By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
HARLINGEN, TX—Area residents, including a San Benito contingent, took part in a peaceful demonstration on Saturday, July 18, opposing ICE operations across the country and closer to home.
The protest took place outside Harlingen City Hall and drew citizens and community organizers, as well as groups such as the San Benito chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
With about 50 people lining both sides of Tyler Street near city hall, hundreds of motorists passed by, many honking in support and some documenting the protest on their phones.
The event was coordinated by LULAC Council 22347–Juan Rivera, Sr. & Veterans, based in the Resaca City.
The members meet monthly; however, this effort was different and difficult, said one LULAC leader, because it was held to recognize the alleged injustices committed against Lorenzo Salgado Araujo of Houston and Joan Sebastian Guerrero, who were allegedly killed by officers with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department (ICE).
“We need to be treated fairly and equally, not terrorized. This includes veterans, immigrants, and everyone who should be treated with respect and courtesy,” LULAC Council 22347 District Director Federico Garza said during the protest. “We wanted to raise awareness when tactics are used that violate due process of law.”
Garza said that when securing or arresting Americans, law enforcement officers would normally have credentials and proper identification on their person or travel in marked vehicles. He specifically singled out ICE armed officers who normally cover their faces in groups and travel in unmarked vehicles during arrest sweeps.
Omar Alegria, 67, who lives in the El Ranchito area and protested alongside his wife, Amparo, said he had had enough after hearing about the killings of Araujo (July 7 in Houston) and Guerrero (July 13 in Maine) by ICE officers.
“The way this Trump administration is going, it’s violating all kinds of norms. I’ve voted Republican in the past, but this is not the party I’ve known,” said Mr. Alegria, who began voting at age 18. “Our Republicans are surrounding President Trump and just following him. He’s going against many American values. He reminds me of a mob boss.”
He held a sign that read, “No more kidnapping our neighbors.”
His wife held a sign that alluded to President Trump’s association with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her sign read, “Release the files,” pointing to the U.S. Department of Justice Library, which has more unclassified Epstein records.
Garza said the two-hour protest that ended at noon got across the message they set out to accomplish. There was plenty of visibility, standing under a hot sun with signs that were created in advance.
Maricela Alvarado, who was dressed in a yellow vest, held a megaphone to help lead protest chants. She was often in between passing vehicles and the protesters.
“We are tired of ICE and this administration killing people; that’s now what they set out to do,” Alvarado said. “They don’t realize they have now become a threat to America.”
Alvarado, of Harlingen, said many who have supported this president in the past have also been deported. She alluded to Héctor Cocho, a Cuban exile and the founder of Latinos for Trump, who was arrested last year in Florida on prior criminal charges.
She said that, on the flip side, those who have gone through the long and arduous process of becoming citizens here fear going to an immigration field office because of potential ICE arrests.
During a LULAC meeting a week earlier, LULAC National President Roman Palomares addressed the San Benito members and guests via teleconference, saying that the organization is working with the families of the slain men to seek answers and justice.
He added that it had helped raise almost half a million dollars, at that point, for the Salgado Araujo family and had established a reward for video or photo evidence of incidents leading to these deaths.