Fresno activists respond to ICE suspending vehicle stops in wake of shootings
Fresno immigrant activists said that ICE being ordered to temporarily suspend vehicle stops after two deadly shootings by its agents in Texas and Maine provides a “small breath” of relief. But it’s no reason to stop being vigilant of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the Valley, they say.
Alfred Aldrete of Fresno Resistance said the pause of vehicle stops by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is a “tactical retreat“ by an agency “that has spent decades dehumanizing our people.”
“The cessation of vehicle stops does not undo the courthouse kidnappings. It does not unchain the workers rounded up at dawn. It does not return the neighbors who vanished in the middle of the night,” Aldrete said.
On Monday, an ICE agent fatally shot 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, a Colombian national, during an immigration enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine. Guerrero’s shooting took place less than a week of that of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, on July 7 in Houston.
Both fatal shootings happened when ICE agents tried to stop their vehicles, according to the DHS.
The Fresno Bee reached out to DHS about the agency halting vehicle stops after fatal shootings. “We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets,” an ICE spokesperson said. “We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics.”
Both shootings have been met with protests.
The Fresno May First Coalition held a vigil and protest Friday in front of the Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse in downtown despite triple-digit heat. Participants called for justice for Salgado Araujo, transparency, accountability and suspension of DHS and ICE operations.
“This tragedy raises serious questions about the conduct of federal immigration enforcement operations and the use of lethal force,” Leonel Flores, the coalition coordinator, said in a statement.
Organizers said that while Salgado Araujo was one of the latest fatal shooting victims of ICE, the question arises: Who will it be tomorrow? Three days after the vigil, Duran Guerrero became the next one killed.
On Tuesday, a 28-year-old Mexican man died in fatal traffic accident in Florida following an encounter with ICE and DHS Investigations agents in St. Augustine. His was the third ICE-involved death in a week.
“No family should be left without information, accountability or justice following a fatal law enforcement operation,” Lourdes Medina, a member of the Fresno May First Coalition, said in a statement.
Last year, an immigration crackdown in Kern County detained farmworkers on their way to work. ICE arrests in Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley rose 58% in early 2025, with 1,156 regional arrests and at least 516 deportations across six counties.
A coalition of Central Valley advocacy groups including Fresno Resistance is organizing a vigil, rally and press conference Friday at 6 p.m. outside the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office location at 733 L St. in Fresno.
“This small breath fuels our long fight. We will not rest until every detention center is shut down; every deportation flight is grounded and every agent is stripped of the power to destroy families,” Aldrete said.
This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Fresno activists respond to ICE suspending vehicle stops in wake of shootings."
