HOUSTON — Despite the sweltering heat, María Guadalupe Rodriguez kneeled in front of the makeshift memorial for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a man killed Tuesday by federal immigration agents.Rodriguez, a U.S.permanent resident and a longtime neighbor of Magnolia Park, the Houston neighborhood where the shooting happened, wiped her tears as she prayed."I feel rage," Rodriguez told NPR in Spanish.Salgado Araujo was a 52-year-old Mexican national who worked in construction for more than three decades.
The father of three was shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after they attempted to pull him over.The Department of Homeland Security says Salgado Araujo tried to use his van as a weapon, prompting an agent to fire their weapon.DHS has not provided video evidence to support that claim.
The agency said the agents were not wearing body cameras.Rodriguez didn't know Salgado Araujo, but she said she feels for him and his family.Rodriguez said she feels like no immigrant is safe under President Trump's immigration crackdown."Why use a gun when you want to deport someone?" Rodriguez said.Her neighborhood, she said, is usually calm and safe.
But recently it has felt dangerous — not because of criminals, but because of an increased presence of federal immigration agents.How much of an increase is unclear.The Department of Homeland Security didn't respond to NPR's request of a breakdown of arrests in Houston over the last eight weeks.But neighbors and immigrant-rights organizations told NPR they have seen an uptick in immigration arrests and sightings of ICE agents over the last few weeks.
They track potential sightings on social media and community-run chats.Cesar Espinosa, the executive director of the Houston-based immigrant-rights organization FIEL, told NPR his group believes there had been a decrease in ICE presence over the last six months.But over the last two weeks his organization started to receive more reports of ICE sightings."Unfortunately, it was...