"Justice for Lorenzo": Houston Community Demands Accountability After ICE Killing of Mexican Father

[00:00:00]This is democracyow democracynow.org.

[00:00:03]I'm Amy Goodman. We go to Texas where Houston community members continued to demand justice for Lorenzo Sago Ajo shot and killed by an ice age on July 7th. He was a 52year-old Mexican father of three US citizen sons. Lived in the United States for nearly 35 years, worked in construction. The ICE agents involved have not been identified. It's also unclear whether they remain on active duty or have been placed on administrative leave. The office of Harris County District Attorney Shawn Tier is pursuing an independent investigation while Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Trump ally, said Texas Rangers will investigate the fatal shooting. Advocates fear the Trump administration may attempt to withhold key evidence. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has also announced it'll hold a field hearing in Houston Friday to hear eyewitness accounts and testimony in Salgado Ajo's killing. But three key witnesses who are in the van with Lorenzo are still being detained in an ICE jail in Conro, Texas, run by the for-profit prison company Geog Group.

[00:01:15]One of the witnesses is Lorenzo's brother, Victor, who now faces deportation. Well, Democracy Now has been on the ground in Houston over the weekend and visited the community built memorial at the site of the fatal shooting in the heart of the Magnolia Park neighborhood in the city's East End district. Democracy Now's Maria Inz Teresa spoke with some of the visitors as well as Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FO.

[00:01:46][bell] Today we are uh at the memorial, the makeshift memorial, the community memorial, the community shrine that has been set up for Mr. Lorenzo Salgadoro.

[00:01:56]Apparently, from what we know, uh Mr. Lorenzo was coming this way and then he U-turned and his van ended up in this very spot and unfortunately this is where he's uh took his last breaths.

[00:02:11]Um, as you can see, you know, this is a in the heart of Magnolia Park here in Houston, Texas. Uh, one of the first Latino communities here in Houston.

[00:02:20]People in second, third generation, people who have, uh, maybe their immigrant parents moved here. Uh, and they've grown up here. This is a very Latino part of town. Um, and for Lorenzo Salgador, uh, he felt like this was home. He raised his family here. Um and so he was at home when this happened to him. The other thing that I was pointing out earlier was the red bricks. Uh I mean this is a a clear reminder of community coming together to save themselves. The red brick significance is when the city of of Houston uh refused to pave the streets in the bario in the neighborhood. People got together and they bought these bricks and they laid them down by hand. people like Lorenzo Salgadoro would have been the people who would have come together and with their hands would have built this street, would have built the neighborhood. When we came here the first time, I noticed that immediately and it brought chills to me because it it's very is it's very symbolic that this happened here. You know, one of the things we have seen uh and one of the things that that also brings a lot of emotion to us is seeing all the abuelas, the mamas, the daughters, the the men, the the dads coming out here and taking care of the shrine. If you if you look at the at the at the fl where the veladoras are some a man built that and brought that over here. After we spoke with Cesar Espinosa of Fel, community members from different parts of Houston came by Lorenzo Salgados shrine to pay their respect. My name is Sonia. Um I was born two streets down from here. Um I'm an educator.

[00:04:01]So I worked also down the street from these from this place. I came here today because um Mr. Lorenzo is everybody's father. I'm a child of immigrants myself and when I'm here, I'm overwhelmed with emotion because it's like if I was looking at my own dad posted up there.

[00:04:27]The amount of support that that family has gotten, it's it's no coincidence and it's not by accident. It's because he is he's Houston's dad. He looks just like all of our parents. He has the same story, the same American dream.

[00:04:46]And today I decided to stop and come here because [snorts] I just needed to pay my respects and I needed him to know. I needed the family to know that they're not alone, that we're all with them [snorts] and that he's cared for. Sadly, after this, my dad has started carrying his passport with him everywhere he goes because he's just he was just so struck by what happened. He's so scared. He's an American citizen also, but just afraid that somebody will profile him the same way that Mr. Mr. Lorenzo was profiled >> on Saturday evening. Community members continued coming by Mr. Lorenzo's memorial, bringing candles, fresh flowers, balloons, and other offerings to honor him. They placed a poster that showed Mr. Lorenzo with Joan Sebastian Durangero, the 25-year-old Colombian father killed by ice in Maine on the same week. Parents also came to the memorial with their children.

[00:05:56]is Montalo. My name is Ephraen Montalvo.

[00:05:59]We are here because we are afraid of what is happening. Like Mr. Lorenzo, we also work in construction and we don't know if we will come back home. If we have children with us, we worry about them being stopped or that the same thing will happen to us as it happened to him. I've been here for about 20 years. I arrived to the United States around 2006. I drive through these streets every day for work.

[00:06:33]We brought a hard hat, part of the gear we used on the construction site, as a symbol of the sorrow we share with his family. This is very sad.

[00:06:46]My son is four years old. If immigration were to stop me, the thought of having to leave my son, I have a lot of fear.

[00:06:53]If they stop me or to leave him, there is fear. There is fear.

[00:06:58]>> That was Ephraim Matalvo, a construction worker who was at the memorial for Lorenzo Sagado Ajo, fatally shot by an ICE agent in Houston. Ephran visited the memorial with his four-year-old son. The Salado family laid Lorenzo Salgado Ajo to rest in a private funeral and burial Saturday. His oldest son, Ronaldo Salgado, said in social media, quote, "We played music, horses danced, we celebrated the life of the man who provided for my mom and my brothers for more than 30 years."

[00:07:32]On Sunday afternoon, hundreds gathered for another rally, calling for justice and accountability in Lorenzo Salgado Oral's death. They were joined by Ronaldo and his brother Lorenzo Jr.

[00:07:44]protesters temporarily shut down a bridge holding signs that read borders kill and abolish ICE. Democracy Now's Marian Ted spoke with some OF THEM.

[00:07:54]>> I MELTED TEXAS HEAT.

[00:07:56]>> IL TEXAS. We are at Urban Chew Park in Houston ahead of the march demanding justice for Lorenzo Salgado Ajo. Several grassroots organizations have gathered here, community members. There are people holding signs saying abolish ICE, ice out of Texas. You can hear the music in the background. We spoke to some of the activists and members of the community.

[00:08:26]>> My name is VCatrain and I'm an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. ICE has not slowed its terror uh even one notch since the brutal murder of Lorenzo Salgado Rajo.

[00:08:37]As you mentioned, a young high school student um described by his peers and his teachers as a very uh sensitive uh student was uh very forcefully detained at the Hobby Airport here in Houston.

[00:08:52]And of course, in the immediate days following Lorenzo's death, not in Houston, but across the country, we've seen the continuation of ICE brutality.

[00:09:00]We saw in the immediate aftermath of Lorenzo's death the brutal shooting in the head of Jean Sebastian Guerrero in Bifford Maine. We saw a man in Florida uh fleeing ice hit by oncoming traffic.

[00:09:13]>> And what has been the response of Houston officials of Harris County officials? What a power do they have to stop ICE operations here in the city and protect the community? Many of the people here, in fact, spent many months at city hall demanding an end to collaboration between ICE and HPD. And through that public pressure, the city actually decided to pass an ordinance um that limited the collaboration between ICE and HPD. Almost immediately after that ordinance was passed, which took a lot of work from the the bottom up, >> after Greg Abbott threatened to withhold some funding, almost immediately, John Whitmire, the mayor, folded and the city council folded. And this is the kind of attitude we've seen from them over and over. Just a complete betrayal of the people who have put them in power.

[00:10:07]>> Vanessa Costa. I am with Amigos Salgado.

[00:10:12]We are a new organization that formed on the wake of Mr. Lorenzo's death. We are strong advocates for uh the Salgado family. So, it's composed mostly of childhood friends of Ronaldo. We went to middle school, high school together, stayed in contact throughout our early adulthood years, and it hit us as if it was our own family member. When we heard the news of Mr. Salgado being shot um by ICE agents, it broke our hearts as if it was in our own family. Do you have family members of yours, relatives who are afraid to go out in the street after not only the shooting of Mr. Lorenzo, but just the presence of ICE in the city of Houston? Um, I have had also family members taken by ICE and deported to Honduras. And these are folks who were on a pathway to citizenship. they were on a path to get um visas or residency or whatever the respective immigration status was. They were doing things the right way. I had a cousin who was detained and deported last year in August and another who was detained earlier in 20ou in 2026. So just um months after um our first cousin was was detained and deported. Another cousin of ours was also detained and deported. My name is Alma Cooper. I'm here first because we are demanding [cheering] justice for Lorenzo.

[00:11:48]But it's not just that. These terrorists coming from the government. It's not just in Houston. It's not just in Texas.

[00:11:57]It's not just in the United States. It's terrorist all over the world. Just look at the uh um Marco Rubio declaration couple days ago is plain and simple terrorism. They are terrorizing the entire world. So I heard the um about the killing of Lorenzo Salgado the same uh Tuesday last week at night when the news I I was watching the news and I I I MEAN DOWN. SHUT IT DOWN.

[00:12:41]>> SHUT IT DOWN.

[00:12:43]>> SHUT IT DOWN.

[00:12:45]>> I got furious cuz this is terrorist from the state, from the government. They want to get a criminal. Get the criminal that is in the White House. [cheering] >> So, my name is Lesbas. I am 23 years old. I am here because my mom, my dad, they're both immigrants. They came to this country looking for something greater. And honestly, I [cheering] feel like this whole thing is idiotic. I WISH WE COULD JUST work together, live in peace, but honestly, with how things are looking, we need to fight back. That's why I'm here.

[00:13:24]>> My name is Jorge. Um, when I saw Lorenzo's dead, it reminded me a lot of my dad who goes out. Um, but my parents came in legally, that doesn't matter cuz my my grandpa was the one that came in illegally to make [cheering] that happen. And, uh, it doesn't matter at all if if you come here legally or not.

[00:13:41]You shouldn't be murdered just because you're here without a piece of paper.

[00:13:44]>> We just received word that Lorenzo Salgado Ajo's two oldest sons, Ronaldo and Lorenzo Jr., will be addressing the crowd on the stage. And I really, really hoped that my dad would be the last person that this would happen to, but you saw what happened less than a week later.

[00:14:05]>> Out there in Maine, there is a young three-year-old child who saw the worst of the worst.

[00:14:13]>> And it is terrible to think that this could happen again. The number one thing I think our government fears is the people coming together, becoming educated, and having these difficult conversations with each other. And it it's really important for us to stay united, uh to stay positive, and to keep fighting for justice. And I really only have three more words for y'all. I love you, HOUSTON. [cheering] It's very nice to see so many people, >> so many people of all backgrounds, races, colors, creeds, religions come together [cheering] >> and try to ask for what's right.

[00:14:58][applause] Try to ask for the bare minimum and it's going to be justice. [cheering] >> Is that too much to ask?

[00:15:10]>> I hope you guys have a safe, powerful march.

[00:15:16]And thank you all for being here. From my dad, Lorenzo Salgado Ajo. [cheering] [music] [music] WITH LIBERATION.

[00:15:37]>> UP [screaming] WITH LIBERATION UP WITH LIBERATION.

[00:15:41]>> MY NAME IS SOPHIA RAINA. I'M 16 years old. Lorenzo, HE WASN'T THE TARGET THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. AND HIS life was lost. Why? It could have been me. It could HAVE BEEN YOU. IT COULD HAVE BEEN ANYONE. And right now, we're in the streets protesting on this bridge. WE WANT EVERYONE IN POWER to hear. We want everyone to hear that this is not fair.

[00:16:06]Innocent lives are being lost. Families are being torn apart. INNOCENT LIVES, hardworking people, people who PAY TAXES ARE DYING ON OUR STREETS.

[00:16:18]>> We're not GOING TO LET THAT LIE. We want justice now.

[00:16:28][screaming] Special thanks to Democracy Now's Maria Enz Teresa, Nicole Salazar, and Honey Massud in the streets of Houston. Thanks for watching Democracy Now on YouTube.

[00:16:46]Subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications to make sure you never miss a video. And for more of our audience supported journalism, go to democracynow.org org where you can download our news app, sign up for our newsletter, subscribe to the daily podcast, and so much