Greenwich residents and elected officials gathered outside the Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue on Thursday, July 23, holding candles and signs to honor people who died in federal immigration custody or during enforcement operations.

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT-4), State Rep. Hector Arzeno (D-151) and State Rep. Steve Meskers (D-150) joined the crowd organized by Michele Greenberg and Laurie Heiss Grealy.

The vigil focused on Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, a Houston construction worker and father of three who was fatally shot by an ICE agent on July 7 while driving his crew to a job site, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 26, a Colombian national fatally shot by an ICE agent in Biddeford, Maine, on July 14. Neither man was the target of the enforcement operation in which he was killed, according to national reporting by CNN and Axios.

"Lorenzo was driving with his crew to a job site. He was not under investigation and was not a suspect," Grealy told the crowd. "Johan was a young father and worker in Maine. He was not the person ICE agents were looking for, yet he was still shot and killed during an enforcement operation. Their families and communities deserve the truth, transparency and accountability."

Jen Nappo and Sheila Phelan read Amanda Gorman's poem "For Alex Jeffrey Pretti" at the event. Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and American citizen, was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis in January 2026.

Organizers read aloud the names of more than 40 people who died in ICE custody. At least 52 people died in custody from January 20, 2025, to June 4, 2026, organizers said, citing data they compiled from public records. The National Immigration Project reported 33 detainee deaths in 2025, the highest total in more than two decades.

Organizers called on leaders in Houston and Maine to support full and independent investigations into the shootings, the release and protection of witnesses, an end to local collaboration with ICE, and for Congress to use its oversight and funding authority to hold ICE and the Department of Homeland Security accountable.

State lawmakers address SB 397

Arzeno, a naturalized citizen who came from Argentina, spoke about Connecticut's SB 397, which Gov. Ned Lamont signed on Monday, May 4. The law creates protected areas where ICE must obtain a judicial warrant to make civil arrests. That provision takes effect Thursday, October 1.

"This is personal to me. I am an immigrant," Arzeno said. "Instead of just having immigration laws, having quotas, and certainly we are in favor of deporting criminals, we are terrorizing and separating families."

The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against Connecticut, Gov. Lamont, Attorney General William Tong and the City of New Haven in April 2026, challenging the state's Trust Act restrictions on ICE cooperation. That litigation remains pending.

Arzeno also described intervening alongside other lawmakers to seek the release of a teenager detained by ICE during a green card appointment. The teen, the son of a local social services employee who had served as a U.S. military interpreter in Afghanistan for five years, was held for four months before being released on bond.

Meskers said after the vigil that elected officials have a responsibility to bear witness. "Our country is so polarized right now that even actions that result in the deaths of United States citizens or residents attract little notice," he said. "We have normalized much that I find that is deeply troubling."

Following the deaths of Salgado Araujo and Durán Guerrero, ICE directed agents to halt most traffic stops and announced plans to expand body camera use, CNN reported on July 15.