‘Fear, intimidation, violence’: calls mount to remove ICE from US streets after agents killed two men

US officials are facing mounting calls to remove US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from American streets after federal agents killed two men who were not the target of enforcement action in less than a week. Advocacy groups, including the National Police Accountability Project and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, described the fatal shootings of Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas as extrajudicial killings. A memorial with flowers, candles, and a photograph sits at the base of a utility pole on a street corner ICE pauses vehicle stops after deadly shootings in Texas and Maine Read more “The bystander videos I watched make it clear that ICE agents carried out another extrajudicial public execution in Maine,” Lauren Bonds, the executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, said in a statement. “It’s clear that the only way to prevent ICE from killing us in the streets is to remove ICE from the streets.” Congress can do so, she added, by freezing funding to the agency and limiting their jurisdiction. Surveillance footage shows scene of deadly ICE shooting in Maine – video 1:31 Surveillance footage shows scene of deadly ICE shooting in Maine – video Details have emerged in recent days about how the two killings unfolded during operations that quickly turned deadly. On 7 July, federal agents in unmarked vehicles pursued Salgado, a 52-year-old builder originally from Mexico, in Houston as he drove his crew to their job site. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that agents were conducting a “targeted enforcement operation” at the time but that Salgado, who had no criminal history, was not the intended target. Salgado had lived in the US for 35 years and was close to obtaining legal status, his family has said. Officers conducting surveillance for the operation noted two white vans on the property associated with the target’s address, according to the DHS. Lorenzo Salgado, whose father Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed in Houston this week. Man killed by ICE agents not intended target of immigration arrest, DHS says Read more A DHS spokesperson said that “officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop.” While Salgado was not the person agents were looking for, the DHS alleged that he “weaponized his vehicle” in an effort to run over an ICE official, a claim disputed by witnesses. The three men in the vehicle denied the agency’s claims, telling their attorney that there was never any ICE official in front of the van and that the shots at Salgado were fired from the “sides” of the van. Less than a week later, on Monday, an ICE official in Maine shot and killed Durán, a 26-year-old from Colombia. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said agents had been conducting “surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal. An illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle.” The office of Senator Angus King later told WMTV-8 that Markwayne Mullin, the DHS secretary, told the Maine senator that Durán was not the target of an operation. 'ICE must leave the state of Maine': protesters march after fatal shooting - video 'ICE must leave the state of Maine': protesters march after fatal shooting - video The agency went on to claim that when law enforcement officers attempted to conduct a stop, “The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.” Witnesses to the incident have told media that after the shooting Durán told agents he tried to stop his vehicle as they pulled him out of it, and that his wife and daughter, who was wearing Bluey pyjamas, saw the aftermath of the violence. While much of the circumstances around the shooting are still unclear, immigrant rights activists have said Durán was authorized to work in the US and had a social security number. Friends and relatives in Colombia hold a vigil for Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Maine. View image in fullscreen Friends and relatives in Colombia hold a vigil for Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Maine. Photograph: Jaime Moreno/AP Civil rights groups and elected officials have called for independent investigations into the killings of both men, and the removal of ICE from US communities. “This is not public safety. This is not enforcement. It is state violence with the direct intent of terrorizing communities through fear, intimidation, and deadly violence,” Angelica Salas, the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), said in a statement. “We demand a full, independent, and transparent investigation into these unjustified uses of force and accountability for every official responsible. We demand ICE leave our communities immediately.” The Guardian reported on Tuesday that after the killings federal immigration officials were instructed to stop pulling over vehicles until further notice. Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, told Fox News it was a temporary pause while officials look into the recent incidents and determine whether training should be improved. America’s Voice, a progressive immigration reform advocacy group, argued that a “partial, temporary pause” would not solve the underlying problem: “A hastily hired, undertrained force of armed agents operating under exorbitant, politically driven arrest quotas.” Vanessa Cárdenas, the executive director of America’s Voice, said in a statement: “In America we don’t kill people in the streets because of the way they look. This pattern of unaccountable killings is unconscionable and unconstitutional and must end, period.” The killing of Durán was the 11th fatal shooting by federal immigration officials since Trump’s second term began, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, according to a Guardian review of public reports. The US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement: “We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets. We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.