AMY GOODMAN: Let’s turn to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and last week’s fatal shooting by ICE of two men, one in Texas, in Houston, one in Biddeford, Maine, one from Mexico, one from Colombia. Congressmember Jayapal, you just spearheaded a letter to DHS and ICE signed by almost 200 members of Congress, almost the entire Democratic caucus, demanding accountability for the killings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Joan Sebastián in Biddeford, Maine. What exactly are you demanding? And here you have Susan Collins running for Senate again, who approved unfettered tens of billions of dollars to go to the department of border protection and ICE. And yet, still, in both of these cases, and in so many others, there are no bodycam footage. There are no bodycams that these men are wearing, the ICE agents.

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL: Amy, this, what ICE is doing, is absolutely horrific and unacceptable. And, you know, it’s hard to even look at these videos and not be — not be in tears about the fact that there is a Trump militia roaming our streets, our towns, our cities, killing people regardless of immigration status with absolutely no accountability. And there have been at least six killings, murders of people in ICE-related enforcement activities. And the latest two, with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastián Guerrero, in Maine and in Texas, are a continuation of this.

So, our letter demands independent investigations. We do not trust DHS. DHS comes out and says that somebody is weaponizing the vehicle. That’s what they said in the case of Lorenzo Salgado. That is clearly not true from the video footage. It’s also what they said in the case of Renee Good, where there was absolutely no accountability. In the case of Joan Sebastián Guerrero, they don’t even claim that the officer was trying to protect his own safety, that he feared for his own safety. They essentially say he feared for public safety, and that’s why he fired multiple times into the vehicle, killing Joan Sebastián Guerrero, leaving behind a wife and a young child.

So, in both of these cases, what we got over almost 200 Democrats to say, almost the entire Democratic caucus — remarkable effort in less than 24 hours that shows the urgency that we feel around demanding accountability —  independent investigations, sharing of information, a refusal to deport the witnesses that are there. In Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s case, there were three witnesses in the car with Lorenzo Salgado, and they were picked up by ICE, put into detention and put into removal proceedings so that ICE could deport them out of the country before they can testify.

And so, we have demanded a series of things, including we want to know why are they not wearing body camera, any of them wearing body cameras, when DHS has just been given $210 billion in funding by Republicans and Donald Trump. They still don’t have body cameras. And in addition, it is clear to me that they are either not getting training or getting training to shoot directly at people, to murder people, in the streets, which is, you know, just outrageous. And so, we’ve also asked for information about exactly what training they are undergoing.

But to me, Amy, this all says that ICE should not exist as it exists. There is no reason for this kind of criminal activity. And the fact that they have deportation quotas, 2,000 people every day that they’re supposed to deport, that is the root cause of what is leading to this Trump militia in our streets.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, I also want to bring into the conversation Ruby Powers. She’s an immigration attorney representing Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s younger brother, Victor Salgado Araujo. Victor witnessed the killing of his own brother by an ICE agent in Houston. At the time of the shooting, Lorenzo was driving Victor and two other men to a construction job site. After the ICE agent fatally shot Lorenzo, immigration agents detained Victor and the two other men. They now all face deportation. Ruby Powers joins us now from Houston.

Welcome to the program, Ruby. If you could talk about — you spoke to your client, Victor, at a detention center on Saturday. If you could tell us what he said, and also the implications of the three witnesses to this homicide now facing deportation proceedings?

RUBY POWERS: Yes. Thank you.

I’ve met with him multiple times since Friday. And just him giving me the details of what happened that day are very shocking and horrific. And even more reports have been coming out about how the — the violation of policing policies that happened, especially with unmarked vehicles and shooting into a vehicle. But he gave me a detailed account of the pursuit that was done by the unmarked vehicles, and then, later, being on the side of the road, an agent, which they didn’t know at the time was an agent, getting out of the vehicle, walking up to the passenger side, yelling “Stop!” and then shooting through an opened window on the passenger side, which passed right by my client, Victor, and, unfortunately, hit Lorenzo. Then they looked around. Victor thought he had been shot, the loud sound in his ear of the bullet, of the gunshot. And then Lorenzo was bleeding and holding his side.

Soon after, that was only then, when the door was opened, Victor’s door, that he saw on the lanyard ”ICE” on the agent’s body, and that is when he realized it was ICE. They had never announced themselves. There was no indication that it was ICE.

And then Victor and the other witnesses were put on the side and handcuffed, and my client was on his knees with his hands behind his back with handcuffs. And he saw that his brother was in need of care. He yelled out in broken English, “Call for help! Help my brother!” In anguish, he saw that it took 20 to 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. And then, my client and the others were shuttled off from vehicle to vehicle with chains on their feet and handcuffed, and eventually sent to the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, which they are still there to this day.

AMY GOODMAN: This is absolutely horrifying that Victor is now in detention, faces deportation, grieving his brother’s death, which he witnessed, as the family now is preparing for a funeral. Now, Congressmember Jayapal just talked about getting this special visa, a witness visa. Ruby Powers, talk about the significance of this, which would mean that the witnesses cannot be deported to other countries.

RUBY POWERS: Yeah, so, there is an S visa, which is not the one we’re pursuing at the moment, but that is one for those who cooperate with law enforcement. There’s also the U visa, which is a victim of a crime, or it can be in circumstances having information of a — being a witness, a key witness.

And going back to your point, yes, I mean, when they got detained, they immediately got put in immigration proceedings. And my client has a hearing next week. So, just as you’re explaining, he’s grieving. There’s a visitation today, and his family is coming in from Mexico and around the country. We’re fighting for his stay here in the country, but we’ve had cooperation with the Harris County district attorney for a U visa certification, so we’re very grateful and working and pursuing all avenues. And then, at the same time, he wants to be accessible as a witness, and it’s really hard for him to do that when he’s 45 minutes away from Houston in, basically, a jail, to be accessible to multiple agencies in this investigation.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, Ruby, we just have 20 seconds, but could you clarify: If the witnesses are deported, can they not testify?

RUBY POWERS: Well, I think it would be a very fettered situation. They can try to testify in various ways. But the thing is, there’s like almost six or so investigations going on, and this could take years. And so, being able to — and we don’t want any retaliation in any sort, in any way. So, being able to be in the United States freely, to be able to give that testimony is what we’re asking for, for transparency and for due process.

AMY GOODMAN: Ruby Powers, we want to thank you for being with us, immigration attorney representing Lorenzo Salgado’s younger brother Victor, who’s in detention right now. There will be an open viewing of the body this afternoon in Houston. Democracy Now! will cover this right through the funeral on Saturday and all that develops beyond. I also want to thank Congressmember Pramila Jayapal, Democratic congressmember from Seattle, from Washington state.

Coming up, is the U.S.-Iran war a forever war in the making? We’ll speak to Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group. Back in 30 seconds.

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AMY GOODMAN: “Rapture” by Kassi Valazza, performing at the Brooklyn Folk Festival.