{"id":427005,"date":"2026-09-05T08:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T08:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/427005\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T08:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T08:55:14","slug":"the-record-will-outlast-it-houston-leaders-back-impeachment-over-ice-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/427005\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The record will outlast it\u2019: Houston leaders back impeachment over ICE deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Al<\/a><\/p>\n

Al Green has introduced articles of impeachment to remove President Trump.<\/p>\n

Juhi Varma
\u2013 The Katy News Journalist<\/p>\n

What are we doing?
Impeaching President Trump.<\/p>\n

Hasn\u2019t it been tried before?
Yes. More than once.<\/p>\n

If the House tables it again, what\u2019s the point?
A record, they said.<\/p>\n

But if it passes?
The Senate holds a trial.\u00a0The chief justice presides. A conviction removes the president. No appeal.<\/p>\n

That was the argument inside Morales Radio Hall on Friday morning, where U.S. Rep. Al Green and Texas State Reps. Christina Morales and Ron Reynolds stood with LULAC and other Houston advocates to talk about H.Res. 1486, Green\u2019s articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

H.Res. 1486 accuses the president of abusing office by running ICE and CBP as unaccountable, quota-driven forces and of condoning civilian deaths, including those of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, Johan Sebastian Dur\u00e1n Guerrero and Houston\u2019s Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe judiciary can\u2019t hand out justice because the United States of America\u2019s Justice Department is hiding evidence from local prosecutors\u2013such that if there is to be a case, it will be a case filed in a federal court, in a federal court where President Trump can pardon the killers,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n

\"Christina<\/a><\/p>\n

Christina Morales speaks at press conference<\/p>\n

There is a record<\/p>\n

Rep. Morales, whose family owns the historic Morales Radio Hall in Houston\u2019s East End where the press conference took place, drew a parallel between the building\u2019s history and the debate over immigration taking place there.<\/p>\n

Her grandparents built the hall in 1950, she said, and established La Voz Latina, a popular Spanish-language radio station.<\/p>\n

Newly arrived Spanish-speaking immigrants could turn to the station for news, music, hurricane information and employment opportunities.<\/p>\n

She contrasted that history with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo\u2019s death. Salgado, she said, was doing the work that station used to advertise \u2013driving a crew to a construction job on Canal Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cLorenzo was doing exactly what my grandfather used to, connect people to jobs to do: get up and go to work and take care of your family,\u201d Morales said. \u201cThat\u2019s why this press conference is in this room, because this is the room where my family told immigrants that they were welcome to Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green noted that President Trump was in Houston that day to visit NASA but did not meet with Salgado\u2019s family or offer his condolences.<\/p>\n

The 52-year-old father and husband was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Houston on July 7.<\/p>\n

Questions have also arisen over an allegation about a white substance found in Salgado Araujo\u2019s vehicle. U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz subsequently said FBI laboratory testing determined the substance was not methamphetamine.<\/p>\n

Nearly two months later, the ICE officer who fired the fatal shot has not been publicly identified.<\/p>\n

Some people would call impeachment symbolism, Morales said. She rejected that. She voted to impeach Ken Paxton in 2023. The Senate acquitted him, she said, but the evidence did not vanish. Impeachment, she argued, is how Congress can force names, quotas, signed orders, and sworn testimony into the open\u2014especially the names of officers she said the administration will not release. Local prosecutors, she added, can use a public record after the fact.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conviction in the Senate is not the only outcome that defines success,\u201d Morales said, arguing that evidence produced through the process remained part of the public record.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe record will outlast it,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is what justice and accountability and transparency are about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reynolds called it a watershed and said Green should not stand alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be not one Democrat that doesn\u2019t stand by Congressman Green on this,\u201d said Reynolds, a Missouri City Democrat.<\/p>\n

\"Joseph<\/a><\/p>\n

Joseph T<\/p>\n

Longtime LULAC activist Johnny Mata, Cesar Espinosa and Dr. Sergio Lira, representing Houstonians for Justice, spoke of detention numbers, children in custody, and a record that can be waiting if control of the House changes in November. Lira said the filing does two things at once: it shows where they stand now, and it means they would not start from zero later.<\/p>\n

Abigail Avila, whose mother, Margarita Avila, was deported to Belize in September 2025, also attended the press conference. Avila said her father, who was legally granted a permit in 2013, is now being held by CBP, leaving her to care for her younger brothers<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are those who will say we should wait until next year when we\u2019ll have the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate,\u201d Green said. \u201cBut in waiting, additional lives can be lost at the hands of CBP and ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n

He later said he was willing to debate Democrats or Republicans who disagree with his approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a time of decision,\u201d Green said. \u201cIt\u2019s a seminal moment in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Green also rejected the argument that pursuing impeachment would distract Congress from issues such as the cost of living.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can have affordability and accountability at the same time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can do multiple things in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happens next?<\/p>\n

Green filed H.Res. 1486 on Aug. 24. The resolution has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n

Asked Friday what would happen if the House ultimately approved articles of impeachment, Green explained that they would then go to the Senate for a trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Congress votes to impeach, then the articles of impeachment will be sent to the Senate, and the Senate will then conduct the trial,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n

A conviction by the Senate would result in Trump\u2019s removal from office.<\/p>\n

For Green, however, the first hurdle is the House.<\/p>\n

He predicted there would be an effort to table his resolution, which would force lawmakers to decide whether the impeachment effort should proceed.<\/p>\n

Green said Friday that regardless of the political odds, he intends to force that choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour vote matters,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I promise you, we will have that opportunity to vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Katy Topics: Katy<\/a>Katy Texas<\/a>Katy Texas Business<\/a>Katy Business Directory<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

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