The Florida Democratic Party is demanding a full independent investigation into the death of a man who was killed by a tractor-trailer after trying to flee an encounter with federal immigration authorities in St. Augustine.
Nikki Fried, Chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, issued the following statement:
“This is the latest consequence of a campaign of fear that is terrorizing communities and putting lives at risk. Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, and Florida Republicans have empowered [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to operate without transparency, accountability, or respect for human life. ICE must be held accountable, and this cruelty must end."
"The Florida Democratic Party mourns this tragic loss and demands a full, independent investigation," she said.
The 28-year-old Mexican man who died in St. Augustine was one of four others in a vehicle that was stopped in the parking lot of a gas station and convenience store before 7 a.m.
It is the third death nationwide following an ICE encounter in a week.
Colombian father Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, was shot and killed in a vehicle on July 13, in Biddeford, Maine. His father said Guerrero worked two jobs to support his wife and 3-year-old daughter as reported by The New York Times. Guerrero was authorized to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number, according to the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.
On July 7 a 52-year-old Mexican father of three was shot and killed by an ICE agent during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was a business owner who had lived in the United States for three decades. His sons said their father was “most likely months away from obtaining a work permit after submitting fingerprints to immigration officials,” as reported by The New York Times.
In both of those cases, ICE later reported that the men were not the intended targets of federal agents.
Since their deaths, several civil rights groups and immigrant advocacy groups have condemned ICE.
The Florida Immigrant Coalition blames the deaths on the Trump administration's aggressive deportation policies.
“When federal agents descend on communities and initiate encounters that spark panic and fear, people run,” said Adriana Rivera, Communications Director with the Florida Immigrant Coalition, in a statement. “They run because they are afraid. They run because they know that an encounter with ICE can mean kidnapping, inhumane detention, family separation, deportation, or death.”
Keisha Mulfort, Deputy Executive Director and Strategy Officer of the ACLU of Florida, said ICE agents need to be reined in.
“When people are dying because they are afraid — afraid of a traffic stop, afraid of a gas station, afraid of driving to work — we are no longer talking about immigration enforcement,” said Mulfort in a statement. “Get ICE off our streets. Our communities are safer, and our neighbors are safer, without them.”
The Americans for Immigrant Justice is also calling for a full investigation into their deaths.
The 50501 movement — a progressive group whose name stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement — said that the deaths were “the result of grotesque policies and the actions of evil people.”
“We cannot become desensitized,” said 50501 spokesman and Orlando-based organizer Corey Hill in a statement. “We cannot allow the murder and kidnapping of our friends, family, and neighbors to continue. We are listening closely to the demands of the families, as well as organizers on the ground across the country, to align our demands with theirs.”
