UCC GMP issues statement after ICE killings in Texas and Maine

United Church of Christ General Minister and President/CEO, the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson has issued a statement condemning the recent Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) killings of two individuals in Texas, and Maine, respectively. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo of Houston was killed by ICE agents who allege he tried using his vehicle as a weapon, an allegation that has been challenged by Araujo’s family, civil rights groups, and attorneys. Araujo was transporting members of a work crew to a construction site when the incident occurred. Johan Sebastián, a 25-year-old food delivery driver from Colombia, died Monday in the historic Atlantic coast city of Biddeford, where neighbors remembered him as a good man and hard worker.

“We refuse to accept that the cost for pursuing opportunity and hope is people’s lives, that the price of migration is death,” said Thompson in the statement. “As the prophet Micah once said, the Lord requires us to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.”

According to a report published by the National Immigration Project, 22 people have been killed in ICE related incidents since the beginning of the year, with the latest two incidents adding to that number. Since the beginning of 2025, 54 people have been killed as a result of ICE-related incidents.

“We call for full accountability in these killings, an independent investigation into the actions of ICE, the end to this mass deportation and detention campaign, and for Congress to revoke the $210 billion in unchecked, supplemental funding that ICE and Border Patrol has received in the last two years,” read the statement. 

Thompson’s full statement, along with a prayer can be found below: 

The United Church of Christ mourns the recent killings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián in Maine who were fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The prayers of our members join those of other people of faith, for the families and loved ones left behind because of these murders committed by ICE agents.

State violence causes extreme harm beyond the murders committed affecting the larger community, while eroding the very fabric of democracy and threatening the common life of all citizens. State sanctioned violence, extrajudicial killings, and the disregard for human rights must end now. Every person is created in God’s image!

We refuse to accept that the cost for pursuing opportunity and hope is people’s lives, that the price of migration is death. As the prophet Micah once said, the Lord requires us to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.”

Since the beginning of 2025 and the deployment of ICE agents by the current United States government , 54 people have lost their lives at the hands of ICE agents. These 54 individuals were beloved children, parents, siblings, neighbors, and friends, and they died imprisoned in detention centers or shot dead in the streets as immigrant communities continue to be targeted. This is the reality of anti-immigrant and xenophobic policies which have resulted in mass deportation: the world is witnessing a campaign of death, intimidation, fear, and oppression.

God’s love knows no borders. Followers of Jesus are called to love our neighbors. The United Church of Christ (UCC) has long supported a humane immigration system that protects due process, keeps families together, welcomes those fleeing persecution, and honors the rights and sacred worth of every person. The UCC remains steadfast in that commitment today.

We call on our nation’s leaders to reject violence and inflammatory rhetoric and turn their energies toward lasting solutions that offer paths to citizenship for those who have sought safety and opportunity in the United States. The call from the Gospel is clear: to build beloved communities where every neighbor is treated with dignity and respect, especially those most vulnerable among us including those whose immigration status puts them at risk of violence, imprisonment, and deportation.

 We call for full accountability in these killings, an independent investigation into the actions of ICE, the end to this mass deportation and detention campaign, and for Congress to revoke the $210 billion in unchecked, supplemental funding that ICE and Border Patrol has received in the last two years.

Our advocacy for immigrant justice is rooted in love, not hatred; in hope, not fear; and in the conviction that lasting change comes through faithful witness, courageous organizing, and democratic action. May we continue to find the strength and courage to seek policy solutions grounded in God’s mercy and love.

Prayer:

Compassionate God, you called us to love and care for each other. You made us in your image. You surround us with your love, yet we live in a world where we continue to witness hatred and fear destroying the lives of your children. We pray for those whose lives have been disrupted by the killing of their loves ones. We ask that your comfort and peace surround them in the days ahead, as they grieve the loss of life and adjust to lives without Lorenzo and Johan. And, as we grieve with these families and loved ones, stir us to action that demands justice and change, as we seek a just world for all. Amen.

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