Tampa rallies to denounce ICE killings and support for immigrant rights activist Nadia Topete

Tampa, FL – Some 50 people gathered in front of Tampa City Hall, Sunday, July 19, to honor the three lives recently stolen from their families and communities by ICE murderers. The protest was organized by the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee (TampaIRC) as a part of the Legalization for All national week of action.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo from Houston, Texas, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero, from Maine, were gunned down when they were stopped by ICE in their vehicles. ICE claimed both men weaponized their vehicles – the same justification utilized when immigration enforcement killed Renee Good in Minneapolis in January. Videos that surfaced in all three cases contradicted the agency’s account. The other person killed was Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran, a tourist from Mexico, who was hit by a semi-truck as he ran away from ICE in St. Augustine, Florida.

No ICE agent has been arrested for their deaths.

Protesters chanted, “No Trump, no KKK, no racist USA,” “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here” and, “When immigrants are under attack what do we do? Stand up fight back!”

Attention was also drawn to the grand jury investigation of Los Angeles-based immigrant rights activist 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. She was called to appear before a grand jury where she exercised her right to stay silent.

Alvaro Montealegre, member of TIRC said, “it is clear she is facing repression for demanding justice for our immigrant and undocumented community members. We all stand in solidarity with Nadia and everyone facing repression for protecting the rights of immigrants. Today it’s Nadia; tomorrow it could be any one of us.”

The chair of the Tampa Immigrants’ Rights Committee, said, “it’s not enough to simply get rid of ICE. What we need is legalization for all. Because, before ICE, there was the Immigration and Naturalization Services, the INS, which was restructured into ICE. The violent tactics that we see from ICE existed long before ICE. We need legalization for all. Legalization for all would mean that immigrants would not be criminalized regardless of documentation status, without the need to give up the citizenship of their country of origin. We need to remove the basis that criminalizes us immigrants to begin with. If no one can ever be illegal on U.S. soil, there would be no need for ICE, Border Patrol, 287(g) agreements or whatever else the federal and state governments cook up.”

Before an enthusiastic crowd, they ended with the chant, “What do we want? Legalization! When do we want it? Now!”

The rally ended just in time, as heavy rain began to fall.

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