Nine deaths tied to Trump’s immigration enforcement operations in US 

The fatal shooting of a motorist by an immigration agent in Maine on Monday is the latest in a series of deaths tied to United States President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. At least nine people have died during immigration enforcement operations since Trump returned to office.

The government’s version of events has been repeatedly challenged by witnesses, relatives and, in some cases, video evidence.

Here are the stories of those who have been in a mix of police shootings, highway collisions, and a fatal fall during an immigration raid.

July 13 shooting in Biddeford, Maine

An immigration agent shot dead a driver in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday after authorities said he used his vehicle against officers during an attempted arrest.

Senator Angus King said Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told him the man had “weaponized” his vehicle against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, prompting the officer to open fire.

However, witness accounts have challenged that version of events, saying the man’s car was moving slowly in circles and did not appear to be trying to strike officers.

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

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

An immigration agent shot dead Lorenzo Salgado Araujo – a Mexican national who, his family said, had been working towards legal status in the US – during an enforcement operation in Houston, Texas, on July 7 after authorities said he tried to evade arrest. He died on the way to hospital.

The Department of Homeland Security said Araujo had been targeted in the operation because he was living in the country without legal permission, and that he ignored commands and attempted to ram his vehicle into an agent who opened fire in self-defence. His son told the local Spanish-language television station Telemundo Houston that Salgado Araujo was looking for workers to hire for a construction job when he was shot.

The shooting prompted calls from immigrant rights groups and some Democratic lawmakers for an independent investigation. In several previous fatal immigration enforcement shootings, video footage has contradicted federal officers’ accounts, though no immigration officers have been charged in those cases.

In the aftermath of Salgado Araujo’s death, Mexico has said it will ask the US government to open criminal investigations into the deaths of its citizens in immigration enforcement operations.

Ruben Ray Martinez

A federal agent shot dead Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old US citizen, during an immigration enforcement operation in South Padre Island, Texas, in March 2025, after officers stopped his vehicle during a late-night traffic stop. He died in hospital.

Records detailing the shooting were not made public until nearly a year later following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by watchdog group American Oversight.

Homeland Security officials said Martinez had refused orders to exit the vehicle and instead “intentionally ran over” an agent, prompting another officer to open fire through the driver’s side window.

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

Martinez’s mother said Texas Rangers investigators told her video of the incident contradicted the federal agents’ account, though authorities have declined to comment on the alleged discrepancies.

Alex Pretti

A Border Patrol officer shot dead Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a US citizen, during a protest against the Metro Surge immigration operation in Minneapolis on January 24. His family said he had joined the demonstration to protest the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Federal authorities initially described Pretti as an armed agitator who posed a threat to officers. But bystander video and sworn witness statements contradicted that account, showing Pretti on the ground holding a mobile 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 the firearm.

State and local officials, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, rejected the federal government’s initial characterisation of the shooting, with Walz calling the comments “despicable”.

Pretti’s killing, along with Renee Good’s a couple of weeks before, triggered congressional scrutiny, with lawmakers pressing ICE and Department of Homeland Security officials over use of force, training, body cameras, and whether the expanding crackdown was becoming too opaque to police effectively.

Renee Good

An ICE officer shot dead Renee Good, a US citizen who local officials said was acting as a legal observer during protests against immigration raids, in Minneapolis on January 7.

Video of the shooting showed Good turning the wheels of her car away from the officer, Jonathan Ross, when he opened fire. Trump administration officials repeatedly defended the shooting, saying the officer’s life was at risk from the moving vehicle.

Good’s death sparked protests across the country. The US Department of Justice declined to share information about the shooting with state authorities, and state and local officials later sued in an effort to halt the immigration sweeps. During subsequent demonstrations, officers deployed tear gas and other chemical irritants against protesters.

Silverio Villegas Gonzalez

An immigration agent shot dead Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a 38-year-old line cook from Mexico, during a traffic stop in suburban Chicago on September 12, after the man had dropped off a child at daycare that morning, according to relatives.

The Department of Homeland Security said agents were pursuing a man who was in the country illegally, who had a history of reckless driving, and alleged that Villegas Gonzalez had tried to evade arrest, dragging an officer with his vehicle.

The department said the officer opened fire, fearing for his life, and was hospitalised with “serious injuries”. Local police video later showed the agent walking around and describing his injuries as “nothing major”. The shooting remains under investigation.

Jaime Alanis

The 57-year-old farmworker from Mexico died after falling about 9 metres (30 feet) from the roof of a greenhouse during immigration raids on two Southern California cannabis farms on July 10, where authorities arrested about 200 workers. Jaime Alanis died at a hospital two days later.

Relatives said Alanis had spent a decade picking tomatoes at Glass House Farms in Camarillo and called his family while hiding from immigration authorities. They later learned he had been hospitalised with severe injuries.

The Department of Homeland Security said Alanis was never in custody and was not being chased by federal agents.

Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez

Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, a 52-year-old man from Guatemala, died after he was hit by an SUV while trying to cross a Southern California freeway during an immigration enforcement operation on August 14.

Police in Monrovia, northeast of Los Angeles, said that immigration agents were conducting an operation outside a Home Depot store when Montoya Valdez ran across the eastbound lanes of Interstate 210 and was struck by a vehicle. He died in hospital.

The Department of Homeland Security said he was not being pursued by federal agents when he ran.

Josue Castro Rivera

The 24-year-old man from Honduras was killed after he was struck by a pick-up truck while trying to cross a highway during an immigration traffic stop in Norfolk, Virginia, on October 23.

Josue Castro Rivera was on his way to a gardening job with three passengers when immigration officers pulled over their vehicle, according to his brother, Henry Castro. State and federal authorities said he fled on foot before being hit on Interstate 264.

The Department of Homeland Security said the vehicle had been stopped as part of a “targeted, intelligence-based” operation and that Castro Rivera had “resisted heavily and fled”.