By Michelle Moore, Bridge2Blue
Horrific ICE and CBP actions are unfolding once again across the country — abuses we are reliving largely because the Republican-led congress voted to fund ICE and CBP without guardrails for three more years, effectively stripping Congress of its ability to exercise oversight over these agencies that are completely out of control. In just the last 7 days, ICE has shot and killed two people — neither with a criminal record, and one with legal status. On Monday, a young man, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, was shot and killed by ICE in Biddeford, Maine and last Tuesday, ICE shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas.
The agents weren’t wearing body cameras — while ICE claims the same old line they used to justify killing Renee Good: “weaponized the vehicle.” Before ICE killed Renee Good, Carlitos Ricardo Parias and Marimar Martinez were both shot – and lived – and were accused of trying to run down agents with their vehicles. Ruben Ray Martinez, who was shot in the heart and killed by an ICE agent, was also accused of using his car as a weapon. There have been at least 29 people shot by ICE and CBP since Trump took office.
ICE in Virginia
Here in Virginia, ICE and CBP agents have been staking out gas stations and convenience stores, stalking people who “look like” they might be immigrants. They are driving through residential neighborhoods, and near hospitals and schools. ICE teams show up in packs, in unmarked cars, without uniforms or insignia, brandishing weapons and their fists. Their tactics are dangerous, violent, and deliberately intimidating. ICE and CBP units are launching operations across multiple locations in an effort to operate under the radar to minimize public resistance, and avoid large-scale media attention. They are wrong.
Virginia has several facilities that hold people detained by ICE including Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County, the Caroline and Farmville Detention Facilities and the Detention Processing Centers in Chantilly, all cited for poor conditions.
Virginia jails hold individuals who have no criminal record. According to the Deportation Project data and Eric Bonds, a sociologist at William and Mary, from Jan 2025 to Mar 2026, five jails have held more than 1300 people for ICE: Western Virginia Regional Jail (Roanoke County), Rappahannock Regional Jail (Stafford), Rockingham County Jail, Roanoke City Jail, and Chesapeake City Jail.
Virginia recently passed legislation banning face masks and limiting the use of local resources for immigration enforcement unless presented with a valid judicial warrant, subpoena or detainer and Governor Spanberger has ordered an end to 287(g) agreements. The Department of Justice is challenging these new laws.
We Know How They Operate and We Are Not Powerless
While these events mark a very dark chapter in America, people across the country — and across Virginia — are rising up in emphatic opposition to ICE and CBP’s brutality. In February 2026, after DHS agents shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, nearly two thirds of Americans believed ICE operations had gone too far. People still do not support ICE.
Over the weekend in Suffolk, neighbors gathered to protest the violent beating of Victor Perez Martin in their community and to oppose ICE operations. The video of the attack by ICE agents was caught on video and shared alerting the Suffolk community to the incident and galvanizing resistance that drew national attention. “We want the racial profiling to stop, and we want accountability to start,” said a local organizer. Suffolk community members have been actively organizing against ICE when they discovered plans earlier that ICE planned to rent space in their area.
In Virginia Beach, neighbors posted signs warning passersby that ICE was patrolling their community. People are donating food to families who have been terrorized and victimized. In Hanover and Stafford counties, residents successfully petitioned and protested ICE’s attempt to establish detention centers in their communities. In Norfolk, a man was killed when he was hit by a truck trying to flee ICE.
In Williamsburg, protesters in their community rallied to oppose ICE detention of people in their community. And in locations throughout northern Virginia, protesters gather each weekend to alert residents to violence of ICE directed against their communities and provide food and support to immigrant families.
What Can You Do?
Support businesses that support immigrants, and avoid those that knowingly allow ICE to conduct operations on their property or that profit from ICE operations. Know your rights and support organizations and locally organized groups that provide assistance to victims and families.
Join protests. In nearly every case where ICE or CBP have attacked, killed, kidnapped, or harmed individuals — including children — their actions were documented and reported by neighbors and concerned residents.
Local elections this year, but many more next year, will include city council, county board of supervisors, and sheriff races. These local elections are our opportunity to exert influence — electing leaders who reject ICE’s tactics, strengthen community protections, improve health and safety standards, and refuse to allow local resources or property to be used for ICE operations.
Most importantly: vote on November 3. Every single Congressional Republican in Virginia voted to fund ICE and CBP without oversight or guardrails. They cannot plead ignorance — they were aware of the violence directed at Americans and immigrants alike, and still voted to empower these agencies. It is deeply wrong, and they must be held accountable.
Despite what may feel like an uphill battle, Democrats have a plan — and they need our help. Flipping four more seats in Virginia would give them the votes needed to pass laws, investigate DHS, issue subpoenas, and demand evidence for accountability. Let’s help win these seats — support local events and volunteer opportunities. We must stop the killing. Vote on November 3.
