Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) led nearly every member of the House Democratic Caucus in calling for an independent investigation into Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Guerrero’s deaths “without interference.” They also demanded that ICE halt removal proceedings against the witnesses.“Investigators must be given access to the testimony of Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, and Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, and the witnesses should have no threat of retaliation or deportation to provide their testimony,” nearly 200 lawmakers wrote in a letter to Mullin. “Similarly, DHS must not interfere with any investigations into the death of Mr. Guerrero.”
“Far too many people, Americans and non-citizens alike, are dead as a result of DHS’s reckless actions. There must be accountability in independent investigations,” the letter continued. “These fatal shootings by your agents demand real accountability and immediate action to ensure this violence does not continue. Failure to impose meaningful consequences sends a message to your department that agents can act with impunity, risking public safety and people’s lives.”ICE fatally shot Guerrero on Monday during an operation in Maine. Guerrero was a 25-year-old food delivery driver and Colombian national who crossed into the United States illegally during the Biden administration and was later given a work permit. Former Vice President Kamala Harris has also called for an investigation into his death, after Mullin said Guerrero was not the target of ICE’s original operation in the area. Guerrero came across their notice when he sought to flee ICE officers in a vehicle during an operation targeting another illegal immigrant with a final order of removal, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The department said an officer shot and killed Guerrero because he feared for “public safety.”“He was going to work. He had a Social Security. He was authorized to work,” Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition Executive Director Mufalo Chitam told WGME. “If that was not their target, then we just wonder why a life got lost in the process. So it’s very disturbing.”Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national, was fatally shot by ICE last week. ICE targeted Araujo during a traffic stop, and DHS said officers shot him after he allegedly tried to ram into officers with his vehicle.FEDERAL IMMIGRATION OFFICERS WORKING WEIGH STATIONS TO ARREST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CDL DRIVERSDemocrats swiftly questioned the narrative, pointing to incidents in Minneapolis earlier this year, where DHS made similar self-defense claims that were disputed by video evidence.“Nobody is defending violent criminals or suggesting that law enforcement should not protect themselves when they face a genuine threat,” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said. “But we’ve already seen this movie in Minneapolis, so we know the public cannot simply be asked to accept an official version of events without transparency.”
