Pilsen Vigil Mourns ICE Shooting Victims, Renews Calls for Justice in Villegas Gonzalez Case
About three dozen neighbors and immigrant rights organizers filled the pews of St. Procopius Catholic Church in Pilsen on Thursday evening, candles in hand, to mourn two men killed by federal immigration agents within the span of a week and to demand answers in a Chicago-area case that has gone unresolved for months.
The vigil, held at the church at 1641 S. Allport St., opened with a Spanish-language Catholic Mass before organizers read the names of people who have died in encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since the start of the second Trump administration. Among those named were Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant shot and killed by federal agents in Houston on July 10, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrer, a Colombian immigrant shot and killed by an ICE agent in Maine days later.
"We're seeing a new level of violence against immigrants, who are getting shot in the streets," said Carlos Arango, an organizer with the National Immigrant Front, known in Spanish as Frente Nacional de Inmigrantes.
The gathering was one of dozens held across the country this week condemning ICE's tactics and pressing for full investigations into both shootings. Salgado Araujo and Durán Guerrer are among at least 10 people who have died during encounters with immigration agents during the current administration, and in many of those cases, video and witness accounts have contradicted the Department of Homeland Security's version of events. No agents have been charged in any of the deaths.
Maine officials have said Durán Guerrer appears to have been shot by mistake while agents were searching for someone else. The agent who fired the fatal shot had a documented history of violence and had struggled with mental health issues since childhood. After the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security signaled it would halt traffic stops conducted for immigration arrests, but President Donald Trump reversed that decision within days.
For the Chicagoans at Thursday's vigil, the deaths in Texas and Maine felt personal. Last fall, ICE agents fatally shot Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a father of two, during a traffic stop in Franklin Park. The shooting drew immediate outrage in immigrant communities across the region, but local officials have not opened a formal investigation into what happened.
"We're still waiting for justice for Silverio Villegas Gonzalez," organizers said during the vigil, repeating a phrase that has become a rallying cry at immigrant rights gatherings in Chicago since his death.
Organizers described a pattern in these shootings: agents claim they fired because they faced a threat, while eyewitness accounts and video footage often tell a different story. Arango and other longtime advocates said that pattern is what pushed neighbors to gather again this week, even though many in the community have grown tired of repeated demonstrations against federal immigration enforcement.
"It's a critical moment for immigrants and, frankly, all communities," Arango said.
Aida Flores, a Pilsen resident and candidate for the 25th Ward aldermanic seat, helped organize the vigil. She said the religious service gave people a way to respond to the violence that goes beyond marching in the streets.
"We need all action, from protests and marching on the streets to prayer," Flores said.
Attendees held candles and printed photographs of Salgado Araujo throughout the Mass, and prayers were offered for what organizers called peace and justice "for Chicago and for every impacted family." The service closed with a call for Congress to open investigations into the deaths of Salgado Araujo and Durán Guerrer and to examine ICE's use of force more broadly.
No timeline has been set for any congressional inquiry, and Chicago officials have given no indication they plan to reopen the Villegas Gonzalez case. Organizers said they intend to keep holding vigils and public actions in Pilsen as long as those investigations remain stalled.
