The fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an immigration enforcement operation in Houston has come under renewed scrutiny after three eyewitnesses challenged the official account provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to attorney Hugo Baldero-Ybera, who represents two of the three men traveling with Salgado at the time of the incident, the witnesses have described events that sharply differ from the version released by federal authorities. The men, including Salgado’s brother, were passengers in the white work van when it was stopped by ICE officers on Tuesday morning.
All three are currently being held at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas. Baldero-Ybera urged authorities to release them, arguing that doing so is necessary to protect the integrity of any investigation into the shooting. He also expressed concern that the witnesses could face pressure to sign documents leading to their deportation before their accounts are fully examined.
The shooting has fueled anger across Houston’s predominantly Hispanic East End, where more than a thousand demonstrators gathered for a peaceful march, while flowers and candles continue to mark the location where Salgado was killed.
Conflicting Narratives
ICE said shortly after the shooting that Salgado, a Mexican citizen who had lived in the United States without legal status for decades, rammed a law enforcement vehicle and attempted to strike an officer with his van. The agency stated that an officer responded with deadly force in self-defense.
Baldero-Ybera, however, said the witnesses rejected that sequence of events.
According to the attorney, they insist that no ICE officer was ever directly in front of the van or placed in immediate danger. He further claimed the shots that killed Salgado were fired from the side of the vehicle rather than from the front, contradicting the agency’s description of the encounter.
Federal officials had not publicly responded to those claims.
Speaking outside the White House on Friday, border official Tom Homan said any officer found to have violated policy or acted unlawfully would face accountability.
Mistaken Identity Claim Emerges
A Department of Homeland Security official later acknowledged that Salgado himself was not the intended target of the operation.
The official said immigration agents had been monitoring another individual and had previously observed two white vans connected to that investigation. On the morning of the shooting, officers reportedly encountered a similar van with someone they believed resembled the person they were seeking, prompting the traffic stop.
Baldero-Ybera argued that Salgado became the victim of mistaken identity, saying he was stopped simply because he matched another person’s description.
Family Seeks Independent Investigation
Relatives describe Salgado as a construction worker and father of three who had lived in Houston for approximately 35 years. They said he had been pursuing authorization to work legally in the United States before his death.
His family, community advocates and several members of Congress have called for an independent investigation into the shooting, saying unanswered questions remain about what happened during the encounter.
Videos Leave Key Questions Unanswered
Surveillance footage released by local media appears to show an unmarked ICE vehicle moving in front of Salgado’s van before the vehicle pulls over to the roadside. However, the available footage does not capture the actual shooting.
Additional videos recorded afterward show agents standing near an injured man clutching his chest, while another recording captures cries of pain. No publicly available recording has yet shown the precise moment when shots were fired.
The absence of body camera footage has added to the controversy. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that none of the ICE officers involved were wearing body cameras during the operation.
Texas Representative Sylvia Garcia also said no dashboard camera footage exists from the agency’s vehicles, leaving investigators without official video evidence of the shooting.
The Harris County District Attorney has appealed to anyone who witnessed the incident or recorded photos or videos to come forward. Even so, federal authorities are leading the investigation, and officials have not announced when findings from the inquiry are expected.
