Lorenzo Salgado Araujo shooting: sons press ICE for answers
At a Houston hearing, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s sons sought a transparent probe into his fatal shooting by ICE agents.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
The sons of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo asked Friday for a transparent investigation into the Lorenzo Salgado Araujo shooting, telling Democratic members of Congress in Houston that they first learned from Facebook that their father had been killed by federal immigration agents. The case has fueled protests in Houston and renewed scrutiny of deadly actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Salgado Araujo, 52, was fatally shot by ICE agents during a traffic stop in Houston on July 13, according to Al Jazeera and The Associated Press. His family said he was a Mexican immigrant who had lived in the United States for more than 30 years without legal status.
His sons described the period since the shooting as a “Kafkaesque nightmare,” according to AP. In a prepared statement reported by AP, they said their father “worked hard to protect and provide for our family” and taught them that hard work brings good things.
What happened to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo?
Al Jazeera and AP reported that Salgado Araujo was killed during an ICE traffic stop, although his family said he was not the person agents were trying to detain. Three other passengers, including his brother, were taken into custody by ICE during the stop.
Officials first said Salgado Araujo used his vehicle as a weapon against officers, according to Al Jazeera and AP. The agents involved were not wearing body cameras, and witnesses have challenged the official account of the encounter, the outlets reported.
One of Salgado Araujo’s sons, identified at the hearing as Ronaldo, said he again learned key details through social media. “I learned again from a Facebook post that our dad had been shot,” he said, according to AP. “Not because I could see him, but because I could hear his voice on videos posted online crying for help.”
What investigators say they still do not have
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told the hearing that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has not responded to his requests for information and evidence, according to Al Jazeera and AP. Teare said those requests include the name of the officer who fired the fatal shot.
Democratic members of Congress at the Houston forum signaled they intend to examine ICE practices and pursue changes if Democrats win control of Congress in the November midterm elections, Al Jazeera and AP reported.
Representative Christian Menefee, a Democrat, said at the forum that ICE should be “torn down to the studs” and rebuilt into an agency that recognizes the “dignity of the people that it encounters.” He added, “But we all know that that will not happen under this administration.”
The Houston shooting came amid other deadly incidents involving immigration agents. Al Jazeera and AP reported that less than a week after Salgado Araujo was killed, ICE agents fatally shot Joan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, a Colombian immigrant, in Biddeford, Maine.
The outlets also reported that federal immigration agents killed two U.S. citizens in separate incidents in Minneapolis earlier this year, prompting outrage and protests across the country.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.