Fresno Activists Demand Answers After ICE Shooting in Texas, Call on Valley Officials to Act

A Fresno coalition held a vigil downtown Friday evening for a Texas man shot and killed by ICE officers during an immigration enforcement operation in Houston on July 7. The Fresno May First Coalition gathered in front of the Robert E. Coyle Federal Courthouse despite triple-digit heat, demanding transparency and calling on Central Valley elected officials to publicly address how they will protect immigrant families from federal enforcement actions that turn deadly.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, a builder in Texas, was killed during the operation. Federal officials said he was not the target of the enforcement action but claimed he attempted to use his vehicle to injure officers. The League of United Latin American Citizens is calling for a full independent investigation and has collected nearly 170,000 signatures on a petition demanding the release of body camera footage, surveillance video, radio communications, and witness statements.

“We stand with the Salgado family and demand answers,” said Lourdes Medina, a coalition member. “No family should be left without information, accountability or justice following a fatal law enforcement operation.”

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The vigil was one of several held across the country, including in Sanger, where farmworkers said they worried they could be next even if they have legal status. 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.

“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,” the LULAC petition stated. The petition cited the 2025 shooting of Marimar Martinez in Chicago and the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Macklin Good in Minneapolis earlier this year, cases where video evidence showed ICE’s claims to be false or inaccurate.

Coalition coordinator Leonel Flores said the shooting “raises serious questions about the conduct of federal immigration enforcement operations and the use of lethal force.” The coalition is demanding transparency from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE about the training, protocols, and decision-making processes agents use in high-pressure situations.

Earlier last year, an immigration crackdown in Kern County detained farmworkers on their way to work. Coalition members said they want their voices heard that while Salgado Araujo was the latest death tied to ICE operations, the question remains: Who will it be tomorrow?

The Breakdown

• Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was shot and killed by ICE officers during a July 7 immigration enforcement operation in Houston. Federal officials said he was not the target but claimed he tried to use his vehicle to injure officers.
• The Fresno May First Coalition held a vigil Friday at the federal courthouse downtown, calling for justice, transparency, and an independent investigation into the shooting.
• The coalition is demanding that Central Valley and California elected officials 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.
• 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.
• LULAC’s petition for a full investigation has nearly 170,000 signatures and is calling for the release of all evidence, including body camera footage and witness statements.

What This Means for You

ICE arrests across Fresno and six nearby counties rose 58% in early 2025. The coalition is calling on your elected officials at every level to publicly address how they will respond to enforcement actions that result in deaths or harm to residents, including those with legal status. When farmworkers in Sanger say they’re worried they could be next, that’s a real fear tied to operations happening right here, not just in Texas.

How your elected officials respond — or whether they answer at all — is information you can use when you vote.

What You Can Do

The LULAC petition calling for a full independent investigation into the Houston ICE shooting is available online and had nearly 170,000 signatures as of Monday morning. You can contact your local, state, and federal elected officials to ask where they stand on federal immigration enforcement practices and what steps they will take to protect residents from deadly use of force during enforcement operations.

What to Watch

The coalition is asking elected officials to publicly address their position on federal immigration enforcement and the use of lethal force — pay attention to which officials respond and which stay silent.

The broader pattern named in the LULAC petition is worth tracking: ICE has justified multiple shootings by claiming someone tried to run over officers, only for video evidence to later show those claims were false or inaccurate. Watch whether your representatives push for transparency or accept the agency’s version at face value.

The 58% jump in ICE arrests across Fresno and the central Valley is part of a broader immigration enforcement pattern. The number to watch isn’t just arrests; it’s whether those operations are being carried out in ways that put residents at risk, and whether your elected officials are willing to say so out loud when they are.