Immigration agent kills Houston man in case now under scrutiny

A federal immigration agent shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, while he was driving his construction crew to a Houston job site in the East End’s Magnolia Park neighborhood near Canal Street and Wayside on July 7. Salgado Araujo was a Mexican national who had lived in the United States for about 35 years, and his son Ronaldo Salgado said he had no criminal history and was close to finishing the legal-status process.

The Department of Homeland Security maintains officers were not looking for Salgado Araujo when they stopped the white van. Agents had been watching a target’s address for weeks after a credible tip, saw a van that resembled the target’s vehicle, and made the stop. The agency first portrayed Salgado Araujo as the target, then identified him as not the intended target. The officers were not wearing body cameras. Its Office of the Inspector General is investigating.

DHS maintains Salgado Araujo ignored commands and tried to ram officers, leading to gunfire in self-defense. That account is disputed by family members and witnesses. The Harris County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by a penetrating gunshot wound to the torso. He was struck in the abdomen and taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he died.

At least three other men were detained after the shooting. Those detained men said the shot came from the side, not the front, and no agent was directly in front of the vehicle. Salgado Araujo’s family also said they had trouble claiming his body because agents removed his identification and the hospital initially treated him as a John Doe.

The killing set off protests in Houston and vigils in other Texas cities. U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia and the League of United Latin American Citizens pressed for an independent review. Garcia said ICE told her it had mistaken someone in the van for the target, but did not name that person. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry will seek criminal charges over the deaths of 17 Mexicans in ICE custody or during immigration enforcement operations under the Trump administration.