Nine deaths tied to Trump’s immigration duties in the US | Immigration Issues

The fatal shooting of a truck driver by an immigration agent in Maine on Monday is the latest in the death toll of U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportations. At least nine people have died during immigration enforcement since Trump returned to office.

The government’s case has been repeatedly contradicted by witnesses, family members and, in some cases, video evidence.

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Here are the stories of people who have been involved in police shootings, highway collisions, and deadly crashes during the refugee influx.

July 13 shooting in Biddeford, Maine

Immigration agent shot dead driver in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday after authorities say he used his car to fight off officers while trying to arrest him.

Senator Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the man had “turned” his car against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, prompting the officer to shoot him.

However, witnesses denied the incident, saying that the man’s car was moving slowly in circles and seemed to want to hit the police.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting, while the Maine State Police are assisting the attorney general’s office, the medical examiner’s office and local authorities.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

An immigration officer was shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo – A Mexican citizen who, his family said, has been trying to become legal in the U.S. – during a security checkpoint in Houston, Texas, on July 7 after authorities say he tried to evade arrest. He died on the way to the hospital.

The Department of Homeland Security said Araujo underwent the operation because he was living in the country without legal permission, and he ignored the law and tried to drive his car to the agent who fired in self-defense. His son told Spanish television station Telemundo Houston that Salgado Araujo was looking for construction workers when he was shot.

The shooting prompted calls from immigrant rights groups and Democratic lawmakers for an independent investigation. In the past few years of immigration killings, videos have contradicted government accounts, although no immigration officers have been charged in the cases.

After the death of Salgado Araujo, Mexico said it will ask the US government to act open criminal investigations on the death of its citizens in immigration enforcement.

Ruben Ray Martinez

A government agent was shot Ruben Ray Martineza 23-year-old United States citizen, during an immigration enforcement operation in South Padre Island, Texas, in March 2025, after police stopped his car late at night. He died in the hospital.

Documents about the shooting were not released until nearly a year after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the watchdog group American Oversight.

Homeland Security officials said Martinez refused orders to get out of the vehicle and instead “chased” the agent, prompting another officer to shoot through the driver’s side window.

Family members said Martinez was traveling from San Antonio to South Padre Island with his best friend to celebrate his 23rd birthday, and later said he had been trying to follow police directions when he was shot.

Martinez’s mother said Texas Rangers investigators told her the video conflicted with prosecutors’ account, though authorities declined to comment on the alleged conflict.

Alex Pretty

Border Patrol Chief shot dead Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a US citizen, during a protest against immigration services at the Metro Surge in Minneapolis on January 24. His family said he joined the protest against the Trump administration’s violations.

Authorities initially described Pretti as a militant who threatened police. But recent video and sworn witness statements contradict that account, showing Pretti on the ground holding a cell phone during the encounter. The footage appeared to show one officer removing a gun from Pretti’s waistband before another officer opened fire. Pretti had a permit to carry a gun.

State and local officials, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have denied the state’s role in the shooting, with Walz calling the comments “disgusting”.

The killing of Pretti, along with Renee Good a few weeks earlier, has led to a congressional investigation, while lawmakers are pressing ICE officials and the Department of Homeland Security on the use of force, training, body cameras, and whether the growing spread is becoming unclear to the police.

Renee Good

An ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good, a US citizen who authorities said was to be a legal observer at an anti-terrorist protest in Minneapolis on January 7.

Video of the shooting showed Good turning the wheels of his car away from the officer, Jonathan Ross, as he opened fire. Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended the shooting, saying the soldier’s life was in danger from a moving vehicle.

Good’s death sparked protests across the country. The United States Department of Justice has refused to share details of the shooting with federal authorities, and state and local officials have sued in an attempt to halt the immigration sweep. During the subsequent demonstrations, the police deployed tear gas and other weapons to infuriate the protesters.

Silverio Villegas Gonzalez

An immigration agent shot Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a 38-year-old line cook from Mexico, in a Chicago parking lot on Sept. 12, after the man dropped off a child at a daycare that morning, according to family members.

The Department of Homeland Security said agents were tracking an illegal immigrant who had a history of reckless driving, and that Villegas Gonzalez allegedly tried to elude arrest, dragging a trooper with his car.

The department said the officer opened fire, fearing to be killed, and was hospitalized with “serious injuries”. Local police video later showed the assistant walking and described his injuries as “nothing serious”. The shooting remains under investigation.

Jaime Alanis

A 57-year-old man from Mexico he died when he fell about 9 feet (30 meters) from the roof of a greenhouse during the raid by immigration agents on two marijuana farms in Southern California on July 10, where authorities arrested about 200 workers. Jaime Alanis died at the hospital two days later.

Relatives said Alanis spent a decade picking tomatoes at Glass House Farms in Camarillo and called her family while hiding from immigration officials. He later learned that he had been hospitalized with serious injuries.

The Department of Homeland Security said Alanis was not arrested and was not being deported by law enforcement.

Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez

Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old man from Guatemala, died after being hit by an SUV while trying to cross a freeway in southern California on August 14.

Police in Monrovia, northeast of Los Angeles, said immigration officers were conducting an operation outside a Home Depot store when Montoya Valdez ran eastbound on Interstate 210 and was hit by a car. He died in the hospital.

The Department of Homeland Security said he was not being followed by law enforcement while he was running.

Joshua Castro Rivera

A 24-year-old Honduran man was killed when he was hit by a pickup truck while trying to cross a highway at an immigration stop in Norfolk, Virginia, on October 23.

Josue Castro Rivera was on his way to work in the garden with three people when immigration officers stopped their car, according to his brother, Henry Castro. State and local authorities said he fled on foot before being hit on Interstate 264.

The Department of Homeland Security said the vehicle was stopped as part of an “intelligent, intelligence operation” and that Castro Rivera “defiantly resisted and fled”.