Joaquin Castro on Immigration Policy

Public disputes concerning immigration, border policy, detention, removal proceedings, residence status, and enforcement.

How we classify topics

Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.

Statement history

3 statements on this page. Dates: July 24, 2026 to September 22, 2026

3 matching statements. Dates: July 24, 2026 to September 22, 2026

3 published statements. Dates: July 24, 2026 to September 22, 2026

Joaquin Castro
Role at the time: U.S. Representative for Texas’s 20th congressional district
September 22, 2026Condemned
Statement summary
Rep. Joaquin Castro described ICE as “rogue, lawless, and deadly” in an official statement about the Austin shooting and called for an independent investigation, medical care for Garcés Pérez, and for him to remain in Texas.
“An ICE agent shot Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez in Austin on Sunday. Instead of receiving medical care, he was sent to an ICE prison. No pain medicine, made to sleep on the floor, and threatened with deportation. Under Trump, ICE has become rogue, lawless, and deadly.”
Read the official statement

Rep. Joaquin Castro: “The Austin ICE shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez” · Joaquin CastroOpening description beneath the embedded video.

An official House page hosting Castro’s video about the Austin shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. The page says Castro is calling for an independent investigation, immediate medical care, and for Perez to remain in Texas; it also contains Castro’s attributed account of Perez’s detention and medical treatment. Embedded video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhFBycT6Ups.

Why we used this label

Relative to the ICE officer’s use of force against Garcés Pérez, Castro calls ICE “rogue, lawless, and deadly” in a statement specifically about the shooting and urges an independent investigation. This is condemnation of the conduct, not merely a procedural proposal.

Read statement Should ICE's use of force in the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez be condemned or condoned?

Joaquin Castro

Role at the time: U.S. representative speaking on the House floor

September 1, 2026Condemned

Statement summary

Castro named Martinez among people he said ICE had murdered.

“Let us remember the names of those whom ICE has murdered. The first one was a San Antonian, Ruben Ray Martinez. There was another Texan, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo of Houston. Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero—these folks were victims of the ICE murders.”

Read the original textPost by Rep. Ro Khanna (@rokhannausa) on Threads, September 22, 2026Complete post, viewed roughly 2 hours after posting

Khanna's post on his official Threads account (@rokhannausa), which matches the handle pattern of his verified Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook accounts. Read on 2026-09-22; Threads does not expose an independent API for verifying exact post timestamps the way X does, so the time is approximate (the platform showed "2h" ago at the time of access) rather than to the minute.

Why we used this label

Calling the death a murder is an explicit condemnation of the use of deadly force.

Read statement Was HSI Special Agent Jack Stevens justified in fatally shooting Ruben Ray Martinez?

Joaquin Castro

Role at the time: U.S. representative for Texas’s 20th congressional district

July 24, 2026Condemned

Response to this claim

The ICE officer fired in self-defense after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo attempted to run over an officer with his van.

“The more evidence that comes out, the clearer it becomes that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was murdered in cold blood by agents of the United States government.”

Read the official statementCastro Speaks at Oversight Hearing on ICE Killing of Lorenzo Salgado AraujoRemarks as delivered at the July 24 oversight hearing

Official transcript of Castro's remarks directly condemning the shooting and challenging ICE's self-defense account.

Why we used this label

The fixed reference point is the fatal shooting. Castro’s description of it as murder in cold blood is an explicit rejection of the claim that the force was justified.

Read statement Was ICE justified in fatally shooting Lorenzo Salgado Araujo?