White House says ICE vehicle stops remain a necessary enforcement tool
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said ICE vehicle stops will continue as authorities respond to recent fatal crashes.
An off-duty employee of a company that operates an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Colorado used a personal firearm to shoot and kill a protester outside the facility, authorities said.
According to the Aurora Police Department, the shooting occurred on July 16 near the Aurora ICE Processing Center, also known as the Denver Contract Detention Facility. Police responded to a report of a shooting just before 7:30 p.m. local time and found a woman with a gunshot wound to the lower body, the department said in a statement.
Police said officers stopped a man in a car nearby, identified as Brandon Booth, 42, an employee of GEO Group, which operates ICE facilities. Police said the man was taken into custody and his vehicle, which had a gun inside, was also seized.
Police said investigators determined the woman was participating in a protest near the facility.
Aurora police said Booth waited in his car with other employees “because protests prevented them from accessing the facility for their shifts.” At some point, the two women, including the victim, began a “verbal confrontation,” took pictures of the car and left, police said.
“At that point, Booth pulled out his personal handgun and fired one round at them, striking one of the women in the lower body. Booth then got into his vehicle and left the scene before being taken into custody,” the Aurora Police Department said.
Police said the woman was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Her identity has not been released.
Police said Booth was arrested on probable charges of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, attempted first-degree assault, felony menacing and unlawful possession of a weapon. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
DHS said ICE agents were not involved in the incident and referred USA TODAY to GEO Group and the Aurora Police Department.
GEO Group issued a statement to USA TODAY saying it is aware of the incident and is cooperating with authorities. The company said the employee was placed on unpaid leave.
GEO Group has contracts with ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service at its Aurora facility, according to its website. The company did not disclose Booth’s role.
The shootings come as ICE has come under increased scrutiny following two recent police shootings of immigrants in Texas and Maine. Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, 25, of Colombia, was shot and killed on July 13 in Biddeford, Maine. Federal authorities said he attempted to flee as they tried to pull him over, and officers feared for public safety.
In Houston, 52-year-old Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by ICE agents. The Department of Homeland Security said Salgado Araujo “used a weapon” in the van and tried to run over the officers, but witnesses in the van disputed that account.
The shooting has prompted calls for ICE to stop stopping vehicles and equip all officers with body-worn cameras. DHS announced that from now on, at least one officer on each arrest team will wear a camera.
