A crowd of hundreds marched in Houston's Magnolia Park neighborhood 36 hours after a federal immigration officer shot and killed a man along that very street. They called for an end to such immigration enforcement operations in Houston.
The protest, organized Wednesday evening by civil rights group FIEL Houston and the Houston branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, brought hundreds of Houstonians to the 6800 block of Canal Street where, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot on Tuesday morning. A small memorial of flowers and candles was set up just feet from where he was shot during an encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"This is the exact spot that Lorenzo took his final breath," said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston. "And in the spirit of solidarity, I don't know about you, but I say, if they come for one of us, they come for all of us."
Federal authorities have said Salgado Araujo was a Mexican citizen without legal status in the U.S. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security alleged he was attempting to evade arrest and "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer," which the man’s family has disputed.
One of Salgado Araujo’s sons said he had lived in the U.S. for more than 30 years and was on his way to work before the deadly encounter with ICE. Salgado Araujo did not have a criminal record in Harris County.
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On Wednesday evening, after chanting and several speakers denouncing ICE operations, the crowd marched down Canal Street. A group of more than 100 remained at the site for a small candlelight vigil, predominantly in Spanish.
A man and woman who called themselves family members of Salgado Araujo briefly spoke at the vigil, visibly emotional. They expressed their gratitude for the large turnout of community members who showed up to voice their condemnation of the shooting.
Earlier, during the protest, Conchita Reyes, in conjunction with the Houston chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), shared a statement from the Salgado Araujo family, with whom LULAC has been working since the shooting.
"Here on Canal Street is where my dad Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and bled out before passing away," Reyes said, reading from a written statement by the family. "He lay here in pain and in fear for his life and with the fear of leaving his family behind. He did not deserve to die. [...] He deserved to take his workers to the job site, finish the houses, and go back home to his loving wife."
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Reyes also stated the family's three wishes: for an independent investigation of the shooting, a reform to ICE operations "doing away with ambush-style tactics and unmarked vehicles," and financial assistance for Salgado Araujo's wife, Maria.
"I feel like what happened to him wasn't the right thing," Alejandra Batres, a Houstonian, told Houston Public Media. "He was a very hard-working person, that I read from. He wasn't doing nothing, and it wasn't right. And if I have a choice to raise my voice for other people that can't do it, I'm going to do it.
Several elected officials also attended, some of whom spoke. Among them were Democratic Congress members Sylvia Garcia, Al Green and Christian Menefee; Houston City Council members Alejandra Salinas and Joe Panzarella; and Texas House Democratic Caucus leader Gene Wu. Garcia stated that she, Green, Menefee, and U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher had sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security "demanding answers."
"I assure you that it's not going to be the last step, and we're going to stay on it and on it until there is a full, complete, up-and-down, thorough investigation, and someone is held responsible," Garcia said. "Because this is too much like what happened in Minneapolis with [Renée Good, a woman shot and killed by ICE]."
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Roberto Deltoro arrived at the protest holding a massive flag, with an explicit message denouncing ICE. As a Mexican-American born and raised in Houston, he said the killing of Salgado Araujo was a wake-up call.
"As soon as I found out, I knew we had to come out," he told Houston Public Media. "I knew we had to protest, and we had to come support, because we’re so used to it happening somewhere else, in another state, another city. But now, look. It’s here in our own backyard. So, it’s always been a problem, but now we have to take action."
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