As ICE continues to kill, Twin Cities groups plan rallies to demand justice
- Rebecca Gilbuena
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
UPDATE: The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) rally at Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis has been postponed until Friday, July 17 at 5:30 p.m. due to hazardous air quality.
ORIGNAL STORY:
Twin Cities immigrant rights organizers are planning two demonstrations this week after two fatal immigration enforcement shootings in Texas and Maine renewed calls for accountability and justice.
The demonstrations are in response to the July 7 fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and the July 13 fatal shooting of Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Guerrero, 25, was shot after agents attempted to stop his vehicle during an immigration enforcement operation in Biddeford, about 15 miles south of Portland. The department said the agent opened fire out of concern for public safety after Guerrero attempted to flee but did not specify what threat he posed.
Immigration advocates have disputed the government's account, saying Guerrero was authorized to work in the United States and had a Social Security number.
In Houston, authorities said Salgado Araujo, 52, was fatally shot after federal agents in unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was driving members of his construction crew to a job site.
The shootings come as the Trump administration continues to expand immigration enforcement nationwide. ICE arrested more than 10,000 people during a five-day period at the end of June, according to federal figures, reflecting an increase in enforcement activity even as officials have shifted away from concentrating operations in individual cities.
For many Minnesotans, the recent shootings have intensified demands for accountability in the Operation Metro Surge killings, where no federal agents have been charged.
On Monday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office announced it, along with the the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, has obtained hard drives containing previously withheld evidence in the killings of Good and Pretti and the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis.
The BCA also now has custody of Good's vehicle and other physical evidence, while investigators have begun a two-way evidence exchange with the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"We need transparency. We need cooperation," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said, adding that the victims, their families and the broader community deserve accountability.
Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) will hold a rally Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis. The Party for Socialism and Liberation Twin Cities (PSL Twin Cities) has also scheduled a "Day of Action" rally at 1 p.m. Saturday at East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue as part of a national wave of protests.
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