Throughout the last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been responsible for the deaths of three civilians across Texas, Maine and Florida.
July 7’s fatal altercation in Houston
This week’s string of fatal civilian encounters began July 7, when ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a targeted traffic stop in Houston.
The Department of Homeland Security later admitted to reporters that Araujo, a business owner who had lived in the U.S. for 35 years and was close to obtaining a work permit, was misidentified by field officers.
Federal officials alleged an agent opened fire in self-defense after Araujo tried to evade arrest and ignored verbal commands.
The investigation proceeds with limited evidence because the shooting officer was not wearing a body camera, a deficit Texas congressional representatives are demanding answers for.
In a joint letter to the DHS Office of Inspector General, lawmakers urged a fully transparent, independent investigation into the agency's history of unnecessary deadly force.
“His family, the community, and the public deserve a complete and transparent account of what happened,” they wrote.
July 13’s car shooting in Biddeford, Maine
ICE agents shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during a July 13 vehicle stop in Biddeford, Maine.
The DHS later confirmed Guerrero, a Colombian national with legal status and a father of a 3-year-old, was not the intended target of the immigration removal order.
According to federal officials, surveillance agents attempted to block Guerrero’s car, prompting an officer to discharge a weapon under the claim the vehicle was being weaponized. However, security footage from local businesses reportedly shows a law enforcement SUV pinning a slow-moving car before agents dragged Guerrero's limp body into the street.
The Maine Office of the Attorney General has launched an investigation alongside federal authorities, while local demonstrators have gathered outside ICE facilities to protest the killing.
July 14’s St. Augustine incident
A Mexican national died July 14 after being run over by a semi-truck while being pursued by ICE agents in St. Augustine, Florida.
The 28-year-old man was approached by ICE and DHS officials at a gas station parking lot in St. John’s County, Florida. He and the three passengers then fled the vehicle on foot, and the man ran onto a busy road, where he was struck by a semi-truck, according to Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Dylan Bryan.
The victim was identified three days later as Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran from Guanajuato, México. He is survived by his wife Yésica Alamilla López, who identified him through the Orlando-based organization Colectivo Árbol, and his two kids.
Duran’s wife said he was in the U.S. for only 3 weeks on a tourist visa and had been in Florida for 2 days.
His death marks at least the 10th ICE-related death since President Donald Trump began his mass deportation campaign and the third ICE-related civilian death in a week.
The Trump administration declared a temporary shutdown of ICE traffic stops July 14 following the deaths in Texas, Maine and Florida.
Just hours after the pause was announced, Trump publicly denounced ICE’s decision to temporarily cease traffic stops amidst ongoing investigations.
“We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Following Trump’s statement, border czar Tom Homan said in a Fox News interview he supported the decision, contradicting statements he made July 14.
“Vehicle stops are our main tool for us to do our job, and we’ve got to continue that,” Homan said.
He attributed the incidents to the individuals denouncing ICE.
“There's still going to be more bloodshed unless they shut their mouth,” he said.
Members of the victim’s community and the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance organized a vigil and rally, demanding action against ICE and the removal of Duval County’s 287(g) agreement.
The 287(g) agreement has been under intense scrutiny throughout Florida following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mandate to enforce it across counties. Several activist groups in counties such as Alachua and Orange have demanded change.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida publicly expressed its support for the victim and denounced the state and ICE’s compliance in the incident.
Keisha Mulfort, ACLU Florida’s deputy executive director and strategy officer, said ICE’s arrest quotas have caused inhumane and rogue behavior. She’s demanding Congressional intervention.
“When people are dying because they are afraid — afraid of a traffic stop, afraid of a gas station, afraid of driving to work — we are no longer talking about immigration enforcement,” she said.
Contact Aaon Zagal Yaji at azagal@alligator.org. Follow him on X @azagalyaji.
Aaron Zagal Yaji is a Public Relations and Economics freshman in his first semester at The Alligator. He covers El Caimán's metro beat. In his free time, he enjoys going to the beach (or reminiscing about it), cooking Peruvian food, and squandering his money on golden shiny things.
