HOUSTON – More than 30 community organizations and labor groups will hold a press conference Friday to call for citywide participation in an emergency protest Sunday demanding justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent on July 7 in east Houston.
The press conference will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at the Houston Liberation Center.
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Local leaders are expected to join the groups in calling on Houston to end its collaboration with ICE and emphasizing the importance of demanding justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
“We are encouraged by the show of support that the Houston community has shown to the Salgado Araujo family. Our main goal is to keep momentum high so that the death of our father, neighbor and friend does not become another statistic. We stand Houston Strong,” said Cesar Espinosa, co-founder and executive director of FIEL.
What happened on Canal Street
The shooting happened around 6:50 a.m. on July 7 in the 6800 block of Canal Street, according to the Department of Homeland Security, while ICE agents were conducting what the agency described as a targeted enforcement operation. Salgado Araujo, identified by DHS as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was not the intended target of that operation, according to the office of U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia.
In a statement, DHS said the encounter began after agents received a tip from law enforcement partners and conducted surveillance at a target address.
“After receiving a credible tip from our law enforcement partners, our officers conducted surveillance on a target’s address. Weeks prior to the incident, they noted two white vans at the property. On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop,” the agency said.
DHS has said the ICE agent acted in self-defense after authorities say Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle, ignored repeated commands and “weaponized” his work van by trying to run over an agent.
Witnesses dispute federal account
Three other men were inside the van with Salgado Araujo at the time of the shooting. Through their attorney, the men said ICE vehicles struck Salgado Araujo’s work van first and that agents were never in danger of being run over. They alleged an agent approached from the passenger side, yelled, “Stop!” and then opened fire, striking Salgado Araujo in the abdomen.
Garcia said she has spoken with two of the three men and that their accounts contradict the version of events provided by federal authorities.
No body camera footage
Investigators face a significant evidentiary challenge: There is no body camera footage of the shooting. DHS confirmed ICE agents were not equipped with body cameras and attributed the lack of the devices to what it described as “back-to-back Democrat shutdowns,” saying funding delays prevented officers from being equipped with the cameras.
Without that footage, investigators are expected to rely on witness statements, physical evidence and any available surveillance or cellphone video.
Salgado Araujo’s family and civil rights advocates have challenged parts of the federal government’s account and continue to call for an independent and transparent investigation.