ICE is instructed to end vehicle pursuits after killing two Latino fathers

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were told on Tuesday to immediately stop pursuing people in vehicles nationwide, following the two fatal shootings in Texas and Maine with individuals who were not original targets.

According to sources cited by NBC News, the two shootings occurred as the Trump administration increased pressure on ICE agents to boost arrest numbers.

A former senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official stated that ICE officers are under “too much stress” as they face increased pressure to not just make more arrests, but are expected to work longer hours and have requests for time off denied.

ICE agents in both cases were making vehicle stops when they ended up killing two Latino men. On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican husband and father who was shot in Houston, Texas on his way to work.

Araujo was a construction worker and devoted father of three sons. According to a GoFundMe created for his family, he was remembered as “hardworking, dependable and kind.” Like many blue-collar workers, he started his days early, worked long hours and relied on his skills and labor to operate his own business and provide for his family.

Araujo was killed in a predominantly Latino neighborhood and at that time was the eighth death during the Trump administration immigration enforcement campaign.

The following week, 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a father from Colombia living in Biddeford, Maine, was killed after being shot by an ICE agent while his daughter was present in the car, making him the ninth death during an immigration operation.

The Department of Homeland Security told CNN that the agent opened fire after Guerrero allegedly “attempted to flee” in a vehicle and the officer feared for “public safety.” The agency did not provide additional details explaining why the officer believed Guerrero posed a threat.

Following the shooting, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) questioned the circumstances surrounding Guerrero’s death and criticized the practice of ICE officers firing into moving vehicles. According to a statement, King said he discussed the incident with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

“He was in a vehicle, pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent. What I said to the Secretary was, we want a full, transparent and open investigation of this matter,” King said.

He also added that apparently ICE officers were not wearing body cameras and that there is no video evidence of what exactly occurred in this specific case. The same was true in the case of Araujo.

The Immigrant's Rights Coalition said that Guerrero was authorized to work in the U.S and was issued a Social Security number. Guerrero was also not the target of any warrant. Although there was no evidence on Monday, just a day later, a social media video has surfaced where it shows ICE agents pulling a limp body out of a white car, and then agents placing Guerrero’s hands behind his back. 

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which shared the video on their Facebook page, said that El Grito News spoke to a resident who saw the aftermath of the ICE shooting from her building’s second floor. According to the witness, ICE agents “did not run” to give first aid to the victim.

A GoFundMe page has been created for Guerrero as he leaves behind his wife and his 3-year-old daughter. These funds will help his family cover legal expenses, funeral costs and the repatriation of his body to Colombia, where his parents are waiting to lay him to rest.