A man is taken into custody on suspicion for catalytic converter theft on W 34th Street near Mangum Road, Friday, June 4, 2021, in Houston. Two men were allegedly trying to steal a catalytic converter according to a witness. One of the two men was arrested on the spot, the other ran away and hid in a small food market on W. 34th St. near Mangum Rd. after a couple of hours, the man hiding was arrested by HPD officers.
Marie D. De Jesús/Staff photographer
ICE and HPD
Regarding “Houston police report reveals extent of HPD cooperation with ICE,” (July 17): Local leaders can’t order the federal government around, but they aren’t powerless. It’s worth considering whether increasing local cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could prevent future tragedies.
No more masked agents without body cameras. No more pursuits with unmarked vehicles. If those are our demands, it sounds like the Houston Police Department and other area agencies have a role to play. Absent changing ICE’s tactics, what if community-oriented policing were still possible through enhanced partnership with those who know our city best?
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Immigration enforcement
Regarding “Bellaire High School student at Hobby Airport being detained by ICE,” (July 19): Each day, I wonder how much more I can be disappointed and shocked at our country’s current immigration “policies.” Then today happened, and I realize there is no bottom. When a Bellaire High School student (who is at the top of his class; seeking lawful admission via asylum; who just returned from visiting Harvard University) is arrested, this is no longer about “immigration enforcement.” Instead, it is about cruel ICE agents making their quotas and bonuses. We are no longer the envy of the world — in fact, we are quite the opposite. And sadly, this is only year two.
Unbalanced coverage
Regarding “Montrose protest keeps up the pressure almost 2 weeks after Lorenzo Salgado’s fatal shooting,” (July 19): The Houston Chronicle has done such a disservice in the reporting on the shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado. The overwhelming outcry and demands of justice for Mr. Salgado far outweigh any articles, columns or opinions in support of ICE, as well as Salgado being here illegally.
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With only a very few exceptions, this newspaper consistently shows great bias in favor of the liberal and left-wing platforms. The reporting of Salgado’s shooting has given entirely too much negative publicity to ICE.
Where is this same outrage and shouts of injustice when a law-abiding, legal American citizen is mugged, robbed, raped or killed at the hands of an undocumented immigrant? Shame on you, Houston Chronicle, for once again reporting in an embarrassing volume for the “rights” of illegal immigrants.
As a subscriber for over 50 years, it would be refreshing to see this newspaper offer fair and balanced reporting and not just pandering to one political party. The Houston Chronicle needs a split staff of liberal and conservative leadership, staff, articles, columns and headlines. Any “positive” mentions of Republican or conservative news are below the fold or buried within a section.
Bonnie Jo Barron, Houston
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Regarding “ICE protests are making a difference. Don’t stop now. | Editorial,” (July 15): I must have seen over a dozen articles on Lorenzo Salgado’s shooting by ICE. Many of them were displayed on the front page. Whether shooting Salgado was justified is not the point of this letter.
The point is that the Houston Chronicle continues to vilify ICE whenever something goes wrong, and your paper has not said a good word about all the good things that ICE has done. Rarely is there an article, and certainly none on the front page, about the murderers, drug dealers, rapists and child molesters that they have arrested.
Rarely have you covered a heinous crime committed by an undocumented immigrant, and if you do, it certainly does not make the front page.
Voting
Regarding “Houston is an immigrant city and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was one of us,” (July 17): What the Latino community needs to come to grips with is that they are not only voting for themselves, they are voting for the freedom rights of their children. Don’t be scared away from voting in November.
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Your children’s democracy is at stake.
Outrage
Regarding “What happened before and after Lorenzo Salgado was shot by ICE,” (July 17): I am outraged and struggling to recognize the country I have loved all my life. This week, another life was tragically taken by an ICE agent. His name was Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a hard-working, 52-year-old father who lived in Houston for more than 30 years. He was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent. Moreover, we have learned ICE did not even target him for arrest.
Yet his story is only one sad part of a much larger tragedy for undocumented immigrants. Thousands are being held in ICE detention facilities across our nation. Reports indicate that roughly 70% have no criminal record. Many accounts describe overcrowded conditions, inadequate food, poor medical care and unsanitary facilities.
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We can debate immigration laws, but we should never debate the value of a human life or the obligation to treat every person with dignity. If we lose our compassion, we lose something far greater than our politics. We lose our soul.