STATEMENT: Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid condemns ICE violence, calls on Congress to act

STATEMENT (Minneapolis, Minn.) — Steeped in casework, still recovering from the effects of the government’s surge in our own communities, we at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid are taking pause, to say this:

We condemn the senseless violence by ICE resulting in continued loss of life. We know this loss, too well, and we painfully, strongly lament the open disregard for the rule of law. We refuse to abandon tenets of justice that would have, should have prevented what we as a nation are again witnessing.

In Texas, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a devoted father and husband who spent 30 years doing hard, honest work on behalf of his family, and in Maine, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a young Colombian husband and father in the beginning of his life, are now the latest victims of a hate-filled, indiscriminate campaign against the very people to whom our nation has offered hope, refuge and dreams of a better life.

We do not accept that ICE efforts are making our communities safer. We call on Congress to exercise robust oversight of ICE and related federal agencies; to insist upon full, independent investigations into deaths, serious injuries, and allegations of misconduct; to demand transparency and cooperation from federal authorities; and to ensure accountability where wrongdoing is found.

We also urge Congress to reconsider and reject funding for enforcement practices that undermine due process, separate families, and erode trust in our institutions. Those responsible for unlawful conduct should be held accountable, and the dignity, safety, and legal rights of all people must be protected

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Media Contact:
Lisa Ramirez
Communications Director
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
lramirez@mylegalaid.org