Participants in “Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness for Immigrant Justice” listen to speeches at Upper Senate Park in Washington. (Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News)
United Methodist Immigration Task Force | July 13, 2026
We grieve the death of Mr. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, father, worker, neighbor, and beloved member of the Houston community whose life was taken during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Houston’s East End neighborhood. We denounce the actions that led to his death and reject any system that treats immigrant lives as disposable.
Reports indicate that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo had lived in the United States for decades, worked in construction, supported his family, and was on his way to work when he was fatally shot by an ICE officer. It is reported that Mr. Salgado Araujo was in the process of seeking lawful legal status. Federal officials have acknowledged that he was not the original target of the operation, and there are serious questions about why deadly force was used, why officers were not wearing body cameras, and why witnesses were detained after the shooting.
As people of conscience and faith, we affirm that every person bears the image of God and possesses inherent dignity, regardless of immigration status. No person should lose their life because they were driving to work, providing for their family, or living under the fear created by militarized immigration enforcement. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo should be alive today.
We call for a full, transparent, and independent investigation into the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. All available evidence—including surveillance footage, communications, dispatch records, vehicle data, witness statements, and agency reports—must be preserved and released to the appropriate independent investigators. The public deserves the truth, and the family deserves answers.
We further demand that all witnesses to this fatal encounter be protected from detention, deportation, intimidation, coercion, or removal while investigations are ongoing. No witness should be pressured into silence, separated from legal counsel, or removed from the U.S. before the truth is fully known.
This tragedy exposes the urgent need to end violent and unaccountable enforcement practices that terrorize immigrant communities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has received an additional 75 billion dollars in funding and operates with insufficient oversight and accountability. We call on local, state, and federal leaders to act with moral courage demanding accountability from ICE, protecting immigrant families, requiring body cameras, meaningful transparency, and ending law enforcement practices that endanger the lives of everyone. This work begins by rejecting the criminalization of immigrant communities. We stand with the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and with the Houston community in mourning, in righteous anger, and in the demand for justice. We will not allow his life to be reduced to a headline. We will remember him as a human being whose dignity must be honored with truth, accountability, and change.
We call on United Methodists everywhere to engage in informed conversation, prayerful reflection, and prophetic action about this and other similar tragic incidents involving ICE. This is a critical moment to respond faithfully to our call as followers of Jesus Christ.
Our Social Principles proclaim unequivocally that we “affirm, value, and respect the dignity of all persons, regardless of country of origin.” This conviction is not merely aspirational but is a Gospel mandate rooted in the belief that every person is created in the image of God.
We encourage United Methodists throughout the connection to stand in unwavering solidarity with our immigrant siblings, rejecting fear, dehumanization, and violence in all their forms. We are called to follow the clear mandate of Hebrews 13:2: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it”. At a time when too many immigrant families live with uncertainty and fear, the Church is called to be a sanctuary of hope, courage, and welcome. In welcoming the stranger, defending the vulnerable, and seeking justice, we bear faithful witness to the reconciling love of Jesus Christ.
In the spirit of accompaniment, standing alongside our immigrant brothers and sisters, we invite you to access these resources for study, conversation, and action.
United Women in Faith (UWF)
Immigrant Rights Are Under Attack. What Do We Do? Stand Up, Fight Back!
Los derechos de los inmigrantes están bajo ataque. ¿Qué hacemos? ¡Levantarnos y luchar!
이민자의 권리가 위협을 받고 있습니다. 우리는 무엇을 해야 할까요? 모두 일어나, 함께 맞서 갑시다!
Immigration Law and Justice (ILJ) Network
“What we are Facing & Know Your Rights” Toolkit
El Plan for Hispanic/Latine' Ministry (El Plan)
General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR)
GCORR & El Plan
Acompañamiento Congregations National Training coming in October 2026 - Be on the lookout for an upcoming training from GCORR & El Plan
General Board of Church and Society (GBCS)
United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)