross strolled away and said, “Fu$#in’ bitch.”

Alex Pretti’s last words were “Are you OK?,” uttered to a woman he was protecting from a gang of advancing ICE agents who had just pepper-sprayed them. A second later the gang shoved him to the ground and shot him 10 times in the back. The primary shooter then said “Boo-hoo,” as he walked away. Seconds later, ICE agents approached Pretti’s body, turned it over, and cut through his clothing with scissors. But they weren’t administering CPR: they were counting the bullet holes, according to eyewitnesses.

Pretti’s as of yet unidentified killer or killers have since been transferred to another city, ironically, “for their safety,” where they are free to continue terrorizing at will, with no accountability.

This is America.

Though these horrific killings — some have called them executions — took place in Minneapolis, we are all in mourning for our country, for what this lurch toward fascism means for our children and grandchildren. The anxiety, fear, and terror are being felt across state, political, racial, religious, and ideological lines, including here in Claremont. And this is exactly what Trump and his allies want; they want us afraid and cowed into compliance. But as the brave people of Minneapolis have shown us by showing up to protest and bear witness in frigid, sub-zero temperatures for weeks, that is simply not going to happen.

Julie Wheeler, pastor at Pomona Fellowship Church of the Brethren in part of the community group ICE Out of Pomona, which has been assisting people affected by President Trump’s immigration crackdown for more than a year. Photo/courtesy of Julie Wheeler

Many people turn to their faith in times like these. Here in Claremont and the surrounding communities, religious leaders are feeling their congregations’ pain, and some are mobilizing to be of service to our immigrant neighbors.

Julie Wheeler is the pastor at Pomona Fellowship Church of the Brethren. In December 2024 she began hosting the community group ICE Out of Pomona, a coalition made up of representatives from the Pomona Day Labor Center, Latino & Latina Roundtable, Gente Organizada or “organized people,” and from Cal Poly Pomona, University of La Verne, Western University, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, Pomona Unified School District’s teacher’s union, and others.

The coalition has since been raising awareness and advocating in and around Pomona. The group prints informational flyers and other materials, and trains and organizes people for ICE patrols and rapid response. Communicating via encrypted Signal chats, when an incident is reported rapid responders observe, record, get detainees’ names, advise them of their legal rights, and educate their families.

“Many of them are resident aliens. Many have citizenship,” Wheeler said. “They have some sort of paperwork. And it does not seem to matter.”

The coalition isn’t just raising awareness. It’s also raised a considerable amount of money. The City of Pomona made a $100,000 “compassion fund” donation. The Hilton Corporation has donated another $100,000, and private donors have kicked in about $50,000. Along with funding ICE Out of Pomona’s advocacy, the group has recently begun dispersing $500 checks to families affected by ICE raids.

“Five hundred dollars will not take you far,” Wheeler said. “It won’t get you rent. It won’t buy a lawyer. But it is something.”

Wheeler urges people to write and call their Congressional representatives and make their displeasure heard in other ways. “There’s a bill being passed as to how much money do we throw at this terrorist organization we call ICE,” she said. “Put a sign up. Talk to people.”

Perhaps the most alarming component of Trump’s cruel and deadly immigration crackdown is that millions of Americans — including the vast majority of Republican members of Congress — still support it. Wheeler is among those who are having a difficult time accepting this.

“As a pastor, I am very, very, very clear: Old Testament and New tell us to watch out, be careful for the foreigner, the oppressed, the widow, those that are in jail,” she said. “These are the people that actually are blessed. These are the people that are on the please care about list.”

Jacob Buchholz, who along with his wife Jen Strickland is co-pastor at Claremont United Church of Christ, said several of their congregants work with nearby community organizations helping people directly impacted by ICE raids.

“Every day they are working with families who are scared to leave their homes, families who are being ripped apart, who’ve been picked up at jobsites,” Buchholz said. “While there’s not sort of the intense foot soldier presence [in Claremont] like there is in Minneapolis, ICE is still around picking folks up, ripping families apart, and congregants are seeing that and doing their best to do something about it.”

Buchholz urged people to stand up and speak up.

Jacob Buchholz, who along with his wife Jen Strickland is co-pastor at Claremont United Church of Christ. Several of their congregants work with nearby community organizations helping people directly impacted by ICE raids. Photo/by Edward Felix

“We’re only going to get through this with community,” he said. “Standing with each other, being someone willing to speak out, whether that is with your family and friends or through social media, the people you talk to in line at the grocery store … being able to just be in solidarity by saying ‘This isn’t right. It doesn’t have to be like this. We can do better.’ That’s a way that anyone can do something. And it’s through that kind of collective community that we do see change. We’re already seeing the Democratic Party roll back in terms of them funding [the Department of] Homeland Security, making announcements that they’re not going to fund the bill … So, we’re already seeing the immediate impact of these protests.”

Wheeler, like Buchholz and Strickland, has a unique perspective as the leader of a like-minded progressive religious congregation. Under the greater umbrella of Christianity however, the connection is frayed.

“What I’m very concerned about is we have Christians” who support ICE, she said. Wheeler recalled a recent public vigil for Renee Good during which a man drove up and shouted, “I think ICE is doing the work of God.”

“I didn’t even know what to say,” Wheeler said. “I’m not going to flip him off. We were very kind and just said, ‘Bless you, sir. Hope you find salvation.’ I just don’t know what to say to that.”

Asked how people can help, Wheeler had simple advice.

“I think the thing I’d say is don’t look away,” she said. “When you’re white, it’s just easy to look away; it’s too hard, too taxing. We’re too anxious. Whatever. Don’t look away. Trump will come and go, but as Jesus says, the poor will be with us forever. And so, how do we make sure we’re doing something about that consistently?”

ICE out of Pomona is organizing a rally and march on President’s Day, Monday, February 16, likely at the corner of Mission and Garey avenues, where it will hand out 5,000 whistles people can use to alert folks to ICE activity. For more info and to confirm the location, go to instagram.com/iceoutofpomona.