Excerpts from a Pastoral Statement on the Death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

by Bishops Ruben Saenz Jr. and Cynthia Harvey

“To the People of Faith in Texas and to All Who Grieve,

‘When one member suffers, all suffer together.’ (1 Corinthians 12:26)

On the morning of Tuesday, July 7, 2026, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston's East End. He was 52 years old. He was a husband and the father of three United States citizen children. For nearly thirty-five years he made his home among us, rising before dawn to build houses across this city and to give honest work to others. His family knew him as "El mundo entero" — the whole world.

We grieve. We grieve as neighbors, as clergy and lay leaders, and as people who confess that every human being is created in the image of God and possesses sacred worth that no earthly authority may erase. A father was killed on a Houston street on his way to a construction site, and his citizen children learned of his death not from any official, but from a video circulating on social media. This is a moral wound to our whole community, and we will not look away from it.”

“We call on our leaders to reject enforcement practices that treat entire neighborhoods as targets and that make our immigrant neighbors afraid to drive to work, report a crime, or seek help. We renew our long-standing call for just, humane, and comprehensive immigration reform that keeps families together and honors the dignity of every person.”

“To our immigrant neighbors, and especially to the Latino communities of Houston and across Texas who carry this grief and fear today: you are beloved children of God. You are not alone. Our congregations remain places of welcome, refuge, prayer, and practical support. We will continue to provide pastoral care, connect families with trusted legal resources, share Know Your Rights information, and stand publicly for your dignity and safety.

We invite the faithful across our conferences to pray for the Salgado Araujo family, to accompany immigrant neighbors in tangible ways, and to lend their voices to the call for truth and justice.

May the God of the widow, the orphan, and the stranger comfort all who mourn, strengthen all who seek justice, and turn the hearts of those in authority toward mercy and truth.”

To read this statement in its entirety, please click here.