For Immediate Release—January 24, 2026
MEDIA STATEMENT
New York, NY—The nation’s leading Native advocacy group, Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) partner to Native Organizers Alliance, responds to today’s shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, MN. The following statement from Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), executive director of Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, can be quoted in full or in part.
“Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund has been on the ground working alongside our partners to keep the Minneapolis and Saint Paul communities safe and provide essential resources to relatives who need it most. While details are still emerging, today’s shooting of a resident of Minneapolis by an ICE officer underscores the escalating violence that ICE’s presence, and the recent killing of Renee Good, has created.
What we have seen here as we work with Native American Community Development Institute, Indigenous Protectors Movement, American Indian Movement, Metro Urban Indian Directors and others is incredible solidarity among the people of Minneapolis. There is a shared commitment to protecting the rights of Minnesotans—and all who live on this land—to live, work, and go to school free from the threat of ICE’s repeated acts of unlawful, unconstitutional aggression.
Just yesterday, the streets of Minneapolis were packed by tens of thousands of people brave enough to say ‘NO MORE’. No more abducting and disappearing our children. No more removing half-dressed, lawful residents from their houses in sub-zero temperatures. No more killing our neighbors.
From the Indigenous occupation of Alcatraz to Standing Rock, we have seen peaceful resistance met with aggression and violence. Yet, as violence grows, we have only seen the multi-racial movement for social justice grow because as we have seen, our collective voice is the most powerful tool we have in organizing our communities for peace and justice for all.”
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