JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Dozens of people gathered in downtown Jacksonville Thursday night to demand accountability after a 28-year-old man was killed this week while running from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in St. Johns County.
The Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance identified the man as Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran. He was killed Tuesday morning on State Road 16 after crossing paths with a tractor-trailer during an encounter with ICE agents, according to the group.
JIRA organized the emergency rally, which drew about 80 people at its peak, two days after the incident.
What JIRA is demanding
The group is calling for four specific actions: an end to the 287(g) agreement that allows local deputies to act as immigration enforcement agents, a full independent investigation into Coronilla Duran’s death, accountability for multiple deaths involving ICE encounters across the country in the same week, and an end to the repression of immigrant rights defenders.
Maria Garcia, an organizer with JIRA, said the increase in deaths from encounters with ICE is concerning.
“We demand answers and accountability and we demand an end to the 287G agreement that is deputizing our local law enforcement here in North Florida that directly led to the death of a 28-year-old man,” Garcia said.
Garcia said what happened on Tuesday makes her angry and sad.
“Just hearing what the community members are saying, that they feel terrorized, that feel hunted just for who they are, just for not having the right paperwork,” Garcia said. “Seeing people try to justify it — I mean, how far gone have we gotten from our humanity.”
Crowd voices frustration
Stephanie Stroud, a JIRA member, said she was not surprised by what happened in St. Johns County, even as she was heartbroken.
“There’s no reason to draw a firearm to chase somebody in the streets,” Stroud said. “It’s not okay, it’s not fair, it is just terrorizing the people.”
Stroud said her motivation is rooted in community.
“I am not an immigrant. However, this country is built on immigrants. It’s full of immigrants, and these are my neighbors,” she said. “I know if somebody was terrorizing me, I would want my neighbors to intervene.”
Rally attendee Barbara Cecil said the issue comes down to basic humanity.
“They’re human beings, and they deserve so much better,” Cecil said. “What they have contributed to our society, from financial to cultural, deserves to be celebrated, not what they’re doing.”
DHS responds
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging the incident.
“On July 14, DHS law enforcement conducted an operation near St. Johns, Florida. Florida Highway Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating an incident resulting in the death of a Mexican national. We will provide an update when available,” the statement read.
Florida Highway Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations are handling the investigation, according to DHS.