A migrant died after fleeing ICE agents in Florida, marking the third migrant death linked to the agency in fewer than 10 days and intensifying scrutiny of its enforcement tactics.
A migrant died after being struck by a truck while fleeing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an enforcement operation in St. Augustine, Florida, on Tuesday, becoming the third person to die in connection with ICE actions in fewer than 10 days.
RELATED: Petro Condemns Death of Colombian Citizen During ICE Operation
According to the Miami Herald, the man attempted to escape on foot before being hit by a truck on a nearby roadway. He died from his injuries at the scene.
Authorities have not released the man’s identity or disclosed his immigration status.
The incident comes as ICE faces growing scrutiny over its enforcement tactics. Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday that the agency had temporarily suspended traffic stops amid mounting criticism following a series of fatal incidents involving its officers.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Una publicación compartida por La Jornada (@lajornadaonline)
Text Reads: Man fleeing immigration agents in Florida dies after being hit by a truck, police say.
Three deaths, one pattern
The Florida case follows the fatal shootings of two Latino migrants during separate ICE operations in the past week.
On July 7, Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was shot and killed in Houston, Texas. Six days later, Colombian national Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 26, died after ICE agents opened fire during an attempted vehicle stop in Biddeford, Maine.
In both cases, the men were driving when ICE agents attempted to stop their vehicles.
ICE said Durán attempted to flee during the traffic stop and that an agent fired after determining he posed a threat to public safety. In Houston, the agency said Salgado struck a government vehicle, ignored repeated commands and attempted to run over an agent, prompting the officer to fire in self-defense.
However, lawmakers later confirmed that neither Salgado nor Durán had been the intended targets of the operations.
Democratic Representative Sylvia García said ICE’s acting director confirmed that Salgado was not the individual agents had been seeking in Houston. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), officers were monitoring a residence when they spotted a white pickup truck resembling vehicles previously associated with the location.
In Maine, Senator Angus King said that, after speaking with the Secretary of Homeland Security, he was informed that Durán had likewise not been the target of the operation.
ICE’s account of the Houston shooting has been challenged by the three known eyewitnesses—Salgado’s brother and two coworkers, who were traveling with him. According to their attorney, Hugo Balderas, they said Salgado never attempted to run over an agent and that the bullets entered through the sides of the pickup truck. The three men remain in immigration detention.
According to his family, Salgado had lived in the United States for 35 years, worked in construction and was in the process of regularizing his immigration status. He was the father of three children and was on his way to work when ICE intercepted the vehicle.
Durán, originally from Bucaramanga, Colombia, lived in Maine with his wife and their three-year-old daughter and held authorization to work in the United States. His father, Omar Durán, told Blu Radio that he worked mornings at a veterinary clinic and afternoons making deliveries.
Pressure mounts for independent investigations
The three deaths occurred as the administration of President Donald Trump intensified immigration enforcement across the United States.
According to The New York Times, ICE was instructed to assign more personnel to enforcement operations and to treat 2,000 arrests per day as the agency’s new operational benchmark.
Since Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, ICE agents have been involved in 29 incidents in which they fired on civilians, resulting in eight deaths, according to The Trace.
The succession of fatal incidents has prompted renewed calls for independent investigations and greater oversight of ICE operations.
Human Rights Watch called for a “timely, transparent and thorough” investigation into Durán’s death in Maine.
“ICE Out: Justice for Lorenzo and Joan” protest in Foley Square, New York. Photo. EFE
In Texas, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office opened a parallel investigation alongside the DHS inquiry after requests from activists, lawmakers and Salgado’s relatives. Prosecutors said federal authorities had not fully cooperated and that they had yet to receive the identities of the agents involved.
Mexico’s Foreign Ministry also announced legal action following the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals while in ICE custody or during ICE operations. The ministry said its consular network had begun filing complaints with state prosecutors and had requested the intervention of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.