<\/p>\n
Mayor John Whitmire speaks during a news conference flanked by elected officials at Houston City Hall in Houston on Friday, July 10, 2026, regarding the officer-involved shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a federal immigration enforcement operation and the detention of the two passengers who were in the vehicle with him.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
The scene at City Hall\u2019s public session Tuesday was tense. In the wake of the fatal shooting of\u00a0Lorenzo Salgado Araujo on July 7, anger took over the microphone. There were chants, threats and even a couple police officers escorting folks out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get distracted by the chaos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reality is that a vast majority of Houstonians are united in the call for accountability. Polls show that nearly 80% of Houstonians<\/a> disapprove of ICE \u2014 and that was before they killed one of our neighbors. Even Gov. Greg Abbott says ICE should be able to do its job without spilling blood in our streets<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Houston needs real answers about\u00a0Salgado\u2019s death. We need reforms to ICE so that this never happens again. And we need new federal immigration law that reflects the reality on the ground in our city, where homes, businesses and church pews are filled with lifelong Houstonians who raised families here and contributed to our communities but lack a real path to legal status.<\/p>\n Everyone has a role to play in this mission for justice. The protestors. The politicians. Even Mayor John Whitmire.<\/p>\n The protestors help keep Salgado in the news \u2014 and we encourage Houstonians to join the peaceful protests happening this weekend, including the Shut It Down For Lorenzo event at Hidalgo Park<\/a> today at 6 p.m., and a protest planned for Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon at Remembrance Park<\/a> downtown. These events not only keep the story alive, and keep up pressure on politicians, but also maintain a healthy sense of positivity that keeps the activism moving forward. After all, we\u2019re not just fighting against an out-of-control ICE, but fighting for Houston \u2014 fighting for the hair braiders, the musicians, the dancers in their\u00a0Jalisco skirts who have transformed these protests into a cultural celebration of our city.<\/p>\n While Houstonians march in the streets, our politicians can work the levers of government power. Representatives have met with federal officials, demanded answers and helped protect the witnesses who were in Salgado\u2019s van. They\u2019ve pushed for reforms to end ICE\u2019s reckless dragnet. In Congress, Rep. Sylvia Garcia is working on a discharge petition<\/a> to force a vote on a bill that will create paths to legal residency for Dreamers brought here as kids and for immigrants with temporary protected status. And in our city today, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is holding a hearing on Salgado\u2019s shooting.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Closer to home, District Attorney Sean Teare is leading an independent investigation, saying he will go to the \u201cends of the earth\u201d to get to the truth of Salgado\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayor Whitmire also has a role to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n Until Salgado\u2019s shooting, the mayor\u2019s plan to deal with ICE was to keep his head down<\/a>, as he told the New York Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n That approach was supposed to spare us the kinds of vindictive anti-immigrant actions other cities have seen. It was supposed to spare us the bloodshed and heartache. It didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the immediate aftermath of Salgado\u2019s shooting, Whitmire seemed at first to double down on the head-down approach, saying that the city had no jurisdiction to hold ICE accountable and that it was up to federal officials to investigate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n At other times, he has appeared defensive about criticism of his handling of ICE. But we give him credit for calling for a moratorium on ICE operations, meeting with Salgado\u2019s family and even asking that the disruptive protestors Tuesday not be arrested.\u00a0<\/p>\n We also understand some of the mayor\u2019s defensiveness. Protestors only serve their egos when they curse at the mayor and threaten to show up at his house.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But there\u2019s more the mayor can do.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whitmire\u2019s appeal has long been his ability to reach across the aisle and champion commonsense policy. That\u2019s one of the reasons why we endorsed him for mayor. Now he\u2019s uniquely positioned to use those skills and call on Houston\u2019s powerful business leaders to speak out against the Trump administration\u2019s misuse of ICE.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whitmire needs to make it clear to moderates and conservatives that ICE\u2019s tactics are hurting our city. That our economic dynamism is put at risk by a federal immigration regime that refuses to distinguish between a dangerous felon and a family man who lived here for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n ICE should be deporting criminals, real public threats. But the people whose stories make the news \u2014 and many of those who don\u2019t \u2014 are not criminals<\/a>. Often they are longtime Houstonians who make up the backbone of our region\u2019s economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Salgado was a builder. For over three decades he helped build Houston. You might be sitting in one of his homes now. <\/p>\n