A fatal shooting by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston, Texas has sparked widespread public anger and diplomatic tension after federal officials confirmed the 52-year-old victim, Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was not the target of the planned enforcement operation.
The incident unfolded at approximately 7 a.m. on Tuesday, when Salgado was en route to a construction job with three of his co-workers. According to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statements, agents initiated the traffic stop after identifying a white van matching the description of the suspect vehicle, and a driver who physically resembled the target of their pre-planned arrest operation. The encounter ended with an agent opening fire, killing Salgado, who was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
In the days following the shooting, DHS has walked back its initial narrative. The agency’s first statement on Tuesday claimed Salgado had attempted to evade arrest and rammed an ICE vehicle, justifying the agent’s use of deadly force on the grounds of self-defense. Two days later, officials acknowledged the fatal stop was a case of mistaken identity. Further controversy has emerged over the fact that none of the participating agents were wearing body cameras, and no photographic or video evidence of the encounter has been released to the public. A DHS spokesperson told CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. partner, that currently only half of the agency’s field officers are equipped with body cameras, and the remaining personnel are not expected to receive the devices for another 60 days.
Salgado’s family has pushed back against the official narrative, saying the 52-year-old had worked as a builder in the Houston area for 30 years after entering the U.S. as an undocumented migrant. They added he had no criminal record, was on the verge of securing a legal work permit, and posed no threat to the agents involved in the stop.
News of the mistaken identity killing drew hundreds of protestors to Houston streets on Wednesday, demanding accountability for Salgado’s death. Four Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have formally called for a full independent investigation into the shooting. In a joint letter addressed to DHS leadership, Representatives Sylvia Garcia, Al Green, Lizzie Fletcher and Christian Menefee noted that this killing is far from an isolated incident, writing that “this is not the first time ICE agents have used unnecessary, deadly force.” The lawmakers reminded DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin of two earlier fatal incidents: the January shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis. They criticized DHS and ICE’s repeated pattern of justifying fatal shootings with claims of self-defense after encounters where suspects allegedly attempt to evade arrest, calling for full transparency and accountability rather than the same unsubstantiated excuses that have followed previous deadly encounters.
The killing has also drawn a formal response from the Mexican government, which announced it would file criminal complaints in the U.S. over the deaths of 17 Mexican citizens connected to ICE custody and operations. Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco said 14 Mexican nationals have died while held in ICE custody, and an additional three have been killed during ICE arrest operations. Velasco confirmed he received direct instructions from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to file the complaints, with the goal of forcing U.S. authorities to open full criminal investigations into each of these deaths.
The BBC has reached out to DHS for additional comment on the incident and the demands for an independent probe, but has not yet received a response.