A couple died in a car crash while fleeing ICE agents in California, authorities say
Santos Garcia, 35, and Marcelina Profecto, 33, had six children together and were farmworkers in the Central Valley. The two were killed in a car crash last March as they were trying to flee ICE officers who mistakenly went after them.
The couple was dead at the scene, after “the driver of the SUV… lost control of the car as he was speeding, veered onto a dirt shoulder and rammed into a power pole.”
ICE went after the couple after seeing Garcia, a man who matched “the target’s description,” leave his house in an SUV. However, Garcia was not the guy they intended to arrest. They couple pulled over after being followed, but drove off after seeing it was ICE.
Garcia was a Mexican citizen who was removed from the country last year for the third time, but has not encountered ICE in the past nor had a final active order to be removed.
Over 20 dozen people mourned the death of the couple which took place in Delano, California, where Filipino and Latino farmworkers have held strikes in the past for “better working conditions.” Even United Farm Workers labor union president Arturo Rodriguez paid tribute to the couple and said this was a “tragic accident.”
Opinion: As Rodriguez said, this event was very tragic. The couple wasn’t even an ICE target and yet suffered death and left their 6 children behind. It was just a regular day for the couple, who Rodriguez described as hardworking people who “harvest our fruits and vegetables.” I really like how he said that these persevering people do not deserve to be exploited by the government all because they do not value nor respect the contributions they continue to make to the country. As our textbook says, "immigrants are people of singular ambition with a strong work ethic and high aspirations to improve themselves." Trump said he wanted to deport millions of illegal immigrants, especially those who are criminals. Yet, this example goes to show how several innocent families have been victimized by ICE. The Garcia couple was just trying to provide for their family and were actually contributing to our economy and society. I also like the a quote that the write took from Gov. Jerry Brown, which said ”California thrives because we welcome immigrants and innovators from across the globe.” Must more innocent people be arrested, hurt, and even killed?
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