Lawrence Benito is the chief executive officer and executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. He joined the coalition in 2002 and worked as a community organizer, program director and deputy director before becoming executive director in 2012. He also leads its sister organization, ICIRR Action, and previously volunteered with the Peace Corps.
We have documented 2 statements by Lawrence Benito, in 2 cases. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.
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Role at the time: Executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Condemned
Statement summary
Benito cited the Martinez shooting as evidence that ICE does not keep communities safe.
“Whether it be the apartment raids in South Shore, the shooting of Marimar Martinez in Brighton Park, or the murder of Silverio Villegas González, it’s been proven that ICE does NOT keep us safe - they are designed to intimidate communities of color and deport as many people as possible.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Reps. García, Ramírez, Quigley, Jackson, Local Elected Officials and Immigration Advocates Call for Full Accountability for DHS Brutality and Meaningful Immigration ReformQuotation attributed to Lawrence Benito
Why we used this label
He uses the shooting as a principal example in a broader condemnation of ICE’s conduct.
Role at the time: Executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Condemned
Statement summary
Benito called Villegas González’s death a murder and said it showed that ICE does not keep communities safe.
“Whether it be the apartment raids in South Shore, the shooting of Marimar Martinez in Brighton Park, or the murder of Silverio Villegas González, it’s been proven that ICE does NOT keep us safe - they are designed to intimidate communities of color and deport as many people as possible.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Reps. García, Ramírez, Quigley, Jackson, Local Elected Officials and Immigration Advocates Call for Full Accountability for DHS Brutality and Meaningful Immigration ReformQuotation attributed to Lawrence Benito
Why we used this label
He explicitly labels the death a murder and uses it to condemn ICE’s conduct.
Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez during a Chicago vehicle confrontation. Agents said she drove at Exum; Martinez and a later state review said she was driving away.
DHS says Silverio Villegas González struck and dragged an ICE agent before the fatal shooting. Compare that account with the Illinois commission's video review and the evidence limits it identified.
