Texas prosecutor provides new details on ICE officer shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
A U.S. attorney disclosed that ICE agents were attempting to stop a van they believed matched a deportation target, contradicting earlier claims that the driver struck an ICE vehicle before being shot.
A federal prosecutor in Texas said Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were attempting to stop a van they thought matched the description of two Guatemalan men subject to deportation when they encountered Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, on July 7. Salgado Araujo was driving to a construction job in Houston with three co-workers, including his brother, when four ICE agents in two vehicles tried to pull him over.
According to U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz, the officers first used their lights to signal the van, prompting Salgado Araujo to make a U-turn and cross a median. The agents later surrounded the vehicle and ordered the driver to put it in park. Reitz said an agent was positioned partially inside or directly beside the van as Salgado Araujo attempted to reverse and then move forward, at which point an officer fired, killing him.
The new statement does not mention a collision between the van and a law-enforcement vehicle, nor does it claim the officer acted in self-defense. No injuries to the officers were reported. The prosecutor also noted that agents observed several small bags of a white, crystal-like substance inside the van; a subsequent FBI search warrant sought to determine whether the material was illicit. The driver’s brother, who was in the van, has remained in ICE detention.
The incident occurred days after two other immigrant deaths in Florida and Maine, intensifying scrutiny of Department of Homeland Security enforcement tactics.