On July 7, ICE agents doing a sweep in Houston’s East End murdered 52-year old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in cold blood. Salgado Araujo was well known in the neighborhood where he was a cherished father, husband, neighbor and employer. He had lived in this neighborhood for 35 years after coming to Houston as a teenager. He had no arrest record and had never been in “trouble” of any kind. He owned a small construction company and had picked up three employees early in the morning and was driving them to work on homes in a suburban area when he was stopped by ICE. The three passengers were arrested and have disputed the ICE account of what happened.
Now, DHS has admitted Salgado Araujo wasn’t even their target. These lying, murdering ICE thugs shot into his van and arrested him while he cried in pain. He later died in the hospital.
ICE claimed “Salgado Araujo allegedly attempted to ram an ICE vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands and tried to run over the ICE agent before the federal officer fired his weapon in self-defense….”. The little video footage that has been found shows two unmarked vehicles pulling ahead of and behind Salgado Araujo’s van and cutting him off, with no evidence of him speeding toward ICE agents. It has also come out that the agents were not wearing body cams – and this is the same bullshit ICE/DHS used to try to “justify” their murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
The next night over 1000 people, many from the East End, held an angry rally, and marched to a neighborhood park. Chants included “ICE Out of Houston, ICE out of Everywhere!” and Chinga la Migra. At one point Congressman Al Green led the chant “Trump Must Go!” Green said, “I promise you that ICE is going to go, but I also recognize that Donald Trump is the head of the snake, and we have to remove him (through impeachment).” The rally and march were called by FIEL (Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight). Refuse Fascism distributed several hundred of our recent statement and signs that said Trump Must Go Now and Que Se Largue Trump. More protest activity is scheduled for this weekend and Refuse Fascism will be there.
Protests have to spread far beyond the East End community and Houston – around the country, everyone who wants to see an end to ICE/Gestapo murders and the fascist attacks on immigrants has to act. ICE must go! Trump must go now!
Photos by Braydon R. Alfrey (@mralfey on IG)