Man’s death by ICE renews outcry in Valley against Trump’s immigration crackdown
Central Valley immigrant community members and activists are demanding justice for a man killed last week by ICE officers in Texas. The shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Texas builder, on July 7 in Houston has renewed outcry against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The Fresno May First Coalition held a vigil and protest Friday evening in front of the Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse in downtown despite triple-digit heat. Participants called for justice, transparency, accountability and suspension of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementoperations.
“We stand with the Salgado family and demand answers,” said Lourdes Medina, a member of the Fresno May First Coalition, in a statement. “No family should be left without information, accountability or justice following a fatal law enforcement operation.”
Organizers said they want their voices heard loud and clear that while the 52-year-old Salgado Araujo was one of the latest death victims of ICE, the question arises: Who will it be tomorrow?
Fresno’s vigil was one of many held in the country, including in Sanger, were farmworkers said they worried they could be next even if they have legal status. Earlier last year, an immigration crackdown in Kern County detained farmworkers on their way to work.
ICE arrests in Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley rose 58% in early 2025, with 1,156 regional arrests and at least 516 deportations across six counties.
Coalition members said they support the national call by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), for a full and transparent independent investigation into the Houston ICE shooting and the circumstances surrounding the death of Salgado Araujo.
DHS said Salgado Araujo was not the target in last week’s immigration enforcement operation in Houston. ICE officials have said he attempted to use his vehicle to injure officers. As of Monday morning, LULAC’s petition had almost 170,000 signatures asking for every piece of evidence including body camera footage, surveillance video, radio communications and witness statements to be preserved and released to the public.
“This is not the first time ICE has justified a shooting by claiming someone tried to run over officers, only for later evidence to prove that to be untrue,” said LULAC’s petition. The petition mentioned the 2025 shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago and the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Macklin Good in Minneapolis earlier this year, where video evidence showed ICE’s claims to be false or inaccurate.
“This tragedy raises serious questions about the conduct of federal immigration enforcement operations and the use of lethal force,” Leonel Flores, the coalition coordinator, said in a statement.
Coalition members said there needs to be transparency from DHS and ICE about the training, protocols and decision-making processes used by agents in high-pressure situations, and the use of deadly force.
“This must be the last time a family is forced to endure such a loss under these circumstances,” Flores said.
The coalition urges elected officials, community leaders and lawmakers throughout the Central Valley and California to publicly address how they will protect immigrant families, small-business owners, workers and community members from immigration enforcement actions that result in the use of lethal force.
This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Man’s death by ICE renews outcry in Valley against Trump’s immigration crackdown."
