An announcement Tuesday that ICE would “suspend the use of most vehicle stops” — after two immigrants were shot by federal agents in the past week — was met with more scrutiny about why the sting operations were being conducted in the first place.
Houston residents continue to mourn the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was fatally shot in his van by an ICE agent on July 7. Federal authorities have said they were targeting an undocumented person but it turns out Araujo wasn’t the target. ICE further claims that an officer who has not been identified fired the fatal shot at Araujo in self-defense. Witnesses have disputed the federal agents’ accounts, and the officers on the scene were not wearing body cameras nor were their vehicles equipped with dash cams.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General is investigating the shooting. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare is conducting an independent investigation and said Monday that the feds have refused to cooperate or share evidence.
Less than a week after Araujo’s death, federal agents killed a 26-year-old Colombian man in his vehicle in Biddleford, Maine. In a social media post, the Department of Homeland Security said, “The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the pause on traffic stops will not apply to cases involving “serious criminal targets” and is expected to be temporary so agents can receive more training on conducting vehicle stops.
U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, who represents District 18 adjacent to where Araujo was gunned down in Magnolia Park, said the pause on traffic stops is an unacceptable response to the recent acts of violence.
“A temporary training won’t solve a deeply ingrained problem,” Menefee said in a statement. “ICE has been radicalized. Its agents have shot and killed unarmed people across the country. The agency needs to be torn down to the studs. Immigration enforcement shouldn’t be heavily militarized and chasing people through our streets. The American people deserve competent leadership and law enforcement that is transparent, accountable, and worthy of the public’s trust.”
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said on social media after the Biddleford incident that she urged DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to cease non-urgent vehicle stops. Texas Republicans have been largely silent on the Houston shooting.
ICE has taken an aggressive approach to detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants since President Donald Trump’s second term began in 2024. Vehicle stops, which can be performed without a judicial warrant, are common in Texas and elsewhere.
Texas Democrats announced Tuesday morning that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus would hold a joint hearing with the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security in Houston on Friday, July 24, to hear eyewitness accounts and other testimony related to Araujo’s death.
