More than 100 demonstrators filled the council chamber and gathered outside Houston City Hall on Tuesday to demand accountability and an independent investigation following the fatal shooting of local business owner Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent last week.
Salgado Araujo, a father of three, was shot dead in his vehicle while driving to a construction job site in Houston.
The incident occurred amid a series of fatal enforcement actions across the country, including recent ICE shootings in Minnesota and Maine.
Advocacy groups are demanding the release of three passengers who were riding with Salgado Araujo, the publication of the involved ICE agents' names, and the reinstatement of a city ordinance that limits local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Community Members Express Fear and Anger
"ICE hunts us like animals," testified Maria Cervantes, who immigrated from Mexico and grew up in the East End neighborhood where Salgado Araujo was shot.
She expressed deep fear for the safety of the community following the fatal incident.
"I can’t help but think, who’s next? Am I going to get a bullet to the head for being brown?"
Cervantes said.
Local organizers emphasized that the tragedy has united regional and national immigrant rights groups to maintain sustained advocacy.
"We watched what happened in Minnesota and we are seeing what happened in Maine and now in Florida.
It is absolutely ridiculous," said Uncle Eagle, a local organizer with 50501 and the national No Kings coalition.
He noted that the shared challenges are helping build a stronger, more resilient coalition. "But this is bringing the coalition together.
Trust and honesty, repeated over time, is what builds a community capable of sustained pressure," Eagle said.
Organizers Shift Focus to Documentation and Accountability
In response to the escalation of fatal incidents, organizers have modified community safety programs to teach residents how to document federal enforcement actions safely.
"The day is going to come when we are going to hold these ICE agents accountable," said Jasmine Khadem González, an immigrant rights organizer with Houston Democratic Socialists of America.
She urged residents to focus on documenting the actions of the officers rather than the individuals being detained.
"And we need to have all of the evidence possible," González said.
Community members from the historically Latino East End neighborhood expressed feelings of marginalization and anxiety over gentrification and physical safety.
"The connection that I draw [from the shooting] is that our immigrant and Hispanic Latino communities are disposable," said Esmeralda Ledezma, who spent Tuesday inside the council chamber on behalf of the immigrant justice non-profit Woori Juntos.
She explained that the community is being rebuilt at the expense of its long-term residents.
"We built the community brick by brick, and it gets torn down and redeveloped over the sake of money," Ledezma said.
Ledezma emphasized the critical threat that federal operations pose to the safety of local families. "We are sounding the alarm.
We need ICE out of our city," she said.
She warned of the severe consequences of federal agents operating in the area: "When ICE is on the ground, they kill.
We cannot let this happen again."
Labor union representatives joined the call for action, urging federal lawmakers from Texas to intervene.
"These are working-class people who are thriving and making this economy better," said Elsa Caballero, the president of SEIU Texas.
She pointed out that political pressure from local representatives remains the most viable path toward systemic reform.
"The more Republicans that actually start making demands, the more likely something changes, because right now they’re the ones with the power," Caballero said.
