<\/p>\n
Jose Perez Leon is photographed working on the roof of Deborah Powell, then 72, on Sunday,\u00a0Aug. 11, 2024 in Houston. His team repaired roof damage from the powerful derecho storm and Hurricane Beryl.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Chewy\u00a0Guzman and Jose Perez Leon are photographed working on the roof of Deborah Powell, then 72, on Sunday,\u00a0Aug. 11, 2024 in Houston. They repaired damage from the powerful derecho storm and Hurricane Beryl.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Pedro\u00a0Rosales, 41, is photographed working on the roof of Deborah Powell, then 72,\u00a0on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024 in Houston.\u00a0His team repaired damage from the powerful derecho storm and Hurricane Beryl.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Months after the damaging storms, Derecho and Beryl, the home of Deborah Powell, then 72, is still under repair from major water and wind damage, she is photographed watching the repair work on Sunday,\u00a0Aug. 11, 2024 in Houston.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Chewy\u00a0Guzman is photographed working on the roof of Deborah Powell, then 72, on Sunday,\u00a0Aug. 11, 2024 in Houston. Her house sustained major damages from the derecho and Hurricane Beryl.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
The family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo<\/a>, killed in Houston by an immigration agent in July<\/a>,\u00a0endorsed a namesake federal bill that U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia plans to introduce later this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n The legislation focuses on protecting construction workers from heat stroke, injury and exhaustion by guaranteeing paid rest and water breaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLorenzo Salgado Araujo was a proud Houston homebuilder, a husband, and a father of three whose life was taken by an ICE agent on his way to work,\u201d said Garcia, D-Houston. She has spent the past three months<\/a> acting as fact-finder, intermediary and advocate for his family, and hopes the bill will honor his life.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Salgado Araujo\u2019s adult sons, Ronaldo and Lorenzo, said they hope it will keep construction workers safe across the country. Many are immigrants like their father.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to know that our dad, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, is honored in DC this way,\u201d they said in a statement. \u201cFor his name to be forever immortalized in American history is a tragically beautiful feeling, and our hope is that his name continues to be utilized in positive changes for the millions of Americans like him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hot summers strain construction workers<\/p>\n On July 7, the day\u00a0Salgado Araujo was shot and killed, Houston\u2019s heat index \u2014 or \u201cfeels-like\u201d temperature \u2014 climbed into the triple digits, the onset of a summer full of temperature spikes that led to a surge in\u00a0emergency room visits<\/a> and triggered concern for outdoor workers<\/a>. It turned out to be the hottest season on record in the U.S.<\/p>\n Though a growing number of states have adopted laws to protect against heat injury, Texas has not. Instead, the state passed a 2023 law, dubbed the \u201cDeath Star\u201d bill by opponents, to override local rules \u2014 including in Austin and Dallas \u2014 that used to require water breaks for construction workers.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Adam Dean, a George Washington University professor who has analyzed heat-related worker deaths across the country, said the situation in Texas is particularly worrisome.\u00a0<\/p>\n He and a colleague published peer-reviewed statistical research<\/a> in 2025 that calculated the number of outdoor workers likely saved each year by California\u2019s heat protections.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf a Texas state heat standard were as effective as California, it could save 130 to 200 lives each year,\u201d Dean said, according to data from his analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n DANGERS: Texas workers face life-or-death heat risks as state rejects safeguards<\/a><\/p>\n At the federal level, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to protect workers from recognized hazards, but does not yet mandate respite from extreme heat. The agency proposed standards\u00a0in 2024, but they are in limbo and face a new congressional effort to strike them down.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \nFederal worker protection proposals\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Federal lawmakers including Garcia have introduced a range\u00a0of different bills outlining worker heat protections for years, though none have passed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her 2026 bill would expand on legislation she introduced in 2022 and 2023, guaranteeing paid rest breaks for construction workers to hydrate and cool off during their shifts.\u00a0<\/p>\n A number of Houston-area emergency room doctors worry about these outdoor laborers after seeing many who have missed the signs<\/a>, thinking they could handle the heat or fearing repercussions for speaking up.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo many individuals in the construction sector, also within landscaping, have utilized our ERs for elements of heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat stroke,\u201d said Neil Gandhi, assistant medical director of emergency medicine at Houston Methodist\u00a0Hospital-TMC.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Houston hospitals also see a\u00a0summer uptick in patients<\/a> with issues like heart attacks that can be exacerbated or triggered by overheating, though the connection often goes unnoticed.<\/p>\n