Grand Rapids community demands answers after Guatemalan man dies fleeing attempted ICE stop

Mario David Coronado Juárez, a 35-year-old undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, died on September 20 after fleeing when ICE agents attempted to stop his vehicle in Grand Rapids, colliding with a tree. Community members held a vigil days later demanding answers, and Coronado Juárez's family says they were not contacted about his death by police until more than 24 hours afterward.

The Department of Homeland Security posted on social media that there was no car chase, saying officers 'immediately discontinued the enforcement action' once the driver fled at high speed. Grand Rapids police say ICE arrived at the scene first, and Michigan State Police are now investigating; Rep. Hillary Scholten has requested records and footage from ICE's acting director.

Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand said the city cannot bar federal agencies but condemned what he called ICE's 'national pattern of intimidation, harassment, and killing,' while declining activists' demand to declare the city a sanctuary. Local organizers say the mayor's rhetoric hasn't translated into policy, and GRPD's own rules permit assistance to federal immigration agents under certain circumstances.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.