Image by Peg Hunter
We are heartbroken and deeply saddened by the unjust killings of Johan Sebastian Guerrero, 26, who was fatally shot by ICE in Maine July 13th, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, who was shot in Texas on July 7, 2026.
Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family, friends, and communities of Johan Sebastian Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo as they navigate these devastating losses. Guerrero was a hardworking and devoted father of a 3-year-old daughter, and Salgado was a loving husband, father of 3, and a valuable member of his community.
Unlike the ICE killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, the video footage of Araujo’s death has not been released and has not received the same public attention or media coverage.
| We uplift the demands from the families and leaders in Houston and Maine and urge you to contact your Member of Congress. They are calling for: 1. A full and independent investigation into Lorenzo’s and Johan’s killing. 2. The immediate release of the three men detained with Lorenzo, including his brother, and protection for all witnesses from intimidation, coercion, or deportation. 3. An end to local collaboration with ICE in EVERY city and state they occupy. |
Our faith traditions say, Do not kill and take the life of another. Our faiths cherish peace, calling us to resist the empire and care for the vulnerable. Across our faith traditions, we share a common moral vision: Every human is sacred and deserves to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect. Every family should not have to live in trauma stemming from needless and preventable violence. We are called to support one another, grieve together, and resist systems that devalue human life. No family should have to face such a tragedy. We believe that community and moral courage are more powerful than fear. We reject the normalization of war, state violence, surveillance, deportation, and detention as tools of social control — in our neighborhoods, at our borders, and across the world.
Since the beginning of Trump’s 2nd term, there have been at least 21 shootings, 10 of them fatal. This horrific moment recalls a very similar incident on April 7 of this year, in the Central Valley of California, when ICE officers shot Carlos Ivan Mendoza, a member of the Modesto community, leaving him critically injured with seven bullets lodged in his body. Today Carlos is being imprisoned in California City, facing federal charges, with three bullets still remaining in his body. Last week, a team of IM4HI volunteers were able to visit Carlos in the CoreCivic detention center across a glass window pane, since contact visits are prohibited at the California City facility.
Despite this layer of separation, volunteers were touched by his deep warmth, kindness and sense of faith, even while suffering excruciating pain due to the facility’s widespread medical neglect. Carlos had heard about Lorenzo Salgado’s killing from inside California City that same day. He shared his belief that God granted him the opportunity to live so he could be a witness to the injustice of detention and work to make the world better by helping others facing criminalization.
As we stand with Houstonians fighting for justice for Lorenzo and community members in Maine outraged by the latest shooting, join us here in California in supporting Carlos as he continues to be persecuted and prosecuted by the federal government. Please join us at his next federal court hearing in Sacramento, July 27th, at 9:00 am to support him and his family. To get more information about this court hearing, join the Faith Signal group to support Carlos.
We commit to leading with love, hope, and community, and must not allow indiscriminate ICE killings and detentions to continue. The IM4HI staff, board and community refuses to look away, to accept excuses, or to sanitize our language. ICE and Border Patrol are fascist, para-military forces committing acts of harm and evil in our country.
Please collectively pray. We pass along this Litany of Confession for Araujo, written by Texas pastor Rev. Dan de Leon, which we’ve placed here.
We acknowledge, honor and pray for the many others who have lost their lives due to ICE and Police violence: Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Renee Nicole Good, Keith Porter Jr., Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, Ruben Ray Martinez, Eric Gardner, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor.
We remember their lives, pay tribute to their families, and stand in solidarity with the communities as they bear the burden of these losses. May their lives not be forgotten. This vicious cycle of violence must come to an end and we say, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”
The IM4HI staff, board and community urge the following demands:
- Defund ICE: We demand accountability and transparency for their deaths and urge ICE agents and officials to stop participating in the persecution of our communities. We call on our elected leaders to act with compassion, courage and urgency.
- Invest in Community Care: True safety does not come from intimidation or force—it comes from communities that look after one another and practice mutual care.
- Show up in solidarity with one another: Vigils, gatherings and collective witness affirm to those most impacted that their lives matter and their experiences are seen. Visibility breaks through the normalization of state violence to raise awareness about the human cost of immigration enforcement.
In solidarity, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity