Jacksonville, FL – On July 16, the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) answered the call for a national week of action set by the Legalization for All Network to demand justice for Lorenzo Salgado-Araujo, a 52 year-old Mexican father who was shot and killed by ICE on July 7 in Houston, Texas. JIRA also called for “Hands off Nadia Topete,” a 21-year-old Chicana immigrant rights activist with Centro Community Service Organization in Los Angeles, who was targeted and subpoenaed by the FBI for her organizing work.
The action happened in the wake of an increase of ICE activity in the area and just days after Juan Jario Carasquillo Durán, a local 28-year-old Mexican immigrant, was struck and killed by a semi truck while crossing a highway fleeing from ICE in Saint Augustine, a city only around 40 minutes away from Jacksonville.
Durán’s death marked the third death in the past week during an ICE interaction, with the second death being Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian father and husband who was shot and killed in front of his wife and daughter in Maine.
Around 100 local activists and community members gathered to demand justice for the victims. Organizations such as the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, and 50501 Vets were among several groups that spoke. Signs held at the rally said, “ICE out of our community,” “Hands off Nadia Topete” and “Florida will melt ICE.”
“We can’t just let a member of our community pass away and not have anything to say about it,” said a member of the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, “We can’t just stand by and watch as our other community members for weeks have been terrorized, scared to even leave their own homes to go to their jobs.”
JIRA continues to stand in solidarity with the families of the victims as they fight for justice for their loved ones and advocate for the rights of immigrants in Jacksonville through know your rights initiatives, demanding an end to the cruelty camps, and demanding an end to the 287(g) agreement, which allows local law enforcement to act as ICE.
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