Four Killed by ICE Agents Across U.S. Within One Year, Sparking Outrage
Four people have died in shootings involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since January 2026, including two Mexican and Colombian nationals and two American citizens, raising serious questions about use of lethal force.
Four Killed by ICE Agents Across U.S. Within One Year, Sparking Outrage
Four individuals have lost their lives in fatal shootings carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel since the start of 2026, according to reporting by CNN.
The most recent casualties occurred within days of each other in early July. On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national who had resided in Texas for 35 years, was gunned down in Houston during what ICE described as a targeted enforcement action. The agency stated that Araujo attempted to flee and used his vehicle as a weapon against officers, prompting an agent to open fire in self-defense. However, legal representatives for passengers in his van dispute this account, and no video footage of the shooting has been made public. Democratic Representative Matt Little noted that the agents involved were not wearing body cameras.
Less than a week later, on July 13, Juan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian husband and father, was shot dead in Biddeford, Maine, while local police conducted a traffic stop alongside federal immigration officers. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement approximately 12 hours after the incident, claiming the agent fired out of concern for public safety as the victim allegedly tried to leave the scene. Senator Angus King's office later confirmed that Guerrero was not the intended target of the immigration operation. The Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition stated that he possessed a valid work permit and had been issued a Social Security number.
The two earlier fatalities involved U.S. citizens. On January 7, Renee Gound, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot inside her SUV in Minneapolis while participating in demonstrations against immigration enforcement operations known as "Operation Metro Surge." An ICE officer standing in front of her vehicle drew his weapon and fired at least three rounds into the car as she began to move, killing her.
Seventeen days afterward, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse who cared for veterans, was shot and killed in Minnesota by federal immigration agents. Video footage showed Pretti attempting to assist a woman who had been pushed to the ground by an ICE officer during a physical confrontation. He ended up on the ground himself before at least two agents opened fire. A video also captured an officer removing a handgun from Pretti's waistband minutes before he was killed.
The string of deadly encounters has intensified calls from demonstrators demanding the abolition of ICE, as the agency's aggressive enforcement tactics under the Trump administration continue to generate controversy and legal scrutiny across multiple states.
In a separate incident on January 8 in Portland, Oregon, a Border Patrol agent shot two individuals during a traffic stop. Authorities alleged the occupants had connections to a Venezuelan gang. The driver, Luis David Nino-Moncada, was charged with assaulting a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Source: In.gr