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US ICE agents mistakenly killed Mexican citizen in Houston, DHS admits
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia /Crime & Justice

US ICE agents mistakenly killed Mexican citizen in Houston, DHS admits

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents mistakenly killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen, during an operation in Houston.
  • The Department of Homeland Security stated agents fired in self-defense after mistaking Salgado's vehicle for a target, though agents lacked body cameras.
  • The killing has sparked protests in Houston, with four members of Congress demanding an independent investigation, and Mexico's government vowing to file criminal charges.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents mistakenly killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen, during an operation in Houston, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) admitted. Agents had stopped Salgado because they saw "a white van with a person resembling the target," and an agent fired in self-defense, the DHS said.

a white van with a person resembling the target

โ€” Department of Homeland SecurityThe DHS statement explaining why agents stopped Salgado's vehicle.

Agents involved in the shooting were not wearing body cameras, and officials have not released any video footage of the incident. Salgado, 52, had worked as a construction worker in Houston for three decades after arriving in the U.S. as an undocumented migrant, his family said. He had no criminal record and was close to obtaining a work permit.

In an earlier statement, the DHS said agents "attempted to stop a vehicle as part of a targeted arrest operation of an immigration violator." It claimed Salgado "attempted to evade arrest" and struck an ICE vehicle, after which a police officer "fired his service weapon in self-defense."

attempted to evade arrest and struck an ICE vehicle, after which a police officer fired his service weapon in self-defense

โ€” Department of Homeland SecurityThe DHS's initial account of the incident.

The killing has sparked protests in Houston. Four members of Congress, Sylvia Garcia, Al Green, Lizzie Fletcher, and Christian Menefee, have demanded an independent investigation into Salgado's death. In a letter to the DHS, they wrote that this "is not the first time ICE agents have used unnecessary, deadly force."

is not the first time ICE agents have used unnecessary, deadly force

โ€” Sylvia Garcia, Al Green, Lizzie Fletcher, and Christian MenefeeMembers of Congress in a letter to the DHS following Salgado's death.

Mexico's government announced it would file criminal charges in the U.S. over the deaths of more than a dozen of its citizens in ICE custody. Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco stated that 14 Mexicans have died in ICE custody, with three more dying during "arrest operations." President Claudia Sheinbaum has ordered Velasco to investigate these deaths "as criminal acts."

ordered to file criminal charges and that the deaths of Mexicans in ICE custody or operations be investigated as criminal acts

โ€” Roberto VelascoMexican Foreign Minister on President Sheinbaum's orders regarding deaths in ICE custody.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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