Congress leaders demand answers in ICE killing of Lorenzo Salgado
· UPIJuly 24 (UPI) -- Congressional leaders on Friday demanded transparency in the investigation of the shooting death of a Mexican national during a chase by Immigration and Customs Enforcements agents earlier this month in Texas.
Several members of Congress hosted a forum with community leaders in Houston to ask for answers in the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo on July 7.
Salgado was driving a van to work with three other men when ICE agents opened fire to stop the vehicle, killing him.
ICE agents, who were not wearing bodycams, said Salgado "weaponized" the vehicle and they shot in self defense. Multiple witnesses have disputed this description of events.
Congressional leaders said they've been stonewalled by federal investigators.
"ICE shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in our community," Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, wrote on X. "Then came the secrecy, the excuses, and the refusal to answer basic questions."
At the forum, Garcia said her congressional delegation has received no answers to multiple attempts to get investigative details from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.
"Today, we are bringing congressional oversight to Houston because Lorenzo's family deserves the truth," Garcia said. "We need a fully independent investigation to get answers, and ICE must be held accountable."
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said his office has also been ignored despite multiple attempts to get details from federal authorities
Teare, who is running an independent investigation into the shooting, said DHS has refused to identify the shooter.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., said "no agency is above accountability."
"The use of deadly force must be examined, must be dealt with," Espaillat, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, told CNN.
"Officers must be trained, we need to address this," he added. "This is not only applicable to immigrants -- most of whom are not criminals, they haven't had a criminal record -- this also applies to U.S. citizens."
On Wednesday, Mexico said it has filed official complaints with prosecutors in the United States over the killings of 17 of its citizens in ICE custody since May 2025.
Mexican authorities have also asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate the cases.
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