Demonstrating for immigrants in the name of mercy
By Sister Michele Aronica
The shooting death last month of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Biddeford, Maine, shook me deeply. I recently moved to nearby Scarborough.
Mr. Guerrero was simply driving to work on July 13, 2026, when an ICE agent shot into his car and killed him in front of his wife and little daughter, who he adored. His death occurred within a few days of ICE’s killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband and father driving to work in Houston, Texas, where he had lived for decades. He was in the process of legalizing his status.
The night of Mr. Guerrero’s death I learned about a demonstration to be held the next day at the ICE detention center in my town. I felt compelled to participate and knew God’s hand was with me as I drove there.
Soon I was standing among more than 250 people, singing “We Shall Overcome” and chanting “We say no to ICE and fear, immigrants are welcome here!”
I found myself standing next to a tall man and a woman who had their faces covered, so I asked them why they were wearing bandanas. “I’m on your side but I cannot show my face here because I would lose my job,” the man said. What a sad reflection on what is happening in our country. Injustices abound, but speaking up about them is penalized.
Agitated disruptor
Faith leaders led us in prayer and elected officials spoke about the need to end ICE violence and close Maine’s only immigrant detention facility. And then out of nowhere came a horrific sound, like a siren over a bullhorn, and an agitated man started shouting that Jesus wanted ICE to do its job.
A group of orange-vested young people serving as security volunteers for the protest circled the disruptor and tried to walk him out of the crowd, but he kept weaving among people and shouting in their faces.
Organizers sought to de-escalate the tension by encouraging participants to walk up and down in front of the detention center; they stressed the importance of keeping everyone safe. But the group overwhelmingly agreed to remain in place and continue the demonstration, cheering loudly when asked who was in favor of “toughing it out.”
The disruptor came toward me at one point and a young man wearing a rainbow camera strap across his chest placed himself in front of me and firmly urged the disruptor to back away.
Walking in pairs
At the end, the protest leader suggested we walk in pairs back to our cars, and though my first impulse as an independent Sister of Mercy was to refuse the young man who offered to accompany me, in the end I agreed.
We introduced ourselves and it turns out he was a graduate of Salve Regina University. I told him how good it was to see him building on what his family and the Mercy core values at Salve gave him.
He joked that it was “good to see old people” at the protest, but I let him know that “just because there’s snow on the roof” it doesn’t mean protesting is new to us. I told him my generation had participated in the Civil Rights and Vietnam War protests and in other justice movements too.
“There’s passion in these seasoned bones!”
Before we parted ways, I touched his camera strap and said, “I really like this.” He was moved and hugged me good-bye.
Before I got into my car, I talked with a reporter from another country who told me he had just taken off his bullet-proof vest. When I looked puzzled, he informed me the disruptor had been carrying a gun on one hip and a knife on the other.
It seemed a miracle the armed man didn’t use his weapons. No wonder the protest organizers were so concerned about safety. I was newly grateful to my young friend for shielding me from the agitated man.
Imagine my surprise in the following days to see myself in photos and videos of the protest in regional and national newspapers and the evening TV news.
Taking action for immigrants
The Gospel command to “welcome the stranger” is one I take seriously as a Sister of Mercy of the Americas. My religious order has accompanied immigrants in the United States and internationally since 1843; we urge people of faith and goodwill to publicly stand with immigrants.
Protesting is one way to take action, but there are many ways to raise your voice. You can call your representatives, sign petitions or write letters to the editor calling for officials to be held accountable for the government’s inhuman and unmerciful treatment of immigrants.
We cannot remain silent. We need prayer and action.