Lorenzo Salgado Araujo: Killed by ICE agents in Houston, he was not the intended target

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national, was shot and killed Tuesday morning in Houston by immigration officers during a traffic stop. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has now acknowledged that he was not the person they were looking for.

The incident occurred on the morning of July 7th. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was traveling to a construction site with three colleagues when ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents intercepted his vehicle. He was shot and died shortly afterward in the hospital.

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offered an explanation: agents had spotted two white vans parked in front of a monitored address weeks earlier. On the Tuesday of the shooting, they saw "a white van with an individual resembling the target" of their operation and initiated the traffic stop. The DHS stated that the officer who opened fire acted in self-defense after the vehicle allegedly attempted to ram a law enforcement vehicle.

Salgado Araujo's family and the three passengers in the vehicle dispute this version of events. The men's lawyer stated that "no officer was ever in front of the vehicle, nor was anyone in danger." The victim's sons have also refuted the official account.

A bricklayer for thirty years in the Houston area, Salgado Araujo had entered the United States without proper documentation but was about to obtain a work permit, according to his family. He had no criminal record.

The officers involved were not wearing body cameras. The DHS indicated that half of its field officers are now equipped with them and that the other half should receive them within the next sixty days.

Several investigations have been opened. The DHS's Office of the Inspector General, an internal oversight body, is handling the case. The FBI in Houston is also investigating a possible assault against a federal agent. Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz stated in a letter to the DHS that local law enforcement agencies have no independent jurisdiction under federal law to investigate federal agents acting in the course of their duties.

Four Democratic members of Congress—Sylvia Garcia, Al Green, Lizzie Fletcher, and Christian Menefee—have called for an independent investigation in a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. They cite the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two American citizens killed by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, and denounce the repetition of the same official justifications.

The case sparked protests in Houston, Texas's most populous city. The Mexican government announced it would file criminal complaints in the United States regarding the deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody or during operations. Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco reported 14 Mexicans killed in ICE custody and three others killed during arrest operations. These complaints were ordered by President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Salgado Araujo is believed to be at least the eighth person to die during immigration operations conducted since the beginning of the Trump administration. No agents have been charged in these cases.