Statement on ICE and BORDER CONTROl Killings in the U.S.A.

AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION (AHRC) — STATEMENT - January 26, 2026

When a civil immigration system starts leaving bodies in the streets, something has gone catastrophically wrong. It is enough!

African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC) extends heartfelt condolences to families, friends, colleagues, and communities grieving loved ones, and also mourns the lives taken and shattered by recent ICE and Border Patrol operations in Minnesota and across the United States. We stand in solidarity with all those protesting peacefully for dignity, due process, and the basic principle that no government agency is above the law.

We are alarmed by the growing pattern of militarized enforcement tactics, masked operations, aggressive street encounters, and coercive raids that are producing preventable injuries and deaths and driving fear deep into communities.

We are also disturbed by reports of children being detained, separated, and swept into systems that too often treat family unity as collateral damage rather than a legal and moral imperative.

Names of people shot (killed and injured) tied to ICE/Border Patrol actions in the past year (as publicly reported):

Killed

• Alex J. Pretti (Minneapolis, MN) — fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent (Jan. 24, 2026).

• Renee Nicole Good (Minneapolis, MN) — fatally shot by an ICE agent (Jan. 7, 2026).

• Keith Porter Jr. (Los Angeles/Northridge area, CA) — fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve 2025 (Dec. 31, 2025).

• Silverio Villegas-González (Franklin Park, IL) — fatally shot by an ICE agent during an attempted arrest (Sept. 12, 2025).
  

Injured (shot and survived)

• Marimar Martinez (Chicago, IL) — shot multiple times by a Border Patrol agent during an Oct. 4, 2025 incident; later reporting highlighted texts appearing to show the agent boasting about the shooting.
  

Not publicly named in available reporting:

• Reporting also describes a 31-year-old Mexican citizen killed in December 2025 near Rio Grande City/Starr County, Texas, but notes the person was not publicly identified in the official account referenced.
  

AHRC condemns these acts of violence and calls for:

• Immediate, independent investigations into all shootings and serious injuries involving ICE and CBP/Border Patrol, with public release of findings and relevant video where legally permissible.

• A moratorium on militarized raids and street “surge” operations that predictably escalate into violence.

• Full protection of children and families, including strict limits on child detention, guaranteed access to counsel, and transparent family unity safeguards consistent with U.S. and international human rights obligations.

• Congressional oversight and enforceable detention-health standards, including independent medical monitoring and prompt prescription and emergency care access.

• An immediate end to racial, ethnic, and accent profiling, warrantless detentions, street abductions, door-to-door hunts, and forced entries into homes by immigration enforcement, except in cases involving clearly identified violent criminal suspects and a valid judicial warrant.

• An immediate ban on immigration enforcement actions based on skin color, language, or accent, including prohibiting agents from demanding proof of citizenship or immigration status without a judicial warrant or probable cause tied to a specific, individualized investigation.

• Arresting/ Detaining Officers must be named and unmasked.
  

Detention deaths that we know:

Multiple outlets and watchdog reporting indicate that 2025 saw at least 36–53 deaths in ICE custody, described as the highest level in roughly two decades all on Secretary Kristi Noem’s watch,” and emphasized deteriorating medical care and oversight.

Melanie Nathan, African Human Rights Coalition's Executive Director Notes: “What we are witnessing is the lawlessness of a campaign of intimidation that is leaving families traumatized, children detained, and communities in mourning. The federal government has a legal and moral obligation to end racial and accent profiling, halt warrantless detentions and home raids, and stop treating immigration status as a pretext for violence. Until these abuses are stopped and real accountability is imposed, African Human Rights Coalition will continue to stand with impacted communities and demand justice for every life harmed or lost.” AHRC urges leaders at every level to choose de-escalation, transparency, and the rule of law. Immigration enforcement is a civil function and it must never resemble a roving, unaccountable use of force. We call on Congress to fully investigate these incidents, protect refugees, asylum seekers, children, families, all Immigrants and American citizens - and impose enforceable safeguards so that no more lives are lost to reckless practices and impunity, so that terrorized communities can return to work and school. Ultimately we call for common sense family reunification based Immigration reform. It is time... Contact: Melanie Nathan commissionermnthan@gmail.com Executive Director

African Human Rights Coalition