Renee Good’s homicide feels like deja vu to us on the southern border.

Before Renee Good, there was Valeria Tachiquin.

My hope is that America never forgets Renee Good. She was a mom, a college graduate, a poet, a wife, a daughter, a volunteer, a supporter of her community, a United States citizen. Only thirty-seven years young, her life was taken by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on January 7, 2026. She leaves behind three children, a wife, an ex-husband and countless others who loved her.

On the southern border, in San Diego, we cannot forget Valeria Tachiquin. She was a mom, a high school graduate, a wife, a daughter, a United States citizen. Only thirty-two years young, her life was taken by Border Patrol agent Justin Tackett on September 28, 2012. She left behind five children, a husband, a father and countless others who loved her.

Within hours, before Renee’s body was cold, Department of Homeland Security set the narrative, “she was stalking agents all day long, impeding our law enforcement.” The President of the United States stated, “The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense.”

Within hours, before Valeria’s body was cold, then San Diego Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott ran down to the scene, stood with her body laying in the street behind him to do an interview setting the narrative, “The agent actually was impacted, was hit by the vehicle and was carried several hundred yards on the hood before fearing for his life and did discharge his weapon to get the vehicle to stop.”

When Renee was killed, ICE claimed they were doing “targeted enforcement.” That is they were looking for specific people with criminal records. They have shown no proof of this claim.

When Valeria was killed, Border Patrol claimed they had a criminal arrest warrant. Years later in courtroom testimony, it was discovered that they lied. 

We do not yet know what Agent Ross’ background is other than a claim made by Vice-President J.D. Vance that he suffers from trauma of being hit and dragged by a vehicle six months ago. 

Border Patrol Agent Tackett was allowed to resign from the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office before being terminated. Then Imperial County Sheriff Chief Sharon Housouer, wrote that then Deputy Tackett could not be "trusted with a badge or a gun.” Yet, a recommendation letter from former Congressman Duncan Hunter got him a position with the U.S. Border Patrol. 

In Renee’s killing, ICE whisked Agent Ross away from the scene. He will not have to speak with investigators for seventy-two hours as a common courtesy offered to officers involved in shootings.

In Valeria’s killing, Border Patrol whisked Agent Tackett away refusing to allow Chula Vista Police or any other investigators to interview him for seventy-two hours. Tackett spent this time coordinating his story with other agents and his union attorneys.

Agent Ross was reportedly taken to the hospital and labeled the victim though he had no injuries. Officials claim he was “rammed” and “run over” by Renee, though evidence shows Ross placed himself in front of her vehicle as agents shouted a variety of contradictory orders at her. Placing oneself in front of a vehicle is a direct violation of training and policy. As a firearms instructor, Agent Ross is fully aware of this.

Agent Tackett was labeled the victim after putting ten bullets in Valeria’s body though he had no injuries. Officials claimed Valeria “rammed” and tried to “run over” Agent Tackett although evidence showed he placed himself in front of her car to block her exit. 

Valeria’s killing was why The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) wrote a report in 2013 condemning federal immigration enforcement agencies for not training agents the forty year standard of not putting themselves in front of people’s cars as it causes violence to escalate.

Agent Ross and others were in civilian clothes and not in uniform. Agent Ross is only wearing a vest with “POLICE Federal Agent” written on it without a badge visible. This vest and generic “POLICE Federal Agent” can be bought by anyone online.

Agent Tackett was also in civilian clothing and not in his Border Patrol uniform. In this official picture taken by the Border Patrol’s illegal coverup teams known as Critical Incident Teams, Tackett is shown with his badge clearly visible. However, court documents and even Tackett’s own testimony proved his badge was not visible during the time he engaged with Valeria and was in his pocket.

The contradictory orders to “get out of here” and “get out of the car” combined with Agent Ross drawing his gun and aiming at Renee likely caused fear as she tried to obey the order to leave.

Agent Tackett’s order to his partner, Border Patrol Agent Roozen to shatter her window likely created fear in Valeria causing her to try and escape. 

Department of Homeland Security and ICE have refused to allow local and state investigators with legal jurisdiction to conduct investigations into Good’s homicide. Federal officials flat out refuse to cooperate and make witnesses and evidence available. 

Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol refused to allow local and state investigators with legal jurisdiction to conduct investigations into Valeria’s homicide. When former Chief Rodney Scott discovered his coverup team was unavailable that day, he ordered the San Diego Sector Intelligence Unit (many who were trained by the illegal coverup team) to act as the coverup team. They then proceeded to try and keep witnesses from the investigators.

Both agents were acting outside their scope of authority. As a Border Patrol agent, Tackett did not have the authority to do “knock and talks,” meaning without a warrant. As an ICE agent, Ross does not have the legal authority to engage in what was essentially a traffic violation.

Agent Tackett was transferred to another sector and continued on with his Border Patrol career. Agent Ross will likely continue on with his career too, because these cover up systems still exist within ICE, CBP and the Border Patrol. 

Former Chief Rodney Scott is now Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). And although the illegal coverup teams were technically disbanded by former President Biden, he allowed the agents involved to resign and the teams were simply moved into CBP’s Office of professional Responsibility. This means Commissioner Scott now runs the teams he used to use as a Border Patrol chief to coverup his agents crimes. Commissioner Scott and his Border Patrol agents have been placed in charge of ICE and CBP. What we are seeing is the Border Patrol-ification of all law enforcement. 

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

To learn more about the teams and see more of my work, please watch HBO’s Critical Incident: Death at the Border. This film is currently streaming on HBO and Amazon Prime.