ICE officer fatally shoots Mexican national in Houston

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a Mexican national Tuesday morning in Houston during an attempted immigration arrest, federal officials said, prompting an immigrant advocacy group to call for an independent investigation.

The Department of Homeland Security said ICE officers were trying to arrest Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at about 6:50 a.m. during an attempted traffic stop. The agency said Salgado Araujo was not authorized to be in the United States and accused him of trying to evade arrest.

“From information we are receiving, he rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle,” DHS said in a statement.

ICE said Salgado Araujo “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer,” according to The Guardian. The confrontation resulted in “our officer firing his weapon in self-defense,” ICE said. Salgado Araujo was struck, taken to a hospital and died there, federal officials said.

Reuters could not immediately verify Salgado Araujo’s immigration status or the circumstances of the shooting, The Guardian reported.

The League of United Latin American Citizens, an immigrant advocacy group that said it has been in touch with the victim’s family, gave a different account of why Salgado Araujo was in the area. LULAC said he had been driving around Magnolia Park, a historically Latino neighborhood in Houston, looking for day laborers when he was shot and killed.

Ronaldo Salgado, who identified himself as Salgado Araujo’s son, told Telemundo Houston that his father was shot while seeking workers for hire in the area, according to The Guardian.

Domingo Garcia, chairman of the LULAC Adelante PAC, said one of Salgado Araujo’s sons witnessed his death and that several witnesses took photos and videos of the incident. LULAC officials said Salgado Araujo was applying for legal citizenship status in the United States. It was not immediately clear how long he had been in the country.

The FBI said an evidence response team from its Houston field office was sent to the scene. The bureau clarified that the team is investigating a potential assault on a federal officer, not the shooting itself.

Houston police have said they are not involved, and the mayor’s office referred questions to Homeland Security.

LULAC called for an independent investigation by local officials and compared the Houston shooting with previous deaths associated with immigration enforcement, including that of Renee Good in Minneapolis.

“This is not an isolated event across the nation,” LULAC National President Roman Palomares told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “We have seen a pattern of ICE involvement in shootings and excessive use of force. Each time a family is left without answers, and a community is left in fear.”

LULAC CEO Juan Proaño also questioned the federal account.

“The federal government handed us a story about Renee Good, and the story fell apart moments after the video was released,” Proaño said. “Today, in Houston, we’re being handed the same story about Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in almost the same exact words. Prove it.”

The Guardian reported that in several instances over the past year, initial statements from immigration enforcement agencies have been challenged by video footage or other evidence, sometimes in court. In October, a Chicago-area woman, Marimar Martinez, was accused of ramming law enforcement officers with her car. She was shot five times but survived. Charges against her were ultimately dropped, and video evidence suggested the agents could have struck her vehicle themselves, The Guardian reported.