ICE agents are once again the focus of the news after two men were killed within the span of a week.
Tuesday, July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican immigrant who had lived in the U.S. for 35 years, was fatally shot by immigration officers during a traffic stop in Texas, CNN reported.
Then on Monday, July 13, Joan Sebastian Guerrero was shot by ICE agents in Maine.
Neither of these men were the intended targets of ICE operations.
“This cannot be acceptable in America,” former Vice President Kamala Harris says, reacting to the latest killings. “There must be an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation. Anyone responsible for wrongdoing must be held accountable,” she writes on Bluesky, the left-leaning social media platform answer to Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover.
Details are still emerging about the latest killing, that of Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian man living in Maine, according to CNN. Guerrero, who lived with his partner and their 3-year-old daughter, was apparently headed to work when the shooting occurred. “He was a good person,” says a neighbor who helped identify him.
Surveillance footage obtained by The Associated Press appears to show Guerrero being shot after his car had been stopped. Agents were then seen pulling his body from the vehicle and laying it on the ground.
CNN also reported that local officials are demanding a “full and impartial” investigation and that protests have erupted throughout the city since news of Guerrero’s death broke.
After nearly 12 hours of silence following the incident, the Department of Homeland Security released a vague statement claiming that an ICE officer fired because the officer feared for public safety. However, the department provided no additional details explaining why Guerrero was considered a threat.
There have also been conflicting accounts from Senator Angus King’s office. The office initially said the young father was the target of a warrant but later acknowledged that Guerrero was “NOT the target of the warrant” after King spoke with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Similar scenes unfolded in Texas last week after the killing of Araujo, a father of three who had lived in the U.S. without authorization for 35 years.
According to a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, Araujo tried to use his vehicle as a weapon, although no video or other evidence has been presented to corroborate the allegation. Homeland Security also said the agents had been searching for someone else when Araujo, who was on his way to work with three other men, was shot. The target of an ICE investigation was believed to be inside the white van Araujo was driving. When agents attempted to stop the vehicle, the encounter quickly escalated, and an agent shot Araujo in the abdomen. He died at a hospital hours later. The agents involved were not wearing body cameras, according to the spokeswoman.
The killing sparked widespread outrage throughout Texas and across the nation. Araujo’s sons said during a news briefing last Wednesday that they believed their father tried to get away because he was being chased by unmarked cars. Araujo’s oldest son, Ronaldo Salgado, along with a growing number of elected officials and immigration advocates, is demanding an independent investigation and accountability.
“This is outrageous to me, and this is ridiculous to hear that no one in that van was a target of any sort of investigation,” Salgado said after learning his father was not being sought by federal agents.
These recent killings are part of a disturbing trend of violent encounters involving civilians and immigration officers. Agents have shot more than 20 people since September, nearly all of whom were inside vehicles. Four of those incidents have now resulted in fatalities, including the January fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, which sparked similar outrage and protests.
Photos courtesy of social media
