Three men who were in the van when federal immigration officials shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, this week are strongly disputing the Trump administration's narrative of the events and are being pressured to sign deportation orders, according to their lawyer and lawmakers.
Witnesses Contradict Official Account
The three men, arrested by immigration officials during the incident, denied that driver Lorenzo Salgado Araujo "weaponized" his vehicle against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. They told their lawyer there was never an ICE official in front of the van and that the shots that killed Salgado came from the "sides" of the vehicle, according to Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, a Texas attorney representing two of the men. Balderas-Ibarra said during a press conference on Friday that his clients "reiterated that at no point was there ever an agent standing in front of the vehicle, nor was an agent ever placed in the line of danger." The men's claims were first reported by the Washington Post.
Incident Details and Investigation
On early Tuesday morning, Salgado, his brother, and two other men were heading to work in Houston when he was shot and killed during a "targeted enforcement operation" by ICE officials. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that Salgado "weaponized" his vehicle and attempted to hit an ICE officer, leading the officer to discharge his weapon. However, according to a written statement by one of the men reviewed by the Washington Post, "there were no officers in front of or behind the vehicle. They were on the sides."
The ICE officers involved were not wearing body cameras, and their cars did not have dash-cams, Representative Sylvia Garcia said on Friday after speaking with ICE's acting director, David Venturella. The Harris County district attorney's office launched an investigation into the shooting, with District Attorney Sean Teare stating his agency was "not invited to the scene" but hoped the DHS inspector general's office would share information. The FBI is investigating whether Salgado assaulted ICE officials.
Family and Lawmakers Demand Answers
Salgado's family and lawmakers demanded an independent investigation, pointing to previous false and contradictory information presented by DHS. Salgado, who lived in the US for nearly 35 years, had no criminal history. His family said Tuesday began like any other day: he woke up early, got in his van, and drove to pick up three co-workers, including his brother, to head to a construction site. Two unmarked ICE vehicles began following the four men. According to Representative Garcia and the New York Times, Salgado and his brother were not the intended arrest targets; ICE believed someone else was in the van.
A DHS spokesperson said "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." Video shared on social media shows Salgado on the ground with two ICE officials over him, bleeding and yelling. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. His family learned of his death through social media posts, his son said.
Detention and Deportation Pressure
The three men, seen cuffed and on the ground in bystander footage moments after the shooting, are now detained at the Montgomery processing center, a privately run ICE facility in Conroe, Texas. They are reportedly being pressured to sign self-removal orders to be deported, according to Balderas-Ibarra. "Given the magnitude of this case and the implications that it carries, my clients may be pressured into signing documentation for their voluntary departure," he said. "It is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation – that will all be out the window if they are deported."
DHS has faced repeated scrutiny over aggressive arrest, detention, and deportation tactics under the Trump administration's "mass deportations" campaign. There have been at least 10 fatal shootings by federal immigration officials since January 2025, according to reports.
