The fatal shootings of two men in the United States within the space of a week have renewed anger over the country's militarised deportation efforts. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was killed in Houston, Texas, when immigration agents opened fire through an open car window as he drove to work with his brother and two other passengers. Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 26, was shot dead in Biddeford, Maine, after agents stopped him at an intersection near a laundromat.
The victims were not the intended targets of the operations, and both incidents have been condemned by demonstrators who have taken to the streets to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) withdraw from their communities. Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, had lived and worked in the US for 35 years and was the father of three US citizen children. Durán Guerrero, from Colombia, was supporting his wife and daughter through multiple jobs.
According to the Trace, a data outlet tracking such incidents, the two men were the 29th and 30th people immigration officers have opened fire on since President Donald Trump took office, and among the eight who have been killed. The dead also include US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot during an enforcement operation in Minnesota. Separately, an unidentified man died in Florida after fleeing agents and being struck by a truck, while 22 people have died in ICE custody this year.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, issued statements after each shooting, claiming that Salgado Araujo had "weaponized his vehicle" and that the officers who fired on Durán Guerrero did so while "fearing for public safety". However, no evidence has been provided, and witness videos have raised questions about the official accounts.
In Houston, thousands of protesters have marched on City Hall, chanting "Justice for Lorenzo" and calling for an independent investigation, the release of the agents' names, and the release of three witnesses who were in the vehicle. More than a hundred residents signed up to urge the mayor and council to act. In Biddeford, hundreds attended a vigil for Durán Guerrero, though many friends reportedly feared speaking out due to concerns about ICE retaliation.
