Friday, July 17, 2026

ICE is still killing people

Plus: Epstein saga threatens Trump's attorney general pick ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
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This is America

Stories of justice and action across America

Fri Jul 17 2026

 

If you haven't been paying attention, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are still killing people.

Welcome back, This is America readers, I'm Phillip M. Bailey, chief political correspondent with USA TODAY.

A pair of fatal shootings this month in Maine and Texas has thrust the Department of Homeland Security  back into the headlines. Just months ago the department's new secretary, former Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, was promising a lower profile.

"My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day," Mullin said in March. "My goal is for people to understand we’re out there, we’re protecting them, and we’re working with them. My goal is to make every one of you proud.”

That goal isn't going as planned this month, however, starting on July 7 when Lorenzo Salgado Araujo , 52, originally from Mexico, was shot to death in Houston, Texas. About a week later Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, a native of Colombia with a work permit, was killed in Biddeford, Maine after being mistaken for someone else, according to elected officials.

Since President Donald Trump ’s strict immigration crackdown almost two dozen people have been fired upon by federal immigration agents, according to reports. Out of those incidents six people have been killed including three U.S. citizens.

ICE protests over shootings.jpg

Protesters from Houston to Boston, Portland, Maine and Los Angeles speak out after two recent ICE shooting deaths, citing fear and injustice.

Reuters

For more on the ICE shootings, check out USA TODAY's coverage:

Markwayne Mullin promised a quieter DHS. Then came the shootings.

Feds turn over evidence in ICE shootings as new deaths rock nation: Minnesota prosecutors say the federal government has handed over evidence in the shootings by immigration officers of three people earlier this year,

White House says ICE vehicle stops remain necessary enforcement tool: Video.

Cities that block ICE could lose police, rape kit funding, DOJ says: It’s the latest example of the Trump administration’s promise to withhold funding from cities it calls "sanctuary jurisdictions."

Epstein saga jeopardizes Trump's attorney general pick

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is having a tough time in the Senate as his rocky confirmation faces its sharpest buzzsaw — the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal.

The nomination of Trump's former personal lawyer being installed as America's highest law enforcement official was already a tough one for the administration. If four Republicans join with the Democrats, he won't get the job.

During this week's hearings Blanche was pummeled, mostly by Democrats, with accusations that he's prosecuting the president's opponents and attempting to clear the president of  responsibility for unpaid taxes. But questions and controversies rooted in the Epstein files could sink the nomination.

That's because retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, is promising to vote against Blanche until he meets with Epstein's accusers, who say they have tried for months to meet with him to no avail. Other GOP senators who are now "free agents" after losing their primaries are also asking tough questions.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, pressed Blanche about a Justice Department agreement earlier this year settling a lawsuit brought by Trump -- along with his two eldest sons -- against the Internal Revenue Service. A judge blocked the settlement this month, saying it was an improper effort to confer tax immunity on people and entities close to Trump.

Houston residents mourn after ICE officers fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo on July 7, 2026.

Attorney Ruby Powers said the substance was granulated salt that is mixed with lemon and water to help workers stay hydrated in extreme Texas heat.

President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump was expected to speak on election security.
 

Trump claims US election vulnerabilities in primetime speech: 5 takeaways

The president said America's elections are 'worse than a third-world country' after making broad claims about China meddling in the 2020 contest

President Donald Trump speaks about election security during an address to the nation from the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 16, 2026.
 

Trump revives 2020 fraud claims as experts challenge his evidence

President Donald Trump made a lot of claims in his primetime address on election integrity. Experts, including former US intel officials, are skeptical.

Officials are zeroing in on lettuce as a possible source of a cyclosporiasis outbreak in Michigan.
 

The latest on cyclosporiasis: Taco Bell lettuce, cases

After thousands have been sickened by cyclosporiasis, lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants has been linked to an outbreak.

Worshippers take part in the priestly blessing during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, October 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
 

As antisemitism spikes across America, what can be done to stop it? | The Excerpt

As antisemitism spikes across America, driven by wars in the Middle East, two experts opine on what can be done to tackle hatred against Jews.

 

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