Little Village activists hold vigil for victims killed in ICE operations

CHICAGO - Immigrants rights activists in Little Village held a candlelight vigil for victims killed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations on Wednesday night.

The backstory:

The vigil was held at the historic mural and was originally planned to honor a man fatally shot by ICE in Texas.

Then days later, a young father was shot and killed by ICE in Maine.

Chicago-area immigrant rights advocates are mobilizing in their memory.

Demonstrators held candles for all victims and said they are demanding justice, that ICE should be abolished and pushed for legalization for all. 

The shooting deaths of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine brought people to this place in Little Village. Both were fathers.

Both were killed during immigration enforcement operations involving traffic stops.

What they're saying:

The violence brings back the memory of Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, killed last September in Franklin Park. He was a father of young children, too.

Activists are calling on neighbors to continue to be vigilant, even though that can be dangerous.

"A lot of the reasons why ICE has not been able to operate the same way that they have in other areas where there aren’t sanctuary states is because of, you know, the rapid response network that we’ve developed here. It is not a crime to observe ICE doing wrongdoing, and it is not a crime to photograph or videotape them doing that wrongdoing so that they can be held accountable for these crimes," said Kayla Nguyen, of Immigrant Rights Working Committee.

What's next:

Activists say they are committed to witnessing and recording immigration enforcement and alerting neighbors when ICE is present.

Now that President Donald Trump has said ICE should not suspend traffic stops, they are on high alert here in Chicago.