At least two of the passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at the time he was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Houston this week are disputing the federal agency's account of the incident, according to an attorney representing the men.
Hugo Balderas, the lawyer for two of the three passengers, said Friday he had spoken with his clients, who say ICE's account is inconsistent with their experience.
"They confirmed that at no point was there ever an ICE agent directly in front of the vehicle," Balderas said. "They also confirmed that the shots came from the sides, not from the front, which is inconsistent with the ICE statement."
ICE officials released a statement on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the shooting in the predominantly Latino East End neighborhood. They said they were performing a "targeted enforcement operation" and alleged Salgado Araujo "weaponized his vehicle," rammed it into an ICE car and attempted to run over an ICE officer, who then shot Salgado Araujo in self-defense, according to ICE.
Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three, was originally from Mexico and did not have legal immigration status in the U.S., according to ICE. He was shot in the abdomen and transported to Ben Taub Hospital, where he later died of his wounds, according to his family, which is disputing ICE's account of the deadly encounter.
No video evidence of the shooting had emerged publicly as of Friday, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tellingHouston Public Mediathe agents involved were not wearing body cameras because of recent lapses in federal funding. Some clips on social media had circulated showing the moments before and after the shooting.
Citing her conversation with acting ICE director David Venturella, a spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said Thursday that neither Salgado Araujo nor his brother, who was one of the passengers in the vehicle, were the intended targets of the ICE operation. A DHS spokespersondid not specify whether any of the people in the vehicle were intended targets, saying in a statement that one of the individuals in the van "resembled the target."
Garcia said she was not aware if the three detainees who were passengers in the van had shared their accounts with the FBI, which has said it is investigating a potential assault against a federal law enforcement officer. The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General is investigating Salgado Araujo's shooting death, according to the FBI.
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Garcia also said Friday she was told the ICE agents involved in the incident were removed from Houston, but did not know if they remain on active duty elsewhere. Federal officials have not named the agents and did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
They also did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the passengers' disputing their account of the shooting.
"I can tell you that my clients will forever be physically and emotionally scarred by this," Balderas said. "None of these families will ever be whole."
Balderas added that his clients told him they are feeling pressure by ICE agents to sign self-deportation papers.
The passengers were detained on site and taken to the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, north of Houston, where they remained Friday, according to Garcia.
Balderas identified his clients — who are not related to Salgado Araujo — as “Daniel” and “José,” without providing their full names. Salgado Araujo's brother has not been named publicly by authorities or his family, and it was not immediately clear who, if anyone, is providing him with legal representation.
"This is not immigration enforcement. This is racial profiling," Balderas said. "It's very important that they are required to wear body cameras."
Acting ICE director promised body cameras on all officers "by the end of the month," Garcia says
Garcia said Venturella, the acting ICE director, told her he would apologize to the family of Salgado Araujo for the public release of his name on Tuesday before his relatives had been notified by authorities. She also said Venturella "promised" that all ICE officers in the field would have body cameras "by the end of the month."
A spokesperson for DHS, which is overseen by the administration of Republican President Donald Trump, blamed Democrats while saying the ICE agents involved in the Houston shooting did not have body cameras.
"The process of purchasing and issuing body-worn cameras to all of our ICE field offices was interrupted by the Democrats multiple government shutdowns," the DHS spokesperson wrote in a statement to Houston Public Media. "Body cameras have been deployed to more than half the field offices with the remaining half to receive them in the next 60 days."
Salgado Araujo was one ofmultiple people in Texasand across the U.S. to be fatally shot by ICE agents or die in ICE custody during Trump's second term as president as his administration has ramped-up immigration-related arrests and deportations. There was a nationwidesurge in arrestsduring the weeks preceding Salgado Araujo’s shooting death, according to the Associated Press.
ICE's account of Salgado Araujo's shooting death mirrors its statements about the 2025 shootings deaths of U.S. citizens Ruben Ray Martinez in South Texas and Renee Good in Minnesota. In those instances, ICE claimed Martinez and Good attempted to strike officers with their cars before they were shot. Based on video footage, those claims were disputed byattorneys for Martinez's familyin his case and by state and local officials in Minnesotain the case of Good.
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