According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that on July 7 local time, law enforcement officers from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) killed a Mexican man during an operation in Houston, Texas. The man attempted to evade arrest.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security states that the man’s name is Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who resides in the United States illegally. On the morning of the 7th, when ICE attempted to arrest him during a traffic stop, he ignored the parking instructions and tried to escape, driving into an ICE vehicle.
The department stated that Araujo ‘armed the vehicle and tried to run over an ICE law enforcement officer, resulting in our law enforcement officers taking measures to defend themselves by firing shots’. Araujo was taken to the hospital but died due to his severe injuries.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that they are investigating this shooting incident involving ICE law enforcement officers.
The American Latin American Civil Rights Organization, LULAC, has called for an independent investigation into the shooting incident. "We cannot accept that bloody incidents occur on American streets without anyone being held accountable," said Román Palomares, president of LULAC nationwide.
"We completely do not believe the statement of the Ministry of Land and Resources Security." LULAC CEO Hu An-Proano told United Press International, "An independent investigation should be conducted and all videos should be released."
According to the Associated Press, since the Trump administration began tightening immigration enforcement, there have been at least six cases where federal law enforcement officers have been killed by gunfire.
There have been instances where law enforcement officers’ initial statements were ‘disproved’ by video evidence. In February of this year, federal authorities investigated two federal immigration law enforcement officers who allegedly made false statements during their sworn testimony in connection with a non-lethal shooting of an immigrant in Minneapolis last January.
According to reports, since the Trump administration began its immigration crackdown last year, federal law enforcement has been stepping up its efforts to enforce laws in Houston, which has sparked public backlash. The Houston City Council once passed a regulation that limited cooperation with the ICE. However, this regulation was withdrawn after Republican Governor Greg Abott of Texas threatened to cut more than 100 million dollars from state funding for public safety.
