White House border czar Tom Homan defended U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) use of unmarked vehicles on Sunday, stating that compliance with law enforcement stops could prevent fatalities. His comments came during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” where he engaged in a contentious exchange with moderator Margaret Brennan regarding a recent incident in Houston.
Brennan raised concerns about the unmarked vehicle used by ICE officers before they fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52. Salgado’s family has stated that he believed he was being pursued by robbers, not federal agents, due to the unmarked nature of the vehicle.
Homan argued that unmarked vehicles are crucial for locating suspects and that compliance with a vehicle stop by federal law enforcement officers could have prevented Salgado’s death. He asserted that ICE vehicles are equipped with emergency blue lights that officers can activate during stops.
Brennan challenged Homan's assertions, noting that publicly available videos of the incident did not appear to show emergency lights being used, and the officers involved were not wearing body cameras. She stated that these factors made it difficult to substantiate his claims.
Homan acknowledged that he had not reviewed the specific videos of the Houston incident. He then qualified his earlier statement, explaining that while the vehicles should be equipped with lights and sirens, he could not confirm if they were used in this particular instance. He conceded that if the lights were not activated, "then there’s an issue there, right?"
Homan also voiced support for the nationwide deployment of body cameras, suggesting that such technology would offer the public a clearer perspective of encounters from an officer’s viewpoint. He mentioned that ICE has purchased cameras and is in the process of training personnel for their deployment, with a requirement for officers to record vehicle stops.
Officials have acknowledged that Salgado was not the intended target of the Houston operation. ICE initially reported that Salgado had rammed a federal vehicle and attempted to run over an officer, leading to the officer firing in self-defense. However, witnesses in Salgado's van have disputed this account.
This Houston incident is one of several recent events involving ICE. Six days after the Houston shooting, an ICE officer fatally shot a Colombian driver in Biddeford, Maine, who was also not the intended target. The Department of Homeland Security stated the officer opened fire out of concern for public safety as the driver attempted to flee. Separately, a 28-year-old Mexican national died after being struck by a tractor-trailer while fleeing federal immigration agents in St. Augustine, Florida. Investigations into the Houston and Maine shootings are ongoing.