On May 26th, 2021, a 23-year-old Latino woman was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The tragic incident took place during a routine immigration arrest, where the agent reportedly fired six shots at the woman at point-blank range. This is not the first time ICE has been involved in a fatal encounter, and unfortunately, it will not be the last.
The victim, identified as Myriam Yasmin Sosa Velasquez, was a young aspiring student who had immigrated to the United States from Guatemala at a young age. She was a DACA recipient, a program that allows certain undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation. Despite her legal status, she was targeted and killed by ICE, an agency that has been given free reign to carry out its brutal and inhumane actions with impunity.
This incident is a glaring example of the inhumane and dangerous tactics that ICE employs in its raids and arrests. It is a direct result of the agency’s lack of accountability and disregard for human rights. For years, ICE has been terrorizing communities, separating families, and causing irreparable damage to the lives of immigrants and their loved ones. And yet, nothing has been done to curb their excessive use of force and disregard for human life.
The shooting of Myriam Yasmin Sosa Velasquez is a tragedy, but it is not an isolated incident. It is a direct consequence of the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies that have emboldened ICE to become a ruthless deportation force. Under the Trump administration, ICE gained a notorious reputation for its raids, arrests, and detention of undocumented immigrants, often inside sensitive locations such as courthouses, schools, and places of worship. These actions instilled fear and mistrust within communities, making them vulnerable to violence and exploitation.
But it is not just the Trump administration that is responsible for these atrocities. ICE’s history of violence and impunity dates back to its inception in 2003. The agency has a long record of excessive use of force, sexual abuse and harassment, medical neglect, and deaths in custody. According to a report by the National Immigrant Justice Center, at least 197 people have died in ICE custody since 2003, with another 2,891 cases of serious harm, including sexual assault, physical assault, and medical neglect.
Despite these horrifying statistics, ICE continues to evade accountability for its actions. The agency has a culture of secrecy and a lack of transparency, making it nearly impossible to hold them accountable for their brutal actions. On the rare occasion when they are held accountable, the consequences are minimal, and change is not implemented. This has created a toxic environment where agents feel invincible, and the lives of immigrants are expendable.
The fact that ICE is allowed to operate with such impunity is a stain on our collective conscience as a nation. The so-called land of the free and home of the brave has turned into a dystopian nightmare for immigrants, leaving them vulnerable to violence, exploitation, and even death. Myriam Yasmin Sosa Velasquez’s death is a stark reminder of how broken and racist our immigration system is and the urgent need for reform.
Furthermore, incidents like this highlight the urgent need to abolish ICE. The agency has failed in its mission to protect national security and public safety and has instead become a violent and inhumane deportation force. ICE has proven time and time again that it is beyond reform and must be dismantled. We need an immigration system that values human life, respects human rights, and provides a path to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants.
Myriam Yasmin Sosa Velasquez’s death is a tragedy that should never have happened. It is an indictment on our broken immigration system and the disregard for human life by ICE agents. We must learn from this and take a stand against this blatant injustice. As a society, we must demand accountability for ICE and work towards replacing it with a more humane and just system. Anything less would be a betrayal of our values and the immigrant community. Let us honor Myriam Yasmin Sosa Velasquez’s memory by fighting for a better and more just immigration system.
