Houston immigration attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, who has publicly accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of racial profiling and misconduct in a recent fatal shooting, is facing felony domestic violence charges stemming from an alleged strangulation incident in 2024. He is also out on bail for a separate charge of kidnapping and false imprisonment in Florida.
Balderas-Ibarra is representing two of the three passengers in a van when ICE agent Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot in Houston last week. Following the shooting, Balderas-Ibarra held a press conference alongside Democratic U.S. Representatives Al Green and Sylvia Garcia, as well as Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, where he criticized ICE and demanded the release of his clients.
At the press conference, Balderas-Ibarra stated that his clients’ accounts of the shooting differed significantly from ICE’s official statement. He alleged that ICE agents were not in danger and that the agency’s narrative was false. He also asserted that the incident constituted racial profiling and called for significant changes in ICE's enforcement practices.
However, charging documents from the Harris County District Court reveal that Balderas-Ibarra was charged with felony assault family violence by impeding breathing following an incident in 2024. According to the documents, the alleged victim, with whom Balderas-Ibarra had a dating relationship, reported that he grabbed her by the neck and squeezed, impeding her ability to breathe. The victim sustained visible injuries, including redness and swelling on her neck, according to photos taken by authorities.
Further court documents indicate that Balderas-Ibarra was already out on bail for a domestic violence charge, kidnapping, and false imprisonment in Seminole County, Florida, at the time of the alleged strangulation incident.
According to the State Bar of Texas website, Balderas-Ibarra currently holds a probationary license to practice law in the state.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the individual fatally shot by ICE, was identified by authorities as a Mexican citizen who was in the country illegally. ICE stated that Araujo attempted to ram an ICE officer with his vehicle during a traffic stop. Araujo was struck and later died at a hospital.