HOUSTON – Community organizers, faith leaders, and civil rights advocates gathered outside Houston City Hall Tuesday afternoon to demand accountability following the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent earlier this month.
Read more Funeral services for late Houston Texans co-founder Janice McNair
Deadly Houston ICE shooting: Coalition calling for citywide shutdown
What they’re saying:
During the press conference, a coalition of organizations issued a call for a citywide “Day of Action” and economic shutdown on Friday, July 24. The mobilization, dubbed “No Business as Usual,” urges Houston residents and local business owners to pause routine activities in protest of the July 7 incident.
“This Friday, July 24th at 6 p.m. at Hidalgo Park in Houston’s East End, organizations across the city are coming together for a mass demonstration,” said Griffin Walker, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and volunteer with Stand Up! Houston. “In addition to the leading organizations, small businesses and community members are taking up the call to shut it down and participate in this day of action.”
Walker added that advocates are asking residents to “stay home from work,” “don’t shop,” and “don’t go to school” to disrupt standard city operations.
What they are wanting:
Core Demands
The coalition outlined five primary demands directed at federal, state, and local leadership:
- An independent investigation into the death of Salgado Araujo.
- The public release of the names of all ICE agents involved in the shooting.
- Criminal prosecution of the agents responsible.
- The immediate release of the three passengers detained during the incident.
- An end to all collaboration between the Houston Police Department and ICE.
“Two weeks later, his family is still waiting for answers,” said Sameeha Rizvi, Civic Engagement Organizer at CAIR-Texas. “No family should have to fight for the truth after losing someone they love. That’s why we’re joining the calls of his family and this growing coalition, which calls for an independent investigation, the release of the names of the agents involved, the release of the passengers, the preservation and public release of all available evidence and accountability wherever the facts lead.”
What they’re saying:
Historical Connections and Community Perspectives
Speakers at Tuesday’s event framed the recent enforcement actions within a broader context of civil rights struggles.
Richard Molina, an activist and nephew of Joe Campos Torres—a Mexican-American veteran killed by Houston police officers in 1977—drew direct parallels between his family’s decades-long fight and current events.
“My family and I have been fighting injustice towards our people for decades,” Molina said. “Joe Campos Torres was a Mexican-American, born in the East End, and was serving in the U.S. Army when he was murdered by the Houston Police Department. His murder sparked outrage in the community, much like Lorenzo’s murder. Again, here we are, decades later, fighting the same battles.”
Read more Texas man charged with impersonating officer days after assaulting El Paso County deputies
Representing the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Bonnie O’Croft called for divestment from federal immigration enforcement agencies.
“We must divest from militarization, cages, surveillance, task forces, and enforcement contracts,” O’Croft said. “Instead, they need to invest in our safety, in our housing, in our healthcare, food access, education, and harm reduction, and community care.”
The other side:
Official Accounts and Legal Updates
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that federal agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation when they encountered the vehicle. According to DHS statements, an ICE officer opened fire in self-defense after Salgado Araujo allegedly attempted to ram officers with his work van.
Eyewitnesses in the vehicle and advocacy groups have disputed that account, stating agents fired into the vehicle from the side. DHS confirmed that the officers involved were not equipped with body-worn cameras.
Regarding local policing, Mayor John Whitmire’s office has previously noted that the Houston Police Department was not involved in the federal operation on July 7 and holds no jurisdictional authority over federal law enforcement agencies.
The press conference coincided with a significant legal update out of federal court. U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison issued an order halting the deportation of key eyewitnesses held in federal custody, requiring them to remain in the Southern District of Texas while court petitions proceed.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office recently certified the surviving passengers as material witnesses for U-visa applications in connection with an ongoing local inquiry.
Organizers emphasized that Friday’s planned mobilization at Hidalgo Park will move forward as scheduled at 6 p.m.
Read more Hundreds of thousands of empty for-sale lots could help fix America’s home shortage, Zillow says