Tampa, FL – Some 50 people gathered in front of Tampa City Hall, Sunday, July 19, to honor the three lives recently stolen from their families and communities by ICE murderers. The protest was organized by the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee (TampaIRC) as a part of the Legalization for All national week of action.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo from Houston, Texas, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero, from Maine, were gunned down when they were stopped by ICE in their vehicles. ICE claimed both men weaponized their vehicles – the same justification utilized when immigration enforcement killed Renee Good in Minneapolis in January. Videos that surfaced in all three cases contradicted the agency’s account. The other person killed was Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran, a tourist from Mexico, who was hit by a semi-truck as he ran away from ICE in St. Augustine, Florida.

No ICE agent has been arrested for their deaths.

Protesters chanted, “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA,” “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here” and, “When immigrants are under attack what do we do? Stand up fight back!”

Attention was also drawn to the grand jury investigation of Los Angeles-based immigrant rights activist Nadia Topete, a 21-year-old Chicana immigrant rights activist with Centro Community Service Organization in Los Angeles, who was targeted and subpoenaed by the FBI for her organizing work. She was called to appear before a grand jury where she exercised her right to stay silent.

Alvaro Montealegre, member of TIRC said, “it is clear she is facing repression for demanding justice for our immigrant and undocumented community members. We all stand in solidarity with Nadia and everyone facing repression for protecting the rights of immigrants. Today it’s Nadia; tomorrow it could be any one of us.”

The chair of the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee, said, “it's not enough to simply get rid of ICE. What we need is legalization for all. Because, before ICE, there was the Immigration and Naturalization Services, the INS, which was restructured into ICE. The violent tactics that we see from ICE existed long before ICE. We need legalization for all. Legalization for all would mean that immigrants would not be criminalized regardless of documentation status, without the need to give up the citizenship of their country of origin. We need to remove the basis that criminalizes us immigrants to begin with. If no one can ever be illegal on U.S. soil, there would be no need for ICE, Border Patrol, 287(g) agreements or whatever else the federal and state governments cook up.”

Before an enthusiastic crowd, they ended with the chant, “What do we want? Legalization! When do we want it? Now!”

The rally ended just in time, as heavy rain began to fall.

#TampaFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #NadiaTopete #LorenzoSalgadoAraujo #JoanSebastianGuerrero

Jacksonville, FL — On July 11, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) held an emergency rally in an area that has been seeing a growing presence of ICE. There were approximately 50 attendees demanding ICE leave their community for good.

When speaking on the extreme increase in ICE activity within Jacksonville, one of JIRA's own members stated, “I mean look around where we’re at, people in this very community have been taken away from their homes, ripped apart from their family and friends. They target our working-class immigrants at our very doorstep, all because they are the most vulnerable. It doesn’t matter to them if your documents are in order, they profile you immediately based off of their notions on what an immigrant looks like.”

There was an additional call for justice at this rally, as this took place within a week of the murder of ICE Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

JIRA stands in solidarity with the Lorenzo Salgado Araujo family in their demand for answers, as ICE has lied denied the family the right to claim his body while claiming to investigate their own crime.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #ICE #LorenzoSalgadoAraujo

Billings, MT – On July 10, the Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights (BAIR) gathered in protest of an ICE agent’s murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas. The protesters rallied on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn, chanting “Justice for Lorenzo! ICE terror’s got to go!”

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, immigrated from Mexico 35 years ago and built a life in the U.S. He was a husband, father of three, and a construction worker. Lorenzo’s son, Ronaldo Salgado, spoke out on July 8, describing his father as a “hardworking family man” who “dedicated his life in the United States to give his family the American Dream.” Like many others before Salgado Araujo’s death, he and his family were robbed of that dream under the Trump administration’s racist mass deportation campaign.

Brooke Lynn, a member of BAIR, gave a powerful speech, stating “They lied to you and told you they were going after criminals, but they’re killing family men with no criminal record!” Lynn continued, “It’s criminal that we have two ‘democratic’ parties that both have failed our neighbors trying to live a better life.”

During the rally, a member of BAIR read the names of those who died at the hands of ICE. Included were those who died from neglect and maltreatment in detention, as well as those murdered by ICE in the streets.

The Billings Alliance for Immigrant Rights demands justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and all victims of ICE terror. BAIR will continue to fight for a sanctuary city in Billings, in order to limit ICE’s ability to operate in the city and prevent residents from being targeted for their immigration status.

To get involved in the fight, come to BAIR’s planning meetings, held every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the Billings Public Library large conference room. Follow BAIR on Facebook or Instagram @Billings_AIR to stay informed.

#BillingsMT #MT #ImmigrantRights #LorenzoSalgadoAraujo #BAIR