US immigration officer shoots and kills man in Texas
A US immigration agent fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, in Houston during an attempted arrest. DHS claims he rammed a vehicle and tried to run over an officer, but relatives and lawmakers call for an independent investigation.
A United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot a man in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday while officers were attempting to stop his vehicle. The man killed was identified as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, described by ICE as a Mexican national and an “illegal alien” who was targeted during a “targeted enforcement operation” because he was living in the country without legal permission.
Ronaldo Salgado, who identified himself as the victim’s son, told Telemundo Houston that his father was looking for workers to hire in the area at the time of the shooting. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said Salgado Araujo ignored commands to stop, rammed an ICE vehicle, refused verbal commands, and “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer.”
Surveillance video from a nearby business, reviewed by Reuters, showed a person lying on the ground beside a white van surrounded by officers, apparently after the shooting.
Democratic U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia called for an independent and thorough investigation of ICE’s claims. “All available footage, communications, and other evidence should be preserved and reviewed as part of a full and impartial investigation,” she posted on social media. Juan Proano, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, echoed the call, telling the Associated Press: “We don’t take DHS at their word at all. There should be an independent investigation, and they should release all the videos.”
This is the at least sixth fatal shooting by federal immigration officers since President Donald Trump intensified immigration enforcement. In past incidents, including the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, ICE officers said they were attacked, but those claims were vigorously disputed. Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot in the head in Minneapolis; DHS said she tried to hit an agent with her vehicle, but local officials and witnesses denied that.
Backlash from such incidents had led ICE to step back from some controversial operations. However, Tuesday’s deadly confrontation in Houston comes amid a recent increase in ICE arrests nationwide, with officers picking up about 2,000 migrants per day last week, according to Reuters.
