SLO County vigil protests ICE shooting in Houston. ‘It’s a tragedy’
As the heat of the day surrendered to a cooler evening, about 50 people brought picket signs, their dogs and a guitar to Los Osos on Monday night – gathering on the corner of Los Osos Valley Road and South Bay Boulevard to protest the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, last week.
An ICE agent fatally shot Salgado Araujo in the abdomen during an enforcement operation as he drove to work on July 7.
The Department of Homeland Security said the officer shot in self-defense after Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and then tried to run over the officer with his van, according to a statement posted on X. But two witnesses who were traveling in the van said Salgado Araujo did not even get close to approaching the officers, The New York Times reported.
Estero Bay Indivisible organized the protest in Los Osos to honor Salgado Araujo’s life and to demand an independent investigation into the shooting.
“This is a tragedy,” longtime Los Osos resident Linde Owen said while waving an upside down American flag.
Born in Mexico City, Salgado Aruajo entered the United States 35 years ago without authorization, The New York Times reported. He got a job in construction, then started his own business and raised a family while attempting to gain citizenship, the article said.
“None of us here knew Mr. Araujo, but we know that this was deeply, deeply wrong, and we are all hurt by it,” Estero Bay Indivisible co-leader Ali Jones said during a speech at the protest. “In the words of the Civil Rights leader John Lewis, ‘No one is free when others are afraid.’”
Federal immigration officials have fatally shot ten people since the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025, the Guardian reported on July 9.
“The cruelty is the point,” Jones said. “We are here because we’re saddened and outraged that this keeps happening. We’re here to bear witness. We’re here to demand justice. We’re here to renew our commitment to holding those responsible to account.”
Cars passing by cheered and honked at the protesters while Jones gave her speech.
Estero Bay Indivisible co-leader Joanne Coghlan called the killing “barbaric.”
“Enough is enough,” she told The Tribune. “This is not who we are. It’s pushing back on our most basic tenant in our country, which is the immigrant story. We are all immigrants, except for the Chumash and other indigenous tribes.”
She encouraged the protesters to protect the immigrant community as ICE inevitably escalates its operations leading up to the midterm election.
“Get prepared, know your rights, know the rights of others,” she said. “We all look out for each other.”
The protest concluded with a call and response song while one of the protesters played guitar. People left flowers and candles next to a photo of Salgado Araujo on a table on the sidewalk.
“We’re here to acknowledge and honor the life of a good and decent person, a man who raised three sons and sent them to college,” Jones said. “A man who was simply on his way to work and never made it back.”
