Hundreds of voters across the United States placed their 'I Voted' stickers on memorials for people killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the days leading up to Election Day on November 3, turning roadside shrines into impromptu works of political expression.

At the memorial for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old man shot dead by an ICE officer in Houston in July, dozens of Harris County voting stickers were left alongside handwritten messages reading 'We make America great,' 'I voted for you' and 'You didn't deserve this.' Stickers also appeared at memorials for Alex Pretti, another person killed by ICE agents earlier this year.

The gesture came during the first nationwide general election since Donald Trump began his second presidential term in 2025. In the nearly two years since, immigration enforcement operations have separated families, filled detention centres and, in several cases, proved fatal. ICE officers have shot and killed several people on the street, and at least 31 people have died in ICE custody this year alone, according to legal advocates.

For many of those who voted early or queued on the day, candidates' positions on immigration were a decisive factor. The stickers made the link between the ballot box and the memorials explicit, with voters using a small adhesive badge to say they had cast their vote in memory of the dead and against the administration's enforcement policies. Those leaving stickers made their intent plain, signalling opposition to the administration, and immigration was a deciding issue for many who voted early or queued on polling day.