1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was a father of three who lived in the United States for 35 years. But as a result of the absurd arrest quotas and out-of-control ICE practices created by the Trump administration’s mass detention coalition, he was killed by ICE agents while on his way to work. Days later, ICE agents shot and killed 26-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. His wife and 3-year-old daughter watched in horror as he took his last breaths. We’ve seen ICE agents kill people in our streets with no accountability or justice – including Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. ICE has previously released statements that directly contradict eyewitness and video evidence. Now, ICE is asking the public to look away once again as this expansive secret police force kills more of our neighbors. ICE must stop flooding our communities with its reckless agents. We need Congress to act. This violence is the heartbreaking but foreseeable outcome of an out-of-control agency getting a nearly unlimited budget from Congress without any guardrails or reforms – especially in combination with arbitrary and unprecedented arrest quotas. Rather than de-escalate after the killings in Minnesota this January, ICE has received more funding, expanded its operations, and sent more reckless agents into our streets. I urge you to pressure Secretary Mullin to draw down ICE agents from their nationwide arrest surge, end the immigration arrest quotas, and commit to real reforms. Furthermore, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must not stand in the way of a full and independent review of Mr. Salgado Araujo and Mr. Durán Guerrero's killings – including access to the full evidence for local investigators, preservation and access to body camera footage, and recurring, regular updates on the status of the DHS Office of the Inspector General's investigation.