Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said the state’s Texas Rangers will investigate the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by federal immigration agents in Houston.
Abbott said the state agency would work alongside federal officials to establish what happened during the incident, which occurred on 7 July. He said immigration laws could be enforced without shootings.
Salgado Araujo was stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while driving to work, according to accounts cited by MyJoyOnline. He was taken to hospital after being shot and later died.
Federal authorities initially alleged that Salgado Araujo had used his vehicle as a weapon and that an officer fired in self-defence. The Department of Homeland Security later said he had not been the target of the operation, and that agents stopped a white van because an occupant resembled the person they were seeking.
His family has challenged the government’s account. Video of the shooting itself has not publicly emerged, and Congresswoman Silvia Garcia, who represents the area, said ICE agents involved in the operation were not wearing body cameras.
Several investigations under way
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General is investigating the death. The FBI office in Houston is leading an inquiry into a potential assault on a federal law-enforcement officer, according to an ICE spokesperson quoted in the report.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire had called for an independent investigation. The Houston Police Department subsequently requested that the Texas Rangers open an inquiry.
A further point of dispute concerns material reportedly found in the vehicle. An FBI agent said in a warrant application that plastic bags containing a white crystal-like substance appeared consistent with methamphetamine. However, Ruby Powers, a lawyer for Salgado Araujo’s brother Victor, said the family understood the material to be granulated salt used with lemon and water as a homemade electrolyte drink for outdoor workers.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told CNN that his office did not believe the packages contained drugs and expected FBI testing to take place.
Salgado Araujo, 52, was the father of three children and had lived in the United States for about 35 years, his family said. The case has drawn renewed scrutiny of ICE enforcement tactics, particularly traffic stops, which President Donald Trump has said the agency will continue to use.
