(Houston, Texas)—ICE fatally shot a Houston man, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, on Tuesday, and recycled their reprehensible tactic of blaming their victim for their own death. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) joins with the Houston Leads coalition in demanding the dismantling of this rogue agency and accountability for their latest fatal shooting. This was the third fatal ICE shooting this year alone and we mourn Mr. Salgado Araujo’s death. He was 52 years old, married with three sons, and a small business owner.
After federal agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis with impunity earlier this year, ICE has continued using its terrorizing and abusive tactics. Recent media reports indicate ICE has actually ramped up its tactics throughout the year, reporting that the White House told ICE it wanted an increase in arrests. Prior to the July 4th holiday, arrests surged to 10,000 in five days in the nationwide push.
Mr. Salgado Araujo’s family has demanded his death be investigated. DHS and the FBI have said they are investigating but there is no confidence in our community that this investigation and its findings will be legitimate. Houston Mayor John Whitmire, who has rubber stamped Houston Police Department (HPD) and ICE collaboration in Houston, has said he will not sanction a city-led investigation, once again letting the many immigrant communities in Houston down with his inability to offer them protection, accountability or transparency.
Mr. Salgado Araujo’s family have said there has been an increased ICE presence in their neighborhood recently, which is being replicated in immigrant communities nationwide on a much quieter basis than the Kristi Noem era of DHS. This under-the-radar tactic is ICE’s hope that their violent and racist tactics will go unnoticed. We must not let ICE’s practices be accepted as normal.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Mr. Salgado Araujo’s family. We join Mr. Salgado Araujo’s family in mourning this senseless and tragic loss. May Mr. Salgado Araujo rest in power.