In light of the recent killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by federal immigration agents, Free Speech For People (FSFP) and FIEL (“Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha” or “Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight”) today sent letters requesting that Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare take steps to ensure the investigation and prosecution of other violent crimes committed by federal agents in Houston and Harris County, Texas. 

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed on July 7, 2026 when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in two unmarked SUVs blocked his van, shot him, and arrested the surviving passengers. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which houses ICE, sought to protect the ICE agents involved by withholding evidence from local investigations and disparaged Mr. Salgado Araujo. No local investigators were on site the day of the incident because the Houston Police Department (HPD) received notice of the homicide but chose to defer to federal investigators, following a new policy that discontinued the decades-old practice of automatically sending trained HPD detectives to investigate every officer-involved shooting. Instead of HPD, District Attorney Teare’s office sent investigators to the scene the next day, a delay that made it easy for federal authorities to control the evidence and investigation. 

But Mr. Salgado Araujo is not the only victim of federal violence in Houston and Harris County. In another horrific example, Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, and his father Arnulfo were terrorized and assaulted by ICE in October 2025. Arnoldo’s mother took him to HPD to file a report, but HPD was hesitant to investigate. 

“Houston is proud of its diversity,” said Cesar Espinosa, the Executive Director of FIEL. “It is displayed prominently in the city. It is talked about at events by elected officials. Unfortunately, there is a severe discrepancy between pride and action. While Houston celebrates its diversity, it lacks in taking proactive steps to protect it. In the last year, immigration enforcement has run rampant in our city, and little has been done about it.” 

These incidents show that more can and must be done locally to protect our communities from federal violence. Immunity does not exist for federal agents when they act outside of their official duties and commit violent crimes in violation of state law.

“Federal agents are not above state criminal law,” said John Bonifaz, President of Free Speech For People. “The Constitution does not grant federal agents immunity to commit murder, assault and battery, kidnapping, unlawful detention, or other crimes. State and local prosecutors have both the authority and the obligation to enforce state criminal laws when federal officers violate them.”

In the letters, FIEL and FSFP request Mayor Whitmire and District Attorney Teare to make an uncontroversial public statement that when Houston residents are illegally assaulted, kidnapped, or killed, the perpetrators of those crimes will be prosecuted, regardless of their status as a federal agent or official. The letters further ask that both Mayor Whitmire and District Attorney Teare create and publicize a safe, secure process for residents to report violations by federal agents and to diligently undertake investigations of those complaints. The letter to Mayor Whitmire also requests that HPD reinstate its earlier policy to automatically send investigators immediately upon notice of an officer-involved shooting. 

“These requests will help ensure greater safety for Houston and Harris County communities, accountability for federal agents who are committing crimes with impunity, and a small measure of solace to the victims of these crimes and their families,” said Suparna Reddy, Senior Counsel at Free Speech For People. 

Read the letter to Houston Mayor John Whitmire here. 

Read the letter to Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare here.