ICE ‘is slowly killing us’: Phoenix community pours out in support of hospitalized migrant

Outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Phoenix, Arizona, immigrant advocacy groups gathered on Wednesday, Oct. 29, to hold a vigil for Jose Garcia-Sorto, a Honduran man hospitalized after reportedly being shot by an ICE agent during a traffic stop earlier that morning.

More than a dozen demonstrators gathered by the Central Avenue Corridor to light candles and hold signs condemning the use of force by ICE and other law enforcement agencies toward communities of color in Arizona.

To the sound of “Amor Eterno,” a popular Mexican ballad about mourning the loss of a loved one, organizers from Semillas Arizona, Poder in Action, Arizona Democracy Resource Center, Trans Queer Pueblo, People First Project and Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro urged the community to keep the flame of solidarity burning and the spirit of action alive. 

“Tonight, we light these candles for the man who was shot, for every migrant who risked everything to live with dignity, for every mother who crossed a border with her child on the back, for every father locked inside a detention cell, for every youth harassed, deported or killed for existing. Each flame tonight carries a story of survival. Each flame is a heartbeat that refuses to stop,” Joel Cornejo said during the vigil. He is the executive director at Semillas Arizona, an organization that mobilizes marginalized communities to advocate for racial and environmental justice.

What happened during the ICE traffic stop?

At around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, ICE agents attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the highway near the Dove Valley Road exit, according to Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, regional director of the Southwest Division with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Agents pulled a vehicle over and as they were walking toward it, the driver, who DHS identified as Garcia-Sorto, began driving away. An agent was in the path of the car and, fearing for their safety, opened fire twice, Pitts O'Keefe said in an emailed statement.

Garcia-Sorto was taken to a local hospital and remained in stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon. It was not immediately clear if the shots fired by the agent struck him.

Per the DHS statement, Garcia-Sorto is from Honduras and does not have authorized status to be in the U.S. According to Pitts O'Keefe, the FBI was investigating the shooting.

Community concerns grow as ICE presence increases in Arizona

Besides shedding light on the shooting, the vigil brought renewed attention to concerns regarding ICE enforcement tactics in Arizona and reports of inhumane conditions at immigration detention centers.

Earlier this year, a neighborhood in north Phoenix witnessed an ICE raid operation in which armed agents arrived in military-style, unmarked vehicles and used stun grenades to arrest a 61-year-old man at his residence, as shown in a social media video shared by Puente Human Rights Movement in Arizona.

“They are the ones bringing violence to our neighborhoods,” Phoenix Councilmember Anna Hernandez for District 7 said about ICE agents in an interview with CALÓ News. “They are operating without transparency, without identification. They are basically harassing our community. And that is part of the problem, that they are operating in a way that is not transparent, not how things should be, and that is what worries me.” 

Hernandez has long spoken out against the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and the excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies — a stance shaped by the personal loss of her younger brother, 26-year-old Alejandro “Alex” Hernandez, who was shot and killed by Phoenix police in 2019 while experiencing a mental health crisis. The U.S. Department of Justice has since investigated the Phoenix Police Department for its discriminatory use of force against communities of color, people with behavioral health disabilities and unsheltered individuals. 

While Phoenix police has not entered into any agreement with ICE, organizers at the vigil said that they contribute to a cycle of systemic violence against immigrants and people of color. 

“Let’s say their names out loud — ICE, Phoenix Police Department, Border Patrol, CoreCivic, GEO Group,” Cornejo said. “They are the same machine, the same system that kills, cages and divides. And the politicians who protect them, they are part of it too.”

During the vigil, Cornejo also called out Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and the Phoenix City Council for voting in May to increase the police department’s budget to over $1 billion — a measure Hernandez was the only member to vote against.

“We cannot wait for them to save us. We cannot wait for another election, another promise, another apology. We must protect each other now. That means watching out for our neighbors when ICE rolls into the barrio. That means showing up when the police kill another one of ours,” Cornejo said.  

About 60 miles south of where the vigil took place, Arbella “Yari” Rodríguez Márquez, a Phoenix resident with chronic lymphocytic leukemia — a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow — is being held in Eloy at one of the country’s deadliest detention centers, according to the Detention Watch Network, where abuse of LGBTQ+ individuals and inadequate medical care have been widely reported.

“Our migrant LGBTQ+ sisters and people of color detained are tired of suffering this violence for political motives,” said Karla Bautista, liberation coordinator at Trans Queer Pueblo, the organization advocating for Marquez’s release. “[ICE] is slowly killing us.” 

These incidents are not isolated, migrant advocacy members said; they are part of a larger system of enforcement and neglect. Organizers emphasized that protecting one another and building community power are essential, and encouraged attendees to take concrete steps to support their neighbors.

“If you're here tonight, don't just hold the candle. Hold a commitment. Join the movement. Look around you. Look at the faces next to you: different languages, different groups, same heartbeat. This is what real safety looks like. This is what real power feels like,” Cornejo said. 

Clarissa Vela, founder of People First Project, a nonpartisan organization that aims to educate people on their rights during interactions with immigration enforcement agents, encouraged attendees to sign up for community patrols. The initiative empowers residents to hold ICE accountable by documenting operations and helping de-escalate tense situations after someone calls or texts (888) 354-4594 to report activity. 

As the vigil ended, Maria Teresa Mabry, co-executive director of the Arizona Democracy Resource Center, reminded attendees that protecting immigrants and communities of color requires more than just witnessing — it requires action. From signing up for community patrols to supporting local advocacy organizations, participants were encouraged to stand together, document abuses and build networks of care.

“Police brutality and harms from the state is not new for us, but it is more important in this moment that we come together, that we see each other, that we build with each other and that we know we are the folks who are gonna keep us safe,” Mabry said.

Nicole Macias Garibay is a transborder storyteller and bilingual journalist from the U.S.-Mexico border. Her upbringing crossing the border on the daily fuels her drive to report on migration, Latino culture and the Hispanic community. She wrote for La Voz-The Arizona Republic, interned at Telemundo Arizona and launched VOCES, a bilingual magazine dedicated to telling stories para la comunidad, por la comunidad.