This week, Houston lost one of its own. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old husband and father, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an enforcement operation in the Magnolia Park neighborhood on Tuesday, July 7. He was on his way to work, picking up the men on his construction crew, when his life was taken in front of his community.
For 35 years, Lorenzo called Houston home. He spent decades building houses for other families while working toward one of his own. His son says he was in the process of obtaining legal status, paperwork in hand, doing everything the system asked of him. His sons have made one thing clear to the public: they don’t want their father remembered as a headline. They want him remembered as a man who showed up every day, who provided, who built.
That distinction matters. Because in the days since his death, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo has become both: a grieving family’s father, and a flashpoint for a community demanding to know exactly what happened on Canal Street that morning.
Federal officials say Lorenzo tried to drive away from agents and that an officer fired in self-defense. His family and LULAC dispute that account, pointing to surveillance footage and photos that they say don’t match the government’s version of events. Hundreds of Houstonians have already marched in response, gathering at a growing memorial of candles, flowers, and handwritten notes near where he died. Local leaders, including members of Congress, city council, and the Harris County District Attorney’s office, have called for a full, independent investigation and the release of all available video and evidence.
This is where our community has to come together. Not just to mourn, but to demand the truth. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was not a statistic. He was a neighbor. A coworker. A father who built homes for a living and never got to finish building his own family’s future. When one of us is lost this way, all of us have a stake in what comes next: whether the full story gets told, and whether the people responsible are held accountable.
This is exactly the fight Domingo Garcia has spent his career showing up for. For decades, Domingo has stood on the front lines of civil rights and social justice in Texas and across the country, not from the sidelines, but in courtrooms, in city halls, and in the streets alongside the families he represents. He has taken on cases that other firms wouldn’t touch, won verdicts that changed how institutions are held accountable, and built a reputation as one of the most relentless advocates for the Latino community in America. His service as national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the same organization now standing with the Salgado family and demanding answers, reflects a lifetime committed to exactly this kind of work: giving a voice to families who are too often expected to grieve quietly and accept whatever explanation they’re handed.
That is not what will happen here.
Our hearts and our prayers go out to Ronaldo, Lorenzo Jr., and the entire Salgado family during what is undoubtedly the hardest week of their lives. No family should have to bury a father while also having to fight for the truth about how he died. But if that is what this moment requires, Domingo Garcia and this firm will be there, pushing for transparency, pushing for accountability, and pushing every agency involved to answer for what happened to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
Houston has seen this pattern before, in other cities, under other headlines. It cannot become normal here. We owe it to Lorenzo, and to every family who has ever had to ask “why,” to keep demanding answers until we get them.
If you have information related to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s death, LULAC is asking that you come forward. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that helps bring accountability. Visit LULAC.org to learn more.
We stand with the Salgado family. We stand with Houston.
