Several public officials and civil rights groups are calling for an independent investigation following the shooting death of a Mexican immigrant by an ICE agent on Tuesday.
The incident occurred around 7 a.m. when Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who ICE identified as an undocumented person, allegedly attempted to run over an agent during a vehicle stop conducted as part of a targeted enforcement operation.
Federal officials with ICE’s Houston Field Office and the D.C. media relations office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. ICE issued a statement to select media outlets that says Salgado Araujo attempted to evade arrest by ramming an ICE law enforcement vehicle. ICE officers also claim that Salgado Araujo ignored multiple verbal commands and then attempted to run over an agent, who says he fired his weapon in self-defense.
Houston Fire Department officials confirmed that when responders arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Paramedics administered CPR while the wounded man was in transport to Ben Taub Hospital, where he died, according to the HFD.
A Houston Police Department spokesperson said its officers were not involved in the ICE operation and showed up after the shooting to direct traffic in the area.
Ronaldo Salgado, who identified himself as the victim’s son, posted on Facebook around 7 p.m. Tuesday that his father was a hardworking Mexican man who has been in the United States for nearly 35 years, working in construction to provide for “myself, my two brothers and my mother.”
“He was in the process of obtaining his work permit through the legal process. He was on his way to work, picking up his workers,” Salgado said in the post. “My father did not deserve this. Please respect my family’s privacy during this time. There are a lot of videos and pictures out there of my father’s final moments that I do not wish to see.”
Salgado said he would be speaking at a press conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 8, at the Greater Coalition for Justice, 150 West Parker Road. Members of the League of United Latin American Citizens are also expected to attend.
Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin, U.S. Congress members Sylvia Garcia and Christian Menefee, Harris County Judge candidate Letitia Plummer and several Houston City Council members and Harris County commissioners issued statements after the shooting became public, calling for an independent investigation and for bodycam and other video footage to be preserved.
“ICE’s actions across the country have caused them to lose the faith and confidence of communities,” Menefee said. “We must ensure transparency in this investigation. My heart is with everyone impacted by this fatal shooting.”
The national nonprofit Mi Familia Vota, LULAC and the immigrant-led civil rights group FIEL Houston also called for transparency in releasing information and bringing in an independent organization to investigate.
“We want an independent investigation, not a federal investigation by the FBI and [its director] Kash Patel,” said LULAC CEO Juan Proaño, who is based in Miami. “This should be conducted by the Houston Police Department, that is grounded in the community with accountability at a local level.”
FIEL Houston is holding a community gathering at 6820 Canal, Salgado Araujo’s death, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 8.
FIEL Executive Director Cesar Espinoza said in a statement that his organization demands accountability. “We need a thorough independent investigation as to what led up to the events that unfolded in the early morning hours on our Houston streets. We want to encourage the community that if they saw something, they need to say something. Regardless of the circumstances, ICE has a sworn duty to not act recklessly and to carry themselves out in a professional manner. We will be monitoring the situation. We ask that Houston remain calm but vigilant during these very troubling times.”
An FBI Houston spokesperson has said that the office is investigating the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer, while the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General is investigating Salgado Araujo’s death.
President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown — targeting longtime residents at their jobs or scheduled check-ins rather than violent criminals and border crossers — has been under heavy scrutiny since Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both American citizens, were fatally shot by ICE agents in Minneapolis on separate occasions in January. In another incident, an ICE agent shot and killed Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island, where the young man was celebrating his 23rd birthday.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration agents, has said that Martinez and Good were purposely trying to run over ICE agents, but many critics dispute those claims based on publicly available video footage. Pretti was armed with a holstered handgun, which he had a legal license to carry, and border patrol agents shot him 10 times after he was already restrained, according to video footage.
No criminal charges have been brought against the agents involved in those shootings. The ICE agent in Houston who fired his weapon at Salgado Araujo has not yet been identified.
An ICE officer was charged in May with second-degree assault and filing a false police report, both felonies, in connection with a January incident in Minnesota in which ICE and border patrol agents were pursuing undocumented immigrants.
