Houston Chronicle Op-Ed by Bishop John Ogletree, Jr., senior pastor of First Metropolitan Church, and Rabbi David Lyon, senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo left home Tuesday before dawn to spend another day building homes for future Houstonians. Instead, during what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement described as a “targeted enforcement action” on Houston’s east side, the 35-year Houston resident and small business owner was killed.

We are Houston faith leaders, and our congregations belong to The Metropolitan Organization, a nonpartisan group that seeks the justice that so many of our faith traditions demand. We mourn Salgado’s death. And we demand an independent investigation into the enforcement strategy that led to it.

In Houston, we are blessed to live in one of the most culturally, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse cities in the United States. We are all either immigrants or personally connected to someone who is. The inherent dignity and rights that everyone in this country has should not be minimized or ignored because of their immigration status.

That’s why all Houstonians need to ask themselves: How is ICE’s current “targeted enforcement action” strategy keeping anyone safe?

A recent Houston Chronicle investigation found a pattern that ICE’s pursuit of Salgado fits — a pattern that doesn’t always end in death, but in this case did. Between February 2025 and February 2026, the Chronicle found that ICE detained 38,100 non-criminal immigrants across Texas. People who had only immigration-related violations of the law. People just like Salgado. 

Far from targeting violent criminals — as President Donald Trump’s administration repeatedly maintains — ICE is targeting immigrant workers who are often in the process of normalizing their immigration status, as Salgado was.

In fact, ICE is arresting immigrants when they go to their regularly scheduled immigration check-in appointments and court hearings, or when they are driving to work constructing Houston’s homes, cleaning our buildings and preparing our food.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare and Houston Mayor John Whitmire have promised an independent investigation into Salgado’s death. That’s a great step. But it’s not enough.

We, as Houstonians, need an investigation not only into what happened that morning, but into ICE’s broader “targeted enforcement action” strategy.

We need to understand who is being targeted, how decisions are being made and how we can keep our communities safe.

Over the last 18 months, The Metropolitan Organization leaders have worked with dozens of volunteer lawyers to provide information to over 2,000 immigrant families about how they can normalize their immigration status and protect their citizen children, homes and property should they be detained and deported. We have heard countless stories about how the current immigration enforcement practices are affecting families.

Among them: A mother in northwest Houston came to a session with her four citizen children after her husband had been detained and deported the month before. She struggled to make ends meet, and a few months after our meeting, she self-deported with her four citizen children, including her oldest, who was months away from graduating high school.

Just last Sunday, ICE pulled over an immigrant at a fast-food restaurant across the street from a large church in southwest Houston packed with immigrant families for worship. When the congregation learned that ICE was arresting people across from the church, the head usher reported that the congregation was “mortificada” — scared to death. After the service ended, the faithful were afraid to leave until it was announced that ICE had left the restaurant parking lot.

We have heard hundreds of stories like these. They reveal a missing piece of the public conversation: Most immigrants living in Houston are not threats to our communities. They are parents, workers, homeowners and neighbors who follow the law and are building a future for their families.

ICE going after them makes us all unsafe.

No one should be afraid to go to work and earn a living; afraid to go to church and worship; afraid to take their kids to school or attend regular check-ins required to earn or maintain legal immigration status.

Understanding ICE’s “targeted enforcement action” strategy is vital here more than anywhere — ICE data shows that southeast Texas has among the highest number of deportations of anywhere in the United States, with 44,430 deportations between 2021 and 2025.

These numbers demand a closer look not only at the enforcement actions but also at the broader strategy that guides them.

As faith leaders, we demand that elected officials and the public look hard at ICE's current practices and ask, “Is this really making us safer, or is it simply terrorizing and rounding up vulnerable people who have become integral parts of our communities?”

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo should have returned home on Tuesday. He should have continued building houses, supporting his family, and contributing to the city he called home for 35 years. Instead, Houston is grieving his death and asking, “Why?”

Houstonians owe it to his family to seek answers. We must understand what happened and examine the underlying strategy that caused it. We need to ensure no family experiences this kind of loss again.

The lives of our friends, family and neighbors depend on it.

[Photo credit: Raquel Natalicchio, Houston Chronice]

We're Houston Faith Leaders. Investigating Salgado's Death Isn't Enough. Investigate ICE's 'Targeted' Strategy, Houston Chronice [pdf]