HOUSTON, Texas — A federal immigration officer shot and killed a man during a traffic stop enforcement operation in Houston’s East End on Tuesday morning, and the victim’s family is now pushing back hard against the government’s version of events.
Man identified as father of three, longtime Houston resident
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the shooting happened just before 7 a.m. near the intersection of Canal Street and Wayside Drive. Officers say they were trying to pull over a vehicle as part of a targeted enforcement operation when the driver, identified as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, tried to flee.
According to ICE, Araujo rammed an agency vehicle, ignored orders to stop, and used his own vehicle in a way that put an officer at risk. The agency says the officer who opened fire did so in self-defense.
Salgado Araujo was struck in the abdomen and rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died. His son told local reporters that his father, who had lived in the United States for 35 years, had been out that morning simply looking to hire day laborers for construction work. The son said his father was in the process of applying for a work permit and was supporting his wife and three children.
The FBI has taken over the investigation into the alleged assault on an officer, while the Department of Homeland Security is separately investigating the shooting itself.
Video footage raises new questions about the official account
Surveillance footage obtained by local station KHOU 11 shows a white van driving down Wayside before turning onto Canal Street, followed by two dark SUVs. The van makes a U-turn and pulls over near a business, where one SUV stops beside it.
A separate cellphone video recorded by bystanders appears to show officers standing over the man as he lay bleeding on the pavement.
Community members and elected officials have demanded answers. Texas Civil Rights Project president Rochelle Garza called for a full and independent investigation, saying local neighborhoods should not be treated as battlegrounds. U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia, whose district includes the neighborhood, said all footage and communications tied to the shooting must be preserved and reviewed.
Houston City Council members Alejandra Salinas and Joaquin Martinez also issued statements calling for transparency and a timely public accounting of what occurred.
This marks the first fatal shooting involving federal immigration agents since two people were killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis back in January.
According to tracking by the nonprofit organization The Trace, immigration agents have now been involved in ten shootings so far this year, a pace that puts 2026 on track to surpass last year’s total. The victim’s family says they plan to hold a press conference this week to share more about what happened.
