MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The fatal shooting of an unarmed man by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Houston Tuesday, during what ICE called a targeted operation, has sparked outrage across the city, especially in immigrant communities. Many gathered Wednesday night for a vigil to honor the victim, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Houston Public Media's Bianca Seward has been covering this, and she's with us this morning. Good morning, Bianca.
BIANCA SEWARD, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: What's been the reaction to the shooting in Houston? Tell us more about that.
SEWARD: Yeah. The reaction has been fast. Within hours of the shooting, we started to see demands for investigations and the public questioning ICE's account at the shooting. There's been a mix of anger and grief in the communities, and many are calling for more transparency.
Last night, hundreds marched down Canal Street here in Houston, near where the shooting occurred, to protest the shooting and ICE's operations overall. For some at the march, like local resident Roberto Deltoro (ph), this moment is a reckoning.
ROBERTO DELTORO: We're so used to it happening somewhere else, you know, in another state, another city. But now, look, it's here in our own backyard. So it's always been a problem, but now it's a - you know, we have to, you know, take action.
SEWARD: Many immigrant rights organizations have also pointed out the similarities between ICE's account for this week's shooting in Texas and the shooting of Renee Good back in January in Minneapolis. ICE agents also accused Good of weaponizing her vehicle.
MARTIN: So tell us more about the investigation, what we know so far, and tell us more about what people are asking for.
SEWARD: Yeah. Currently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation says they're handling the inquiry, but just specifically looking into the potential assault on a law enforcement agent. Advocacy groups here are looking more for an independent investigation for the shooting overall.
Roman Palomares is the president of the League of United American Citizens (ph), LULAC, and he said the community has lost trust in the FBI and ICE to conduct investigations transparently.
ROMAN PALOMARES: You have not earned that trust. ICE has not earned that trust from the American people. Your pattern has been one of inaccuracies, of prejudicial leaks before the facts are known, of twisting the narrative to fit your version of events.
SEWARD: ICE has not yet commented to our requests for comment regarding its account of the shooting for call - or for calls for an independent investigation. After a direct request for the Houston Police Department to investigate, Mayor John Whitmire said he was leaving the investigation in the hands of federal authorities. And yesterday, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare posted to X that normally his office would conduct an investigation, but he added that, quote, "unfortunately, at this time, federal authorities continue exclusively handling all aspects of this case" (ph).
MARTIN: What is the family of Salgado Araujo saying?
SEWARD: Yeah. I was able to sit down with the sons yesterday. And his sons, Ronaldo and Lorenzo Jr., said the family had worried for a long time about the possibility of their father, an immigrant from Mexico, being detained and deported. Ronaldo said his parents had changed their habits so they would not have to leave the house that often.
RONALDO SALGADO ARAUJO: In that neighborhood, as well, the - you know, this Latino neighborhood that we grew up in, and that we thought we were safe there, it just goes to show that no place is safe when it comes to ICE.
SEWARD: They told me their father had worked for decades building homes in the Houston area and that recently he had begun the process of getting a work permit.
MARTIN: Was anyone else with Salgado Araujo at the time of the shooting?
SEWARD: Yeah. We learned from the family yesterday that there were three other passengers in the car with Salgado Araujo when the ICE shooting happened. The family says all three of those men have been detained, but they don't know where they're being held and have not yet spoken to them. Ronaldo had asked for their accounts of the shooting to be made public. The family says they'll shed light on what happened Tuesday morning.
MARTIN: That is Houston Public Media's Bianca Seward. Bianca, thank you.
SEWARD: Thanks for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOHANN JOHANNSSON ET AL.'S "FLIGHT FROM THE CITY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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