Perhaps, like me, sometimes you wake in the night to the sound of your questioning mind.
It was 11:38 p.m., Jan. 8, 2026. Renee Nicole Good had been killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent the day before.
I had gone to sleep a little before 10 p.m., hoping to sleep until the alarm went off at 5 a.m. Instead, my eyes opened less than two hours later. My mind was clear and determined, ready to face the day, sure it was time to put on the morning coffee.
Within moments, it was clear that sleep was evading me and the events in our country, this time Renee Good’s death, were front and center. None of the recommended sleep disturbance techniques worked; no guided meditation, deep breathing or getting up to read. My soul was in charge, and my soul was not at rest.
Renee Nicole Macklin Good was a mother of three, a wife and a poet who lived peacefully with her neighbors on the south side of Minneapolis.
Her death was a violent act of cruelty stemming from the systemic and rising hatred and fear running rampant in our country. The killing has traumatized not only those closest to Renee, but the entire city and country.
We know that Renee Good is not the only person killed by ICE agents since Trump’s inauguration. Keith Porter, 43, was killed in Northridge, California, on New Year’s Eve, one week before Renee was killed on Jan. 7.
Seven additional people were killed in 2025 and 32 people died in ICE custody. This makes 2025 the deadliest year for ICE in more than two decades.
This kind of barbaric treatment is being inflicted as well on trans people, Black and brown people, members of the LGBTQIA+ communities, and most other vulnerable groups. There is no change in sight, yet.
It’s enough to keep us up at night.
If you’re like me, you need things to do that help you engage in resisting these atrocities, and you may need ways to care for yourself so that you can keep on showing up for others.
We are not all the same. Some of us have other family and personal demands and challenges that make getting involved unreasonable.
What works for one person in terms of self-care may not work for the next person. Comparing ourselves to others is not helpful. Each of us needs to find the rhythms and ways that work for us now, knowing they may change over time.
There are some things we all need – compassion for self and others, belief in the importance of our actions, and connection with ourselves, Spirit and others.
We all may have sleepless nights, be that related to physical health, genetics or stress. Thirty to 50% percent of adults have insomnia at some point, according to the American Medical Association.
The National Sleep Foundation reported that 17% of adults, across political lines, said that the 2024 presidential election affected their sleep negatively. Political anxiety and sociopolitical stress are real and affecting a growing number of people.
Though I don’t have all the answers, perhaps it will help to know the next time you have a sleepless night, that you are not alone. Neighbors, concerned citizens and many others join you. May we see our way to a time and place where our souls can be at rest.
You can join others in peaceful protesting outside the ICE office in Burlington on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For information, visit https://shorturl.at/FnFge.
Sign up to support the work of LUCE Immigrant Justice Action of Massachusetts, including volunteering at its defense line for ICE sightings at www.lucemass.org
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The above column was published in The Daily News of Newburyport on February 20, 2026