PLYMOUTH — A candlelight vigil to remember individuals killed by federal immigration officers will be held on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Plymouth Town Common and hosted by Central NH Indivisible, a local advocacy group that works to preserve democracy in New Hampshire.
Grace Garvey, co-founder of the organization, explained the vigil was prompted after the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shootings that occurred during immigration operations in Biddeford, Maine and Houston, Texas. A Colombian man identified as Johan Sebastian Guerrero, 25, was shot by an immigration officer after attempting to flee the scene; in Texas, a Mexican man named Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was killed while trying to evade arrest when ICE officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, according to reports by CNN.com.
“Our community is concerned about extraordinary actions taken by ICE officials, specifically that have resulted in the recent deaths of two males who were not even the focus of their investigations. This vigil is being held to honor all of those detainees and those who have been killed by ICE, and also to honor their families,” Garvey said.
The two recent shootings ride on the coattails of the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were both shot by ICE officials during separate immigration operations in Minneapolis in January.
An article by the New York Times noted there have been 23 shootings — both fatal and non-fatal — involving immigration officers since President Donald Trump retook office, and includes data as far back as January 2025.
The shootings listed as fatal were:
- Johan Sebastian Guerrero, Biddeford, Maine in July
- Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Houston, Texas, in July
- Alex Jeffrey Pretti, Minneapolis in January
- Renee Good, Minneapolis, in January
- Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez in Franklin Park, Illinois in September 2025
- Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island, Texas, in March 2025
The shootings listed as non-fatal were:
- Clemente Lara-Hernandez in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in July
- Eduardo Cruz Garcia in Manahawkin, New Jersey in June
- Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, Patterson, California in April
- William Eduardo Moran Carballo, Los Angeles, California in January
- Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, Minneapolis in January
- Luis Nino-Moncada, and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, both in Portland, Oregon in January
- Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, Glen Burnie, Maryland in December 2025
- Juan Carlos Rodriguez Romero, St. Paul, Minnesota in December 2025
- Justin Bryant Nelson, Washington, D.C. in November 2025
- Carlos Jimenez, Ontario, California in October 2025
- Jose Garcia-Sorto, Tempe, Arizona in October 2025
- Carlitos Ricardo Parias, Los Angeles, California in October 2025
- Phillip M. Brown, Washington, D.C. in October 2025
- Marimar Martinez, Chicago, Illinois in October 2025
- Francisco Longoria, San Bernardino, California in August 2025
- Jose Mendez-Chavez, Colorado Springs in July 2025.
Garvey continued that she thinks visibility breeds awareness, and that these kinds of events “allow the issues that our nation is facing to be front and center (and) visible, so that people are aware that community members are distraught at the things going on at the national level, specifically in this case some of ICE’s actions.”
“We’re worried that things that the federal government is doing are getting swept under the rug and kept secretive, particularly around detainees, and this is just a way to keep the issues front and center for the general public,” she said.
According to the latest data from the National Immigration Project, there have been 53 deaths that occurred while a person was officially detained by ICE during the latest Trump administration, with 22 in 2026 (so far) and 31 in 2025. The group is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members that “litigates, advocates, educates, and builds bridges across movements to ensure that those who are impacted by our immigration and criminal legal systems are uplifted and supported,” per its website.
Citizens Bank recently decided to end its financial relationship with CoreCivic and GEO Group (which are companies that build and operate detention centers for ICE) after facing months of continuous backlash from the public and advocacy groups around the country. The announcement came a day before 80 protests were planned outside its branches.
Per data from the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition, the bank previously helped the two companies access more than $2.5 billion in financing, including $100 million in January 2026.
In a public statement, the bank said it was a business decision based on changed commercial circumstances and “does not reflect any change in our view regarding these companies’ business models or operations.”
In wake of the two most recent shootings, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined other senators in calling for stronger accountability measures for ICE officers.
The letter read in part: “The tragic deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero occurred less than a week apart and carry startling similarities. In both incidents, the individuals were killed in enforcement actions in which they were not the intended targets. Furthermore, both individuals were shot by DHS officials while inside a vehicle. The unnecessary loss of life in these incidents demands immediate, thorough, independent, and transparent investigations (including the full involvement of local and state law enforcement personnel) along with a comprehensive examination of enforcement protocols, training, and operational approaches necessary to prevent such tragedies.”
The letter was also signed by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and John Fetterman (D-PA).