Advocates gather at vigil for ICE shooting victims in Helena

HELENA — About 75 people gathered at a vigil at Hill Park in Helena on Monday night for two men killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents earlier this month in Texas and Maine.

Attendees delivered a eulogy for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, while also expressing frustration with federal immigration policies.

The event was hosted by Indivisible Helena and sought to remember people who have been killed by federal agents since President Donald Trump retook power and made deportation and arrests a top agency priority at ICE. The group made 26 signs, one for each of the people who have died in ICE Detention in 2026.

At the Helena event on Monday, which lasted for about an hour in the smoke and heat, religious leaders and advocates spoke about the frustration they felt with the country’s immigration policies and how those in ICE custody are being treated.

As part of the event, a 200 square foot marked box was set up, which advocates at the event said was the same size as a holding area at an ICE facility in Helena. That facility, which the Montana Free Press reported held some ICE detainees from a Bozeman immigration sweep earlier this month, was also accused of overcrowding in an Upper Seven Law lawsuit. ICE facilities across the country have also been accused of overcrowding.

Last year, the Helena Police Department stopped a man at the behest of ICE last year, but it was not who ICE was actually looking for, an incident that angered many in Helena. The man was later deported by federal authorities.  That led to a city commission immigration ordinance being passed — and then rescinded following pressure from the state— with long, intense and well-attended public meetings on the topic.

“People are pretty disgusted with ICE,” said Taylor Chriske-Hall, who attended the event as a member of Montanans for Palestine.

There’s also frustration with local politicians, who Chriske-Hall said were nowhere to be found at the event.

“There’s not an effective mechanism for us to take action except working together in the community,” Chriske-Hall said. “I mean, we cannot rely on our votes. We cannot rely on our representatives to protect us. Like we have to protect us. We have to come together.”