A 24-year-old Honduran man fleeing federal immigration agents in Virginia died on a highway after being hit by a car.
The death of José Castro Rivera comes on the heels of recent incidents involving three other migrants chicago and California were killed during immigration enforcement operations under the Immigration Act Trump administration campaign.
Castro Rivera was headed to gardening work Thursday when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stopped his car, said Castro Rivera’s brother, Henry Castro.
Agents attempted to arrest Castro-Rivera and the three other passengers, and he fled on foot and attempted to cross Interstate 264 in Norfolk and was fatally struck, according to state and federal authorities.
Castro Rivera came to the United States four years ago and was working to send money to his family in Honduras, according to his brother.
“He had a very good heart,” Castro said Sunday.
The Department of Homeland Security said Castro Rivera’s car was stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of a “targeted, intelligence-based” operation and the passengers were detained for allegedly living in the country without legal authorization.
Castro Rivera “forcefully resisted and ran” and died after being struck by a passing vehicle, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. DHS officials did not respond Sunday to requests for further comment.
Virginia State Police said officers responded to a report of a vehicle-pedestrian collision around 11 a.m. Thursday on eastbound I-264 at the Military Highway interchange. Rivera was struck by a 2002 Ford pickup and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The accident is still under investigation.
Federal authorities and state police gave his first name as Jose, but family members said it was Jose. The Department of Homeland Security and State Police did not explain this discrepancy.
Castro called his brother’s death unjust and said he was raising money to transport the body to Honduras for the funeral.
“He didn’t deserve everything that happened to him,” Castro said.
The Department of Homeland Security blamed Castro Rivera’s death on “the direct result of every politician, activist, and reporter who continues to spread propaganda and misinformation about ICE’s mission and ways to avoid arrest.”
Similar deaths amid migration operations elsewhere have sparked protests, lawsuits and calls for investigations amid claims that the Trump administration’s initial calculations were misleading.
Last month in a Chicago suburb, federal immigration agents fatally shot a Mexican man during a traffic stop. DHS initially said a federal officer was “seriously injured,” but police body camera video showed the federal officer walking around and describing his injuries as ” Nothing major“.
In July a Farm worker Who fell from the roof of the greenhouse during Chaotic raid on ice At a cannabis facility in California he died from his injuries. And in August man He fled from federal agents on a highway in the same state and was fatally hit by a car.