A Mexican man fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Houston was not the target of the federal operation, according to U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia. The congresswoman, whose district encompasses the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, said acting ICE Director David Venturella confirmed to her that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo “was not a target.”
Salgado Araujo, a homebuilder who had resided in the U.S. for over 35 years, had no criminal record and was nearing the completion of his legal status process, his family stated. He was killed early Tuesday morning.
“We’ve got to do something. This is just one more death too many,” Garcia said in an interview. “And if we’ve got to bring outside, independent folks to come in and look at it, we should do that.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, previously stated that federal officers were conducting a targeted operation to arrest an individual without legal status when they attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Salgado Araujo. DHS said Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle, and a federal officer then fired a weapon in self-defense.
Earlier on Thursday, DHS stated that agents had been surveilling a property where two white vans had been observed. The department said that on July 7, officers were approaching the target's address when they saw a white van with an individual resembling the target, leading them to initiate a vehicle stop.
DHS confirmed that the agents involved in the incident were not equipped with body-worn cameras, a situation the department attributed to Democrats and a government shutdown fueled by President Donald Trump's immigration policies. U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, a Democrat representing Houston, contended that the absence of body cameras was a result of Republican lawmakers' opposition to their use.
“Houston is done accepting excuses from an agency that has more money than it knows what to do with and still can’t manage basic accountability,” Menefee said in a statement.
The Harris County District Attorney's office announced it would investigate the shooting. The office is consulting with local prosecutors in Minneapolis, where federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens, to determine how to approach investigations involving federal immigration agents, spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre said.
“Although access to key evidence remains under federal control, we are pursuing investigative avenues available to us and will conduct a review of any information we collect within our reach,” Lemaitre stated.
Three men, including Salgado Araujo’s brother, were detained by ICE during the traffic stop, according to Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), who has been in contact with the families. LULAC has offered a $5,000 reward for information from witnesses, as the organization has not yet obtained clear video footage of the incident. Proaño noted that the positioning of Salgado Araujo’s van and ICE vehicles has obstructed security camera footage that LULAC has reviewed.
DHS indicated that the ICE agents involved were scheduled to receive body-worn cameras within the next 60 days.