So far 53 are dead. Trump's quota is 2,000 arrests per day.
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On Saturday protests will be held in Hastings and many other communities across the USA to protest the recent murders by ICE of Lorenzo Salgada Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine. Both men were shot by ICE while they were on their way to work. In Hastings we will also demand that ICE be abolished, a demand backed by 13 Democrats in the House of Representatives. [Link]. Please join us on Saturday in Hastings at the VFW Plaza (Warburton and Spring St.) from noon to 1 pm.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican shot by ICE while driving his brother and two others to their work at a construction site, had lived in the USA for nearly 35 years. He was a father of three children. The news site Democracy Now! has given extensive coverage to his murder, with investigative reports on July 14 and July 16. and with a report of the public viewing in Houston of his body on July 17. On July 20 Democracy Now! broadcast a report on the Houston community’s response to Lorenzo’s murder.
Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old immigrant from Colombia, was also on his way to work when he was murdered by ICE in Biddeford, a small town in southern Maine. Durán Guerrero was the father of a 3-year-old girl and was authorized to work. Like Lorenzo, Johan was not a target of the ICE investigation, nor did they have a warrant for him. On July 14 Democracy Now! broadcast news of his murder, including an in-depth interview with the wife of the Biddeford mayor. It quickly emerged that the ICE agent who shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero had suffered a traumatic brain injury and had a record of domestic abuse. Johan’s widow makes a short statement here. If you would like to make a contribution on behalf of Johan’s family to a “justice and support” GoFundMe site, go here.
Today the news site Truthout published an excellent overview of the damage that ICE has done and the growing movement to abolish it. The report states:
At least 53 people have died in ICE custody since President Donald Trump returned to office and launched a mass deportation campaign led by adviser Stephen Miller, making the past fiscal year the deadliest in the agency’s history. Additionally, at least 30 people have been shot in public or in their homes by federal immigration agents during Trump’s chaotic crackdown, and 11 have died, including multiple parents and two United States citizens. … A recent ramp-up of enforcement is impacting citizens and noncitizens alike as recently deputized and heavily armed federal agents raid homes and target random people on the street to increase Trump’s deportation numbers. A review of 1,200 incidents involving ICE and its partners by the American Civil Liberties Union found the tactics being deployed are causing civil rights violations at a “scale and severity without precedent in our nation’s recent history.” … A YouGov poll released on July 21 found that about half of all U.S. adults now support abolishing ICE, including 73 percent of Democrats. Only 40 percent somewhat or strongly oppose eliminating the agency. News of ICE killings appears to be reaching voters, with 60 percent telling pollsters they heard about ICE shooting and killing people in the last week.
As noted above, 13 House Democrats are co-sponsoring the “Melt ICE Act” (H.R.7190), introduced in January by Illinois congresswoman Delia Ramirez. It appears that all 13 sponsors are people of color. Our Rep. George Latimer is not among the sponsors. Please give a call to Rep. Latimer at (202) 225-2464 and ask/demand that he support this important legislation.
Thanks,
Frank Brodhead
For CFOW
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