A group of migrants were hunted and shot by brothers Michael and Mark Sheppard last month. At the time, Michael was warden of the West Texas Detention Center run by the private prison company LaSalle Corrections. Under the Trump admin, this would have been much bigger news.
Multiple publications have identified Jesus Ivan Sepulveda Martinez as one of the migrants who was shot. Michael Sheppard reportedly shot the 22-year-old in the head and he died at the scene. Another victim, who was shot in the stomach, is recovering and has not been identified.
It is always astounding to me when Americans don't listen to migrants and don't believe the stories they tell about U.S. authorities, including law enforcement and detention center officials. I believe every word.
The brothers claim they'd been out looking for animals to shoot. Mark claims his brother thought he was shooting at javelinas. The migrants say the men shouted profanities in Spanish and told them to "come out." afterward, the men went to a county water board meeting.
Michael Sheppard ran a facility with the potential to detain more than 1,000 people in a region of Texas where anti-immigrant animus only keeps ratcheting up. Detention is already deadly, but all of the immigrants detained there were in grave danger under his watch.
These kinds of stories keep piling up. The dehumanizing rhetoric about migrants that we read every day in newspapers and hear every day from elected officials only normalizes this violence. It fucking disgusts me.
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