ICE Kills Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston

LULAC Disputes ICE Account of Fatal Houston Shooting

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was picking up his construction crew before 7 a.m. on Tuesday, when an ICE agent shot him on Canal Street in Houston's Magnolia Park. He died at Ben Taub Hospital with CPR already underway in the ambulance. Federal officials say he tried to run over an officer. His family says he spent thirty-five years in this country building homes for other people.

Ronaldo Salgado, one of Salgado Araujo's sons, confirmed the account of his father's morning in a statement posted to Facebook Tuesday night. "My father, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a hardworking Mexican man, was the man killed this morning by ICE in the East End," he wrote. "He was on his way to work, picking up his workers. My father did not deserve this. Please respect my family's privacy during this time. There are a lot of videos and pictures out there of my father's final moments that I do not wish to see."

DHS says Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle, ignored multiple verbal commands, and used his car in an attempt to run down an agent during a targeted enforcement operation. The agent, per ICE, fired in self-defense.

DHS's own Office of Inspector General is investigating the shooting itself. The FBI, meanwhile, is investigating a separate question: did Salgado Araujo assault a federal officer during the stop. No outside agency is examining the decision to fire the weapon.

LULAC has pushed back against the official account. Domingo Garcia, chairman of the group's Adelante PAC, said one of Salgado Araujo's sons witnessed the shooting and bystanders captured photos and video. National President Roman Palomares described the incident as part of a broader pattern of ICE violence nationwide. LULAC CEO Juan Proaño drew a direct comparison to the agency's earlier explanation for the shooting of Renee Good, an account that fell apart once video surfaced.

Salgado Araujo is the latest person fatally shot by federal immigration agents during President Donald Trump's second term, joining a growing list of deaths that now numbers at least nine, according to published news reports. An ICE agent in South Padre Island killed Ruben Ray Martinez in March 2025 while helping local police direct traffic, a detail that surfaced only after the watchdog group American Oversight obtained records through public information requests. In January, an ICE agent killed Renée Good and, seventeen days later, Border Patrol agents killed Alex Pretti, both in Minneapolis. Video from Pretti's death showed agents shooting him ten times after he had been pinned to the ground by officers. No agent involved in those three deaths has faced criminal charges. The one immigration officer charged this year, Christian Castro, was arrested in Texas and charged in Minnesota for wounding a man, not killing one.

Magnolia Park is one of Houston's oldest Hispanic neighborhoods, settled by Mexican Americans from South Texas as early as 1911 and known by the 1920s as "Little Mexico." Today its roughly 18,000 residents are 97 percent Hispanic, and 87 percent speak Spanish at home. LULAC itself has roots there, with a local branch organized in 1934. The increased presence of ICE agents in a predominantly Latino neighborhood has drawn concern from some residents and community advocates.

Houston Councilwoman Alejandra Salinas called for transparency and the release of available video. Sylvia Garcia, the congresswoman representing the district, confirmed the shooting occurred there. Mayor John Whitmire offered no comment. Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin mentioned meeting with Magnolia Park residents the night before the shooting. State Senator Molly Cook called ICE "an extrajudicial killing squad" operating in Houston's neighborhoods and said she supports LULAC's demand for an independent investigation.

The federal government has yet to release its video.

@Santitos

@salinasmariasantos

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