CNN Spanish —
It was almost 7 am in Houston, Texas. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican citizen, was driving to work in his truck when federal immigration agents conducted an operation to arrest him.
US authorities said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempted to conduct a vehicle stop to apprehend Salgado Araujo, who allegedly tried to evade arrest by ramming an ICE police vehicle and attempting to run over one of their agents, who opened fire “in self-defense,” according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The immigrant soon died in the hospital from injuries inflicted by a federal agent.
However, Salgado Araujo’s family, local authorities and non-governmental organizations question the official version and demand transparency. They note that the immigrant is a “working Mexican,” a father and part of the community for decades.
Salgado Araujo was driving to work, picking up his employees, when the incident with ICE agents occurred, Ronaldo Salgado, the son of the deceased Mexican immigrant, said in a Facebook post.
He remembered his father as a “hard-working Mexican” and a man who was always there for his family.
“Today is the first day without him for all of us, and it is heartbreaking to know that my mother did not prepare lunch for my father before leaving for work for the first time in over 30 years of their marriage. He is my father: a simple man, a family man. Not the one who asked for help while lying on the floor, bleeding. He just wanted to go to work and come back to us,” Ronaldo said in another publication.
Salgado Araujo lived in the United States for almost 35 years and worked in the construction sector to provide a better life for his family (his wife and three American citizen children, including Ronaldo, the eldest).
DHS said the immigrant was an “illegal alien from Mexico,” but his family says Salgado Araujo was in the process of obtaining a work permit.
Likewise, Ronaldo Salgado said this Wednesday at a press conference that his father has no criminal record. Salgado Araujo does not appear to have a criminal record, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
ICE indicated that the Mexican immigrant was undocumented to live in the United States, but the agency did not provide additional information about Salgado Araujo’s legal status after consulting on the matter. Following the incident, ICE detained three people in the immigrant’s car, including Lorenzo’s brother.
Ronaldo Araujo added at the conference that his father was scared when he saw unmarked cars following him.
“If my father had seen an ICE logo or any other law enforcement logo, he would have obeyed. He would have stopped,” said Ronaldo Salgado. “He was driving fast because he was afraid someone would steal his tools.”
‘We are preparing legal action’: Sheinbaum reacts to the death of a Mexican at the hands of an ICE agent
‘We are preparing legal action’: Sheinbaum reacts to the death of a Mexican at the hands of an ICE agent
01:16
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo has spent the last three decades building homes in the Houston suburbs. He would end his day by “coming home, sitting on the porch, eating a juicy meal my mother had cooked, going to bed and repeating the whole process the next day,” Ronaldo Salgado said at the conference.
His son recalled how Salgado Araujo recently collected photographs and statements from his employers and loved ones to apply for a work permit and said he was “on the verge of obtaining legal status.”
“We did everything exactly, filled out all the documents and attended all the meetings,” said Ronaldo Salgado.
Salgado also called for a thorough investigation into his father’s death.
“He didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve to have his name turned into a headline like ‘Mexican Man Shot by ICE,’” Salgado said.
“He deserved a quiet life like Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, husband, father and one who gave work to dozens of men who also strived for the American dream,”
added his son.
The DHS Office of Inspector General and the FBI in Houston are investigating the events. Meanwhile, local authorities expressed regret that the case was considered “exclusively” by federal authorities.
“When a person dies in Harris County during an interaction with law enforcement, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office conducts an investigation parallel to that of the agency conducting the primary investigation. “Unfortunately, federal authorities continue to exclusively manage all aspects of this case at this time,” Harris District Attorney Sean Teer said in a statement.
Teer, who called Salgado Araujo a “longtime member of our community,” called for all the evidence people can get, from photos and videos to eyewitness accounts.
“Let me be clear: Mr. Salgado Araujo’s family and our community deserve to know the truth,” the local official added.
Activists and Democratic lawmakers in Texas have joined calls to require testing of all crime scene evidence.
“We demand a thorough and independent investigation, immediate disclosure of all available evidence, and accountability for Lorenzo’s wrongful death. The public deserves the truth and the Salgado family deserves justice,” the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), an organization that is accompanying the family, said Tuesday.
Representative Sylvia Garcia, whose district covers the incident area, said the investigation into the events must be “independent and comprehensive.”
“All available records, communications and other evidence must be preserved and examined as part of a full and impartial investigation,” Garcia wrote in X.
In accordance with Garcia’s statements, Congressman Christian Menefee, who represents part of Houston, said that all information obtained as a result of the investigation should be made public. “ICE’s actions across the country have caused them to lose the faith and trust of the public,” Menefee told X.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said he believes federal authorities should conduct a “transparent and independent investigation.” During Wednesday’s City Council meeting, he also noted that the city’s police department was not involved in the traffic stop or shooting.
Reaction to this case was also heard from the Mexican government. The country’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said this Wednesday that her administration will “go beyond diplomatic notes” and take “more significant legal measures” regarding the recent case.
“We cannot allow our brothers who are in the United States, our fellow citizens, to be mistreated (…) They don’t have to be in detention centers or use violence. So we are preparing clearly more significant legal measures,” Sheinbaum commented at his morning conference when asked about the case.