Centro CSO stages vigil to decry latest killings of immigrants by immigration officers

Centro CSO members staged a vigil to decry the latest killings of immigrants by federal immigration officers during a vigil in Boyle Heights on Friday evening.

The candlelight event at dusk decried recent amped-up raids and arrests by federal agents and mourned the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado-Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. The group, according to its leaders, advocates for the rights of the undocumented, opposes law-enforcement abuse, rallies for quality public education and seeks social justice for Chicano people.

At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since President Donald Trump launched his immigration crackdown after returning to office, including 25-year-old Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national who was shot and killed last week while in his car near his home in the coastal Maine city of Biddeford.

Durán Guerrero was not the target of the enforcement operation, according to officials. The food delivery was authorized to work in the United States and had  a Social Security number, his supporters said.

Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security said Durán Guerrero’s vehicle “attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”

DHS hasn’t released the name of the officer who killed Durán Guerrero, but Associated Press reports allege that the officer had a history of violence and mental illness, according to family members. DHS officials defended the officer, saying them have “nearly a decade of federal law enforcement experience with required training including use of force training.”

The killing has sparked protests in Maine and elsewhere, with demonstrators alleging that officers are being hurriedly hired and poorly trained. Federal immigration officials have defended their practices and their hiring policies.

Earlier this month, an ICE officer killed Salgado Araujo, 52, as he was driving to a Houston construction job site with three co-workers, one of whom was his brother.

The shooting set off protests in the sprawling Texas city, echoing Salgado Araujo’s family’s calls for transparency in the shooting. The family described him as a hardworking father very close to obtaining legal status in the U.S. after living in the country for 35 years.

An earlier DHS statement accused Salgado Araujo of ramming his van into a law enforcement vehicle and said an officer opened fire in self-defense. The most recent statement from the U.S attorney’s office, however, didn’t mention any collision between Salgado Araujo’s van and a law enforcement vehicle. It also didn’t explicitly say that the officer feared for his life. There are no reported injuries for the officers involved.

The Associated Press contributed to this report