Fresno Protesters Demand Accountability After Two Fatal ICE Shootings

Fresno joined nationwide protests July 25 demanding accountability after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents fatally shot two immigrants this month. The rally at Eaton Plaza was the second in two weeks, organized by the May 1st Coalition following the July 7 shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and the July 13 shooting death of 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine.

ICE said agents shot Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old business owner and longtime resident, when he attempted to run over an agent during a “targeted enforcement operation.” Days later, ICE said it suspected a plastic bag with a white substance found in his van was an illicit drug. Salgado Araujo’s family said it was salt used to hydrate workers from the heat.

“This worries us … because not only in Houston, but in other places, ICE can invent any reason or plant or invent evidence to protect the shooting deaths they commit,” said Leonel Flores Bustamante with the May 1st Coalition.

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Eleven people have been fatally shot by ICE agents during enforcement operations since Trump took office. At least 22 people have died while in ICE custody this year, following a record high 33 in 2025.

Fresno organizers also called on city leaders to end cooperation with federal immigration authorities. “We are here because these are not isolated incidents, but part of a broader pattern of harm experienced by immigrant communities,” Flores Bustamante said. “That’s why the Central Valley is standing in solidarity.”

The rally featured wooden crosses with the names of people who died at the hands of ICE agents. Participants lay down next to the crosses for about a minute. “We were able to get back up, but those individuals were not,” said Flores Bustamante.

Madera teacher Juan Avitia said he’s seeing fewer students in his classroom. “They don’t show up because of that rumor that the migra might show up or that ICE is out there,” said Avitia. “It sets back their education.”

The Breakdown

• The May 1st Coalition is supporting a petition by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) calling for an independent and transparent investigation of the Salgado Araujo shooting. The petition has more than 173,000 signatures.
• LULAC: “This is not the first time ICE has justified a shooting by claiming someone tried to run over officers, only for later evidence to prove that to be untrue.”
• Organizers are calling on Fresno city leaders to end cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

What This Means for You

The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies are a federal executive-branch decision. Locally, organizers are asking Fresno city leaders to end cooperation with ICE.

What You Can Do

The May 1st Coalition organized the rally — contact them about future actions or organizing efforts in Fresno.

What to Watch

Christina Gutiérrez called the ICE shootings “not just an immigration issue but a civil rights issue.” She’s right to frame it that way.

The question isn’t whether immigration enforcement happens — it’s whether the people doing it are killing people during routine operations, and whether anyone is held accountable when they do.

Eleven fatal shootings by ICE agents since Trump took office. At least 22 deaths in ICE custody this year. Those aren’t numbers you rack up by accident.

LULAC says ICE has a pattern of justifying shootings with claims that later prove untrue. If that’s the case, it means the agency tasked with enforcing immigration law is systematically lying to cover up killings.

The Salgado Araujo family says the “illicit drug” ICE found was salt for heat exhaustion. ICE says he tried to run over an agent.

One of those accounts is true. The other is a cover story. An independent investigation would settle which — assuming one ever happens.

Fresno organizers are asking city leaders to stop cooperating with ICE. That’s a real local decision with real stakes: whether Fresno helps ICE conduct operations here, or whether the city says no.

Watch whether Fresno’s elected officials respond to that demand, and how.