July 22, 2026

Washington, D.C. — Voto Latino, joined by a coalition of interfaith, human rights, business, immigration, veteran, and civil rights leaders, sent a letter to Congressional leadership demanding the immediate introduction of articles of impeachment and a full congressional investigation into Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s handling of deaths in detention, shootings by ICE and CBP agents, and other violence perpetrated by DHS under his tenure.

“Two Latino men are dead within a week of each other, killed by the very agency that has unleashed chaos onto our neighborhoods,” said Beatriz Lopez, Executive Director of Voto Latino. “When he took the helm of the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Mullin tried to separate himself from the abuses of his predecessor, Kristi Noem. But over the past four months, it has become clear that Mullin is no different, accelerating the agency’s worst impulses without any accountability or remorse. He took office in March and already 21 people have died under ICE custody as families continue to fear for their lives.”

The letter details a series of documented rights violations under Secretary Mullin’s leadership, including:

• Fatal ICE shootings, including the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father shot by federal agents during a traffic stop on July 7, 2026, and the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian man who was authorized to work in the U.S., shot by ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine on July 13, 2026.
• Obstruction of Congressional oversight at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in New Jersey, where DHS restricted visitation and deployed tear gas, pepper spray, and batons against detainees and advocates investigating hunger strikes, overcrowding, and a custody death.
• Defiance of federal court orders, including Secretary Mullin’s refusal during June 2026 Senate testimony to commit to future compliance, amid nearly 100 court orders DHS has violated this year.
• Mass family separation, with more than 205,000 children losing a parent to detention since the administration took office, including 145,000 U.S. citizen children and 22,000-plus who have had both parents detained.
• A surge in custody deaths, with 21 deaths in ICE custody in 2026, eight since Secretary Mullin took office in March.
• Expanded family detention infrastructure, including six new facility expansions across Texas, Arizona, California, and Louisiana, among them a 528-bed facility for families and children next to a deportation flight hub.

“We are calling on every member of leadership named in this letter to treat it with the urgency it demands,” Lopez added. “Lives are on the line, and every day of inaction is a day more families are destroyed. That is why we are also calling on our community directly. Through our One Death is Too Many campaign, we are asking people to sign the petition at MullinMustGo.com and demand that Mullin no longer lead DHS. Congress must act, and our community will not stay silent until he is gone.”

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Voto Latino is a civic advocacy organization dedicated to educating and empowering the next generation of Latino voters while working to build a more inclusive and representative democracy. Since its founding, Voto Latino has registered nearly two million voters. In 2024, the organization took legal action to protect voting rights, filing multiple lawsuits in Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina to safeguard access to the ballot ahead of the elections.