By ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org
PLYMOUTH — About a dozen community members rallied at Plymouth Town Common on Friday evening for a candlelight vigil to honor the individuals killed during federal immigration operations around the country.
The vigil was hosted by Central NH Indivisible, a community organization that works to preserve democracy through peaceful demonstrations, per its website. The vigil was prompted by the two recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shootings in Biddeford, Maine and Houston, Texas where a Colombian man identified as Johan Sebastian Guerrero, 25, and a Mexican man named Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, were killed by immigration officers during separate incidents.
“We think that there are many likeminded people who appreciate that ICE has a job, but that they need to do the job with respect for humanity, and within the bounds of laws and regulations. We feel like that’s not happening at times… Immigration has been messy over the decades, but this isn’t the way to handle it; with a disdain for humanity,” Grace Garvey, co-founder of Central NH Indivisible said.
According to a report from the New York Times there have been 23 shootings — six of them fatal — involving immigration officers since President Donald Trump retook office, and includes data as far back as January 2025. Meanwhile, data from the National Immigration Project shows 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.
Attendee Candace Morrison said she was there to be a voice for immigrants and for those that are being harassed and not given a chance in life. “I believe all people are entitled to a chance.”
“People die, and that’s just a part of life; but when people are killed, that’s a whole other thing,” attendee Peter Davies said.
When asked what kind of impact he hoped to make in his local community, Davies said: “Raise awareness is the big thing, and generate conversations. I think one thing that’s the problem in today’s world is that we live in echo chambers, and we only talk to people who are like us. I really want to talk to people who are conservative, Make America Great Again (MAGA) Republicans, and not hate on them (and) not let them hate on me. But it’s like, ‘let’s just talk about it.’”
Attendee George Maloof said about why he attended, “Well, just look at what’s happening to the immigrants (in our country). They’re being dragged off the streets; they’re being shot down in cold blood. Why wouldn’t I be out here? It’s a question of humanity.”
“Humanity is not negotiable,” Maloof said.
Debby Hamolsky, who lives in San Francisco and is spending time in the area, said it was super heartening to attend the vigil with local community members. She called it “critical work that’s happening across the country, in terms of supporting immigrants in the face of horrendous hostility and concentration camp-level assaults.”
Hamolsky added that she also does activism work in support of immigrants back in San Francisco, and that “to see and feel the ripples of this around the country makes me more hopeful.”
Attendee Ellen Broderick explained how participating in the vigil helped bring a splash of positivity to what’s going on at the federal level with immigration operations.
“When we’re at home alone and you get this news, it’s difficult, and coming down (and) being a part of a group, having so many people driving by and responding so positively, it’s a bit uplifting in these rather difficult times,” Broderick said.