There is widespread outrage across Texas after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot a Mexican national who had lived in the US for decades. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was working toward securing legal status in the US, his son said, according to the Associated Press.
The incident took place when federal officials were stopping Lorenzo’s vehicle in an immigration enforcement operation. His son, Ronaldo Salgado, said his father may have been afraid thinking people in unmarked vehicles were coming to steal the tools he had used for 35 years to build homes just so he could send his three American sons to college.
“He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of Mexican man shot and killed by ICE. He deserved to live a quiet life as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a husband, a father and a job creator for dozens of men who also wanted the American dream,” Salgado said during a news conference.
What we know about the shooting
The shooting took place on Tuesday, July 7, in Magnolia Park. The neighborhood has been a hub for Houston’s Mexican American community for a century. Hundreds of people marched through the neighborhood chanting “ICE out of Houston” on Wednesday night, July 8.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Lorenzo was shot after he ignored commands and attempted to ram an officer who fired his weapon in self-defense. The department said that ICE officers only targeted him because he was living in the country without legal permission. It added that his car struck an ICE vehicle.
Read More | Charlie Kirk’s ‘illegal immigrant protests’ post resurfaces after Alex Pretti shooting, ‘More about hating Trump than…’
Lorenzo was shot in the abdomen, according to Houston firefighters. He died at a hospital.
His son said that three other men appeared to be detained as Lorenzo lay moaning on the ground.
Despite the claims of self-defense, federal officials have not released videos or images of the shooting or the vehicles. Lorenzo’s son has joined civil rights groups and Democratic officials in urging federal authorities to release all the footage and information related to the shooting.
Who was Lorenzo Salgado Araujo?
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said that Lorenzo had no criminal convictions. Ronaldo said that his father had started the process of obtaining his work permit.
“We dotted every I, crossed every T, filled every document, attended every appointment,” he said. “He was close to obtaining his legal status.”
The son added that his father had a biometric scan and fingerprints done earlier this year, and had studied what to do if ICE pulled him over.
“Had my father seen an emblem of ICE or an emblem that says anything about a law enforcement agency, my father would have complied,” his son said.
CNN reported that Lorenzo had been living the same life for 35 years – waking up at 5 am, loading his work van and driving off to pick up his construction crew for work in Houston.
Read More | Trump admin faces humiliation over ‘assassin’ remark on Alex Pretti Minneapolis shooting, ‘You’re lying’
Ronaldo recalled that his mother was told that something bad had happened to his dad around 7 am on Tuesday. He frantically looked for his father at his job site and found it empty. He then saw a video.
“I recognized him, not from his appearance but from his voice crying for help as he lay on the street,” he said.
Lorenzo met his wife as a teenager in Mexico. She even made him lunch before he left for the day.
Protests erupt
A large crowd marched through the streets of Houston on Wednesday night. Some waved Mexican flags or held banners that said “Abolish ICE,” while others held signs with Lorenzo’s face on it. The crowd later held a ceremony in his memory and prayer.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that the country is “preparing legal measures” over the killing of Lorenzo, as “we cannot allow the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters in the United States.”
