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Houston community members continue to demand justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the 52-year-old Mexican father who was shot and killed by an ICE agent July 7. He had lived in the United States for nearly 35 years and had three U.S. citizen children. The ICE agents involved in his killing have not been identified, and it’s unclear whether they remain on active duty.
For more on the community response, we get a report from Democracy Now! producers on the ground in Houston. To many people in the city’s immigrant communities, Salgado Araujo was “Houston’s dad,” representative of their own families and not a dangerous criminal as the government has tried to portray him.
“He looks just like all of our parents. He has the same story, the same American dream,” a resident named Sonia told Democracy Now!
“We are demanding justice for Lorenzo, but it’s not just that,” a mourner said at a rally. “These terrorists coming from the government, it’s not just in Houston, it’s not just in Texas, it’s not just in the United States. It’s terrorism all over the world.”
Transcript
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.
We go to Texas, where Houston community members continue to demand justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, shot and killed by an ICE agent July 7th. He was a 52-year-old Mexican father of three U.S. citizen sons, lived in the United States for nearly 35 years, worked in construction. The ICE agents involved have not been identified. It’s also unclear whether they remain on active duty or have been placed on administrative leave.
The office of Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare is pursuing an independent investigation, while Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Trump ally, said Texas Rangers will investigate the fatal shooting. Advocates fear the Trump administration may attempt to withhold key evidence. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has also announced it will hold a field hearing in Houston Friday to hear eyewitness accounts and testimony in Salgado Araujo’s killing. But three key witnesses who were in the van with Lorenzo are still being detained at an ICE jail in Conroe, Texas, run by the for-profit prison company GEO Group. One of the witnesses is Lorenzo’s brother Victor, who now faces deportation.
Well, Democracy Now! has been on the ground in Houston over the weekend and visited the community-built memorial at the site of the fatal shooting in the heart of the Magnolia Park neighborhood in the city’s East End District. Democracy Now!’s María Inés Taracena spoke with some of the visitors, as well as Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL.
CESAR ESPINOSA: Today we are at the memorial, the makeshift memorial, the community memorial, the community shrine, that has been set up for Mr. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Apparently, from what we know, Mr. Lorenzo was coming this way, and then he U-turned, and his van ended up in this very spot. And unfortunately, this is where he took his last breaths.
As you can see, you know, this is in the heart of Magnolia Park here in Houston, Texas, one of the first Latino communities here in Houston, people in the second, third generation, people who have — maybe their immigrant parents moved here, and they’ve grown up here. This is a very Latino part of town. And for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, he felt like this was home. He raised his family here. And so, he was at home when this happened to him.
The other thing that I was pointing out earlier was the red bricks. I mean, this is a clear reminder of community coming together to save themselves. The red brick’s significance is when the city of Houston refused to pave the streets in the barrio, in the neighborhood, people got together, and they bought these bricks, and they laid them down by hand. People like Lorenzo Salgado Araujo would have been the people who would have come together and, with their hands, would have built this street, would have built the neighborhood. When we came here the first time, I noticed that immediately, and it brought chills to me, because it’s very — it’s very symbolic that this happened here.
You know, one of the things we have seen and one of the things that also brings a lot of emotion to us is seeing all the abuelitas, the mamás, the daughters, the men, the dads coming out here and taking care of the shrine. If you look at the at the — at where the veladoras are, a man built that and brought that over here.
MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: After we spoke with Cesar Espinosa of FIEL, community members from different parts of Houston came by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s shrine to pay their respect.
SONIA: My name is Sonia. I was born two streets down from here. I’m an educator. So, I worked also down the street from this place.
I came here today because Mr. Lorenzo is everybody’s father. I’m a child of immigrants myself, and when I’m here, I’m overwhelmed with emotion, because it’s like if I was looking at my own dad posted up there. The amount of support this family has gotten, it’s no coincidence, and it’s not by accident. It’s because he is — he’s Houston’s dad. He looks just like all of our parents. He has the same story, the same American dream. And today, I decided to stop and come here because I just needed to pay my respects, and I needed him to know, I needed the family to know that they’re not alone, that we’re all with them and that he’s cared for.
Sadly, after this, my dad has started carrying his passport with him everywhere he goes, because he’s just — he was just so struck by what happened. He’s so scared. He’s an American citizen also, but just afraid that somebody will profile him the same way that Mr. Lorenzo was profiled.
MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: On Saturday evening, community members continued coming by Mr. Lorenzo’s memorial, bringing candles, fresh flowers, balloons and other offerings to honor him. They placed a poster that showed Mr. Lorenzo with Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, the 25-year-old Colombian father killed by ICE in Maine on the same week. Parents also came to the memorial with their children.
EFRAÍN MONTALVO: [translated] My name is Efraín Montalvo. We are here because we are afraid of what is happening. Like Mr. Lorenzo, we also work in construction, and we don’t know if we will come back home. If we have children with us, we worry about them being stopped or that the same thing will happen to us as it happened to him. I’ve been here for about 20 years. I arrived to the United States around 2006. I drive through these streets every day for work.
We brought a hard hat, part of the gear we use on the construction site, as a symbol of the sorrow we share with his family. This is very sad.
My son is 4 years old. If immigration were to stop me, the thought of having to leave my son, I have a lot of fear. If they stop me or to leave him, there is fear. There is fear.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Efraín Montalvo, a construction worker who was at the memorial for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, fatally shot by an ICE agent in Houston. Efraín visited the memorial with his 4-year-old son.
The Salgado family laid Lorenzo Salgado Araujo to rest in a private funeral and burial Saturday. His eldest son, Ronaldo Salgado, said in social media, quote, “We played music, horses danced, and we celebrated the life of the man who provided for my mom and my brothers for more than 30 years,” unquote.
On Sunday afternoon, hundreds gathered for another rally calling for justice and accountability in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s death. They were joined by Ronaldo and his brother Lorenzo Jr. Protesters temporarily shut down a bridge, holding signs that read “Borders Kill” and “Abolish ICE.” Democracy Now!’s María Inés Taracena spoke with some of them.
PROTESTERS: ICE melts in Texas heat! ICE melts in Texas heat! ICE melts in Texas heat! ICE melts in Texas heat!
MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: We are at Ervan Chew Park in Houston ahead of the march demanding justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Several grassroots organizations have gathered here, community members. There are people holding signs saying “Abolish ICE,” ”ICE out of Texas.” You can hear the music in the background. We spoke to some of the activists and members of the community.
VIVEK VENKATRAMAN: My name is Vivek Venkatraman, and I’m an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. ICE has not slowed its terror even one notch since the brutal murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. As you mentioned, a young high school student, described by his peers and his teachers as a very sensitive student, was very forcefully detained at the Hobby Airport here in Houston. And of course, in the immediate days following Lorenzo’s death, not in Houston, but across the country, we’ve seen the continuation of ICE brutality. We saw, in the immediate aftermath of Lorenzo’s death, the brutal shooting in the head of Joan Sebastián Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine. We saw a man in Florida, fleeing ICE, hit by oncoming traffic.
MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: And what has been the response of Houston officials, of Harris County officials? What power do they have to stop ICE operations here in the city and protect the community?
VIVEK VENKATRAMAN: Many of the people here, in fact, spent many months at City Hall demanding an end to collaboration between ICE and HPD. And through that public pressure, the city actually decided to pass an ordinance that limited the collaboration between ICE and HPD. Almost immediately after that ordinance was passed, which took a lot of work from the bottom up, after Greg Abbott threatened to withhold some funding, almost immediately, John Whitmire, the mayor, folded, and the City Council folded. And this is the kind of attitude we’ve seen from them over and over, just a complete betrayal of the people who have put them in power.
PROTESTERS: Justice for Lorenzo! ¡Justicia para Lorenzo! ¡Justicia para Lorenzo!
VANESSA ESCOBAR ACOSTA: Vanessa Escobar Acosta. I am with Amigos de Los Salgado. We are a new organization that formed on the wake of Mr. Lorenzo’s death. We are strong advocates for the Salgado family. So, it’s composed mostly of childhood friends of Ronaldo. We went to middle school, high school together, stayed in contact throughout our early adulthood years. And it hit us as if it was our own family member. When we heard the news of Mr. Salgado being shot by ICE agents, it broke our hearts as if it was in our own family.
MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: Do you have family members of yours, relatives, who are afraid to go out in the street after not only the shooting of Mr. Lorenzo, but just the presence of ICE in the city of Houston?
VANESSA ESCOBAR ACOSTA: I have had also family members taken by ICE and deported to Honduras. And these are folks who were on a pathway to citizenship. They were on a path to get visas or residency or whatever the respective immigration status was. They were doing things the right way. I had a cousin who was detained and deported last year in August, and another who was detained earlier in 2026. So, just months after our first cousin was detained and deported, another cousin of ours was also detained and deported.
ALMA COOPER: My name is Alma Cooper. I’m here first because we are demanding justice for Lorenzo, but it’s not just that. These terrorists coming from the government, it’s not just in Houston, it’s not just in Texas, it’s not just in the United States. It’s terrorists all over the world. Just look at the Marco Rubio declaration a couple days ago. It’s plain and simple terrorism. They are terrorizing the entire world. So, I heard about the killing of Lorenzo Salgado the same Tuesday last week, at night, when the news — I was watching the news. And I — I mean —
PROTESTERS: Shut it down! H-Town, shut it down! H-Town, shut it down! H-Town, shut it down! H-Town, shut it down!
ALMA COOPER: I got furious, because this is terrorists from the state, from the government. If they want to get a criminal, get the criminal that lives in the White House.
LISBETH: So, my name is Lisbeth. I am 23 years old. I am here because my mom, my dad, they’re both immigrants. They came to this country looking for something greater. And honestly, I feel like this whole thing is idiotic. I wish we could just work together, live in peace. But honestly, with how things are looking, we need to fight back. So, that’s why I’m here.
JORGE OJEDA: My name is Jorge Ojeda. When I saw Lorenzo’s dad, it reminded me a lot of my dad, who goes out. Both of my parents came in legally, doesn’t matter, because my grandpa was the one that came in illegally to make that happen. And it doesn’t matter at all if you come here legally or not. You shouldn’t be murdered just because you’re here without a piece of paper.
MARÍA INÉS TARACENA: We just received word that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s two oldest sons, Ronaldo and Lorenzo Jr., will be addressing the crowd on the stage.
RONALDO SALGADO: I really, really hoped that my dad would be the last person that this would happen to, but you saw what happened less than a week later. Out there in Maine, there is a young 3-year-old child who saw the worst of the worst. And it is terrible to think that this could happen again.
LORENZO SALGADO JR.: The number one thing I think our government fears is the people coming together, becoming educated and having these difficult conversations with each other. And it’s really important for us to stay united, to stay positive and to keep fighting for justice. And I really only have three more words for y’all: I love you, Houston!
RONALDO SALGADO: It’s very nice to see so many people, so many people of all backgrounds, races, colors, creeds, religions come together and try to ask for what’s right, try to ask for the bare minimum. And it’s going to be justice. Is that too much to ask?
CROWD: No!
RONALDO SALGADO: I hope you guys have a safe, powerful march. And thank you all for being here for my dad, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
PROTESTERS: Justice for Lorenzo! ¡Justicia para Lorenzo! ¡Justicia para Lorenzo! Down, down with deportation! Down, down with deportation! Up, up with reparation! Up, up with reparation!
SOFIA REYNA: My name is Sofia Reyna. I’m 16 years old. Lorenzo, he wasn’t the target that ICE was looking for. And his life was lost. Why? It could have been me. It could have been you. It could have been anyone. And right now we’re in the streets protesting on this bridge. We want everyone in power to hear. We want everyone to hear that this is not fair. Innocent lives are being lost. Families are being torn apart. Innocent lives, hardworking people, people who pay taxes are dying on our streets. We’re not going to let that fly. We want justice now!
PROTESTERS: ¡Justicia para Lorenzo! ¡Justicia para Lorenzo! ¡El pueblo vive vive! ¡El pueblo vive vive!
AMY GOODMAN: Special thanks to Democracy Now!’s María Inés Taracena, Nicole Salazar and Hany Massoud, in the streets of Houston.
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