HOUSTON – The three men detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo are being “pressured” to sign paperwork agreeing to self-deport, according to League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Chief Executive Officer Juan Proaño.
According to LULAC, the three men are all Mexican nationals and include Salgado Araujo’s brother, Víctor Hugo Salgado Araujo, as well as two workers, Daniel Tirado Pantoja and José Trinidad Rojas Pliego.
Recommended Videos
Proaño told KPRC 2 that two of the three men are “inclined” to sign voluntary departure paperwork. He said LULAC members have been in contact with the men and are encouraging them to remain in the United States while federal investigators continue examining the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
“We need them to stay. They’re the only witnesses to what actually happened. They were in the vehicle, and we need to get their statements,” Proaño said. “We need to get those statements while they’re on U.S. soil, and we need to make sure that they’re not deported either.”
Proaño also said the three men are being held at an ICE detention facility in Conroe. KPRC 2 has not been able to independently confirm their location.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, others in vehicle were not intended ICE targets
According to the office of U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of the enforcement operation.
The shooting happened around 6:50 a.m. Tuesday in the 6800 block of Canal Street while agents were conducting a targeted ICE operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Surveillance video obtained by KPRC 2 captures the final moments before Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE agent Tuesday during what federal officials described as an attempted immigration enforcement operation.
DHS identified Salgado Araujo as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the encounter began after officers received information from law enforcement partners and conducted surveillance at a target address.
“After receiving a credible tip from our law enforcement partners, our officers conducted surveillance on a target’s address. Weeks prior to the incident, they noted two white vans at the property. On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop.”
Proaño disputed DHS’s account of the encounter.
“100% profiling. There’s no question about it,” Proaño said. “They saw two brown people, basically, driving this vehicle. They were casing a 97% Latino community in Magnolia Park.”
ICE agents were not wearing body cameras
DHS has confirmed there is no body camera footage of the incident. The agency attributed the lack of body cameras to what it described as “back-to-back Democrat shutdowns,” saying the funding delays prevented ICE officers from being equipped with the devices.
Without body camera footage, investigators are expected to rely on witness statements, physical evidence, and any available surveillance or cellphone video to determine what happened.
The shooting remains under investigation by federal authorities.
Meanwhile, Salgado Araujo’s family and civil rights advocates have challenged parts of the federal government’s account of the incident and continue to call for an independent and transparent investigation.
RELATED: Harris County ME rules ICE shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo a homicide
According to Proaño, keeping the three detained men in the United States is critical because they could serve as potential witnesses as investigators seek to establish what happened during the encounter.
“They live in mixed-status family households, and they do not want to bring additional potential legal jeopardy to their family members,” Proaño said.