![\"\"](\"https:\/\/americancommunitymedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07-25-26-ICE-PROTEST-leonel-1K5A4131.jpg\")
<\/a>Leonel Flores Bustamante, a leader with the May 1st Coalition, is calling for a transparent and independent investigation into the July 7 shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement action in Houston. (Credit Juan Esparza)<\/p>\nFlores Bustamante said the rally, the second in two weeks held in Fresno, was to \u201chonor the lives\u201d of the victims of ICE violence. \u201cWe are here because these are not isolated incidents, but part of a broader pattern of harm experienced by immigrant communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
There have been 11 people fatally shot by ICE agents<\/a> during enforcement operations since Trump took office. At least 22 people have died while in ICE custody<\/a> this year, following a record high 33 in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here because these are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of harm experienced by immigrant communities,\u201d said Flores Bustamante. \u201cThat\u2019s why the Central Valley is standing in solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s rally at Eaton Plaza featured wooden crosses with the names of people who died at the hands of ICE agents. Participants were asked to lay down next to the crosses for about a minute.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were able to get back up, but those individuals were not,\u201d said Flores Bustamante. \u201cImmigration enforcement should never result in the loss of life. Communities deserve to know how their tax dollars are being used and must feel confident that those entrusted with enforcing the law are held to the highest standards of accountability.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies should not have to fear that a loved one will not return home because of an immigration enforcement operation, much less due to loss of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Fresno is located in the San Joaqu\u00edn Valley, where agriculture depends heavily on undocumented labor. Communities here say they stand united with immigrants across the country at a moment when many feel they are under attack.<\/p>\n The May 1st Coalition is supporting a petition by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) calling for an independent and transparent investigation of the shooting of Salgado Araujo. The petition<\/a> has more than 173,000 signatures.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the first time ICE has justified a shooting by claiming someone tried to run over officers, only for later evidence to prove that to be untrue,\u201d said LULAC in a statement.<\/p>\n Christina Guti\u00e9rrez called the ICE shootings \u201cnot just an immigration issue but a civil rights issue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not the kind of nation I want my children to grow up in. This is not the justice we were promised,\u201d said Guti\u00e9rrez. \u201cFamilies are being torn apart because they are living in fear, and communities are under attack.\u201d<\/p>\n Guti\u00e9rrez said the immigrant community \u201cdeserves to feel safe (and) deserve leaders and policies that respect humanity, dignity and protect families instead of tearing them apart.\u201d<\/p>\n Madera teacher Juan Avitia said he is seeing the impact of harsh ICE enforcement actions in fewer students showing up in his classroom.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t show up because of that rumor that the migra might show up or that ICE is out there,\u201d said Avitia. \u201cIt sets back their education.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>Participants in a July 25, 2026 rally against fatal enforcement operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ageants lay next to crosses bearing the names of some who were killed.<\/p>\n