HOUSTON – Mexico’s president says her country will pursue legal action against the United States after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a man Tuesday morning in east Houston. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was a Mexican citizen who’d been in Houston more than 30 years, according to his family.
President Claudia Sheinbaum made the comments while speaking to reporters about the shooting on Wednesday.
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“Our goal is to go beyond diplomatic notes and what we raised at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, since we cannot allow the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters who are in the United States—our fellow citizens. So we’re proposing other measures," Sheinbaum said. “There has been another tragic death of a fellow citizen in the United States due to detention issues, when their only “offense” is not having papers—even though they were hired by a U.S. company. There’s no reason for them to be in detention centers or for violence to be used. So, we’re preparing legal measures—obviously, more significant ones.”
ICE says the shooting happened during a “targeted enforcement operation” in the 6800 block of Canal Street.
The agency says officers attempted a traffic stop at about 6:50 a.m. and alleges Araujo attempted to flee the scene.
ICE said, “From information we’re receiving, he rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement office resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense.”
Araujo was shot on the right side of his body and video obtained by KPRC 2 shows medics arriving at the scene less than 10 minutes after the shooting.
The Houston Fire Department said Araujo was taken to Ben Taub Hospital while CPR was in progress.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital, officials said.
Three other people were detained.
Multiple local leaders weighed in after the shooting, calling for an independent investigation into the shooting.
Araujo’s son, Ronaldo Salgado, spoke Wednesday, saying his father did not deserve to die.
“He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of a Mexican man shot and killed by ICE. He deserves to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father and a job creator,” Salgado said.
DHS-OIG is leading an investigation into the shooting.