HOUSTON — The family of a Mexican national killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston says the man had no criminal record after decades of living in the United States and was on his way to a home construction job when he was shot and killed.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was in the process of obtaining legal immigration status and had prepared himself for what to do if he were ever stopped by ICE, according to his son.
Ronaldo Salgado told reporters at a news conference that his father may have panicked when he saw people approaching in unmarked vehicles, fearing they were there to rob the tools he had used for 35 years to build homes — tools that helped put his three American-born sons through college.
“He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of Mexican man shot and killed by ICE. He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American dream,” Salgado said at the news conference.
The fatal shooting occurred Tuesday in Magnolia Park, a neighborhood that has served as a center of Houston’s Mexican American community for more than a century.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement Tuesday that Salgado Araujo ignored commands and tried to run over an officer, who fired in self-defense. The department said ICE was targeting him because he was in the country without legal authorization, and that his vehicle struck an ICE vehicle during the encounter.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia confirmed that Salgado Araujo had no criminal convictions on his record.
Houston firefighters reported he was shot in the abdomen. He later died at a hospital.
According to Ronaldo Salgado, three other men — one of whom was his uncle — appeared to be detained while his father lay moaning on the ground. He said no one has heard from any of those men since.
Federal officials have not released any video footage or photographs of the shooting or the claimed vehicle damage. Salgado joined civil rights organizations and Democratic officials in calling on federal authorities to make all footage and related information public.
In previous incidents involving federal officers, early accounts from immigration officials have later been contradicted by video evidence.
A bystander named Juliet Martinez captured video showing a black vehicle positioned at an angle near a white van, with both vehicles’ doors open. In the footage, a bleeding, handcuffed man can be heard groaning loudly on the ground as his leg shakes. Several federal officers stand over at least three other handcuffed individuals nearby.
League of United Latin American Citizens President Roman Palomares said at the news conference that the federal crackdown has turned the country into a place where it is “open season on Latinos” — where officers believe they can “shoot and explain later.”
Palomares said ICE’s handling of past investigations shows the agency has not earned the public’s trust to take its statements at face value without supporting evidence such as video.
“Your pattern has been one of inaccuracies of prejudicial leaks before the facts are known, of twisting the narrative to fit your version of events,” Palomares said.
The league announced a $5,000 reward for witness information and video footage, while also calling for an independent investigation. Other civil rights leaders urged anyone with video not to hand it over to ICE, warning that such evidence could be destroyed.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the family and community deserve answers, but noted that federal authorities are currently handling the investigation exclusively.
Representatives for ICE and DHS did not respond to repeated requests for comment Wednesday.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin took over leadership of the department in March with the stated goal of avoiding the controversies that had defined his predecessor Kristi Noem’s time in the role.
Following two fatal shootings in Minnesota that sparked significant public backlash, immigration arrests nationwide declined and ICE appeared to adjust its approach. However, in late June, arrests surged to 10,000 over a five-day period, driven in part by a major increase in Congressional funding.
This shooting is believed to be at least the eighth death resulting from an encounter with federal immigration officers since the Trump administration launched its immigration enforcement crackdown.
Ronaldo Salgado said his mother received word around 7 a.m. Tuesday that something had happened to his father. After rushing to the job site and finding his father’s empty van, he came across a video online.
“I recognized him, not from his appearance but from his voice crying for help as he lay on the street,” Salgado said.
Salgado Araujo met his future wife as a teenager in Mexico. The couple came to the United States and built their own home in Houston with the help of friends and family members from his work crew. His wife prepared his lunch each morning before he left and had a full meal waiting when he returned. He would relax on his porch listening to music and petting his dog, his son recalled.
“After nearly 35 years of working to give us the American dream, he made the choice to begin the process of obtaining his American dream through a work permit,” Salgado said. “We dotted every I, crossed every T, filled every document, attended every appointment. He was close to obtaining his legal status.”
Salgado Araujo had completed biometric scans and fingerprinting earlier this year and had carefully studied what to do if ICE pulled him over. His son said that if his father was driving away, it was likely out of fear that his tools were about to be stolen.
“Had my father seen an emblem of ICE or an emblem that says anything about a law enforcement agency, my father would have complied,” his son said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she is weighing legal options and may call on the United Nations to intervene to stop what she described as violence against Mexicans in the United States.
“There has been another tragic death of one of our compatriots in the United States due to detention issues, even though their only ‘offense’ is not yet having proper documentation,” Sheinbaum said.
Houston has seen increased immigration enforcement activity since the crackdown began, and the efforts have not gone without resistance. The Houston City Council passed an ordinance limiting cooperation with ICE, but later reversed the decision after Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, threatened to cut more than $100 million in state funding for public safety.
