HOUSTON — A Mexican national was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while driving his construction workers to a job site in Houston, sparking outrage from his family, civil rights groups, and the Mexican government.
ICE identified the man as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. The agency said officers targeted him on Tuesday because he had entered the country without authorization and, when they attempted to pull him over, he did not stop and instead drove his van into their vehicle. ICE, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security, has released no video footage or photographs to support its account of what happened.
Salgado Araujo’s family painted a very different picture. They said he had spent 35 years living and working in the United States and was nearly finished with the lengthy process of obtaining legal immigration status. The family also suggested that ICE officers were using unmarked vehicles and that Salgado Araujo may have believed he was about to be robbed — not confronted by law enforcement.
The family, alongside civil rights advocates, is calling for a thorough and independent investigation into his death.
Bystander Juliet Martinez captured video of the scene after the shooting. The footage shows a black vehicle positioned at an angle near a white van, with both vehicles’ doors open. A bleeding, handcuffed man can be seen on the ground groaning, his leg trembling. Federal officers are seen standing over at least three other men who are also handcuffed.
ICE has not released the names of the other men taken into custody. However, Salgado Araujo’s family identified one of them as his brother. Families of the other two detained men said they were briefly able to speak with them on Wednesday and confirmed they remain in custody.
His son, Ronaldo Salgado, described his father as a hardworking family man who came to America as a young adult with his wife after the two met as teenagers in Mexico. The couple wanted to build a better life for their family. Salgado Araujo went on to work in home construction in the Houston suburbs, eventually starting his own business and leading his own crew. He had no criminal record, according to his family.
Ronaldo, the eldest son, became a teacher. He said one of his brothers works as an engineer, while another is currently studying engineering in college.
Ronaldo described his father as a quiet, gentle man whose wife packed his lunch every morning before he left at sunrise and had a warm dinner waiting when he returned at sunset. He enjoyed sitting on his porch, petting his dog, and listening to music.
“That’s how I want the world to know my father. Not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understood that good things come to those who put in hard work,” Ronaldo said at a news conference Wednesday.
Salgado Araujo is believed to be at least the eighth person to die during the current administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. No immigration officers have faced criminal charges in any of these deaths, and in several prior cases, video evidence has contradicted the accounts given by federal officers.
Among the most high-profile prior deaths were those of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot and killed during protests in Minnesota during a winter crackdown. Another shooting death involved Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, who was killed during a traffic stop in Texas in March 2025 — a death that was not publicly disclosed for nearly a year. A farmworker also died after falling from the roof of a greenhouse in California and breaking his neck, and two additional deaths involved men who were struck by vehicles while attempting to flee.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded forcefully to Salgado Araujo’s killing, saying it is time for Mexico to move its complaints beyond standard diplomatic channels.
“We are going to do everything in our power, because we cannot stand silent” in the face of the deaths of Mexicans “whose only crime is working honestly in the United States,” Sheinbaum said.
Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco announced Thursday that Mexico will file criminal charges in U.S. courts related to the alleged killings of three Mexican nationals during ICE operations, as well as the deaths of 14 others while in ICE custody. Those complaints will be directed at whoever is found responsible and submitted to state prosecutor offices and the U.S. Department of Justice. Civil actions against companies running detention facilities will also be pursued, Velasco said, with the goal of ending what he described as human rights violations.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Tuesday that its Inspector General’s office has opened an investigation into the shooting.
Salgado Araujo’s family and civil rights leaders are pushing for an independent probe separate from any internal federal review. The League of United Latin American Citizens announced a $5,000 reward for videos or other evidence related to the incident, and warned that turning any such material over to ICE could result in it being hidden or destroyed.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the family and community deserve answers but acknowledged that federal authorities are currently in sole control of the investigation. Houston Mayor John Whitmire confirmed that city police had no involvement in the pursuit or the shooting and have no authority over federal officers.
