Texas Senator-Elect James Talarico, in His First Public Appearance Since Defeating Senator Ken Paxton, Visits Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's Houston Memorial, Places an "I Voted" Sticker There, and Pledges to Seek Justice for the Worker ICE Agents Killed in July
Sunday, November 8, 2026
Texas Senator-elect James Talarico made his first public appearance since defeating Senator Ken Paxton in Tuesday's midterms on Saturday, visiting the East End memorial in Houston for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and placing an “I Voted” sticker there.
The memorial stands on Canal Street, where Araujo died four months ago. According to Talarico's campaign, hundreds of voters have left their own “I Voted” stickers at the site, turning it into a place of remembrance and a call for accountability. Talarico had previously visited the memorial in August.
Araujo was 52, a construction worker who had lived in the United States for 35 years. He supported his three sons through college while working in construction, Talarico noted at the visit, pledging to seek justice for him in Washington. “Lorenzo, our fellow Texan, deserves justice,” Talarico said, adding that is what he will fight for in the U.S. Senate. Araujo's son Ronaldo Salgado said the visit was a meaningful show of support for the Latino and immigrant communities in Houston's East End.
Araujo was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on the morning of July 7 while driving his crew to a job site. Federal officials have acknowledged he was not the intended target of the operation. What happened in the encounter is disputed: the Department of Homeland Security says Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle, refused commands and weaponized his van, and that the officer fired in self-defense; the passengers in the van dispute that account. The agents at the scene had no body-worn cameras, DHS has confirmed.
No charge has been brought against the agent who fired. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare opened a local investigation, and a Harris County grand jury is reviewing the case, while Teare has said federal officials have not shared the evidence his office has sought.
For ordinary people, the case is not abstract. Araujo was a father heading to work before dawn, as immigrant construction workers across Houston do every day, and the men riding with him were taken into detention after the shooting. His family and supporters say that is why the memorial matters: a worker who spent 35 years building homes in the city was killed on an ordinary work morning, and they want the Senate's newest Texas member to carry their demand for answers into Washington.
Talarico, a Democrat, will succeed retiring Senator John Cornyn. His win over Paxton was the first Democratic victory in a Texas Senate race since 1988.
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