Washington, DC – Below is a column by Maribel Hastings from America’s Voice en Español translated to English from Spanish. It ran in several Spanish-language media outlets earlier this week:
The aftermath of the deaths of two Latino immigrants at the hands of ICE agents in Houston and Maine, respectively, continues to cast doubt on the official accounts provided by immigration authorities, and in the process illustrates why, even on the issue of immigration, Republicans seem to be losing ground to Democrats.
The violence of the Trump administration’s campaign of detentions and deportations reached one of its worst moments during operations in Minneapolis, when two U.S. citizens were also shot and killed by ICE agents in separate incidents. These individuals were not immigrants, and even their U.S. citizenship did not protect them from volatile, poorly trained agents whose focus on meeting arrest quotas leads them to trample on rights and cause deaths.
These events led the American public to label Trump’s immigration policy as excessive and overly violent. In the wake of the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, 65% of Americans believed that Trump’s immigration policy “goes too far.”
Now, the deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián exemplify these excesses, and the details that are emerging do not reflect well on immigration authorities.
In Salgado’s case, it was revealed that the substance found in his vehicle was not an illegal drug. Although Salgado was not wanted by law enforcement, the government claimed that a “substance” in his van—which could have been “methamphetamine”—justified the stop that culminated in his death.
CBS News reported that the office of Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Sean Teare stated, “We can confirm the substance found in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s van tested negative for narcotics / illicit drugs.” “We have notified Salgado Araujo’s family because we felt they had the right to know,” the statement said.
The question remains whether charges will be filed against the agents involved, who allege that Salgado used his van as a “weapon” and that is why they shot him. A judge ordered the release of one of the three passengers traveling with Salgado from an ICE detention center because he is a witness in an ongoing investigation.
In the case of the young Colombian man, Johan, it was reported that the agent who allegedly shot him had a history of violence—including against his two ex-wives—and yet still passed ICE training.
The AP reported that, according to family members, the agent “has a history of terrifying and violent behavior.” “They accuse him of attacking women in his life over the years, and one shared a voicemail with the AP from last winter in which he told her that he thought someone should slit her throat,” the news agency reported.
Border czar Tom Homan said on CNN that if that’s true, “I don’t think he should ever have cleared vetting.”
For Johan, it’s too late. The question is, once again, whether there will be accountability or whether the victim will be blamed for his own death.
A Fox News poll found that, for the first time, Democrats lead Republicans 50% to 49% on handling the immigration issue. Although it’s just a one-point lead, the Republican advantage on immigration was as high as eight points as recently as April, according to the poll.
Perhaps the excesses and violence of immigration policy are a factor, as it has deeply affected communities across the country when they lose a neighbor, a worker, or the caregiver for their parents or sick children—as is happening right now with Haitians who will lose their TPS and, with it, their work permits and protection from deportation.
In other words, the ripple effect of an arrest or deportation is not limited to the individual affected; it reverberates through families, friends, employers, the community, and the government itself, which loses tax revenue.
The same poll showed low approval ratings for Trump in various areas, particularly the economy, healthcare, inflation, income inequality, and foreign policy.
Against this complicated backdrop, Trump is invoking “election fraud” in an attempt to interfere with the elections.
Perhaps with less than 100 days to go before the midterm elections, voters have already seen through Trump.
The challenge for Democrats is to convince those disaffected voters that voting for them—rather than staying home—is the best option.
The original Spanish version is here.
