Three men who were inside a van when federal immigration agents opened fire and killed a Houston driver this week are rejecting the government's account of what happened, according to their attorney and lawmakers who have reviewed their statements.
The men, arrested at the scene, say the driver, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, never used his vehicle as a weapon. They deny an ICE officer was standing in front of the van, and they insist the shots that killed Salgado came from the sides of the vehicle.
Salgado and his brother were heading to a construction job early Tuesday with two coworkers when unmarked ICE vehicles began following them. What happened during the attempted stop remains disputed: there is no public video of the actual shooting, and the federal agents involved were not wearing body cameras or dash-cams.
Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, the attorney representing two of the men, stated at a Friday press conference that his clients "reiterated that at no point was there ever an agent standing in front of the vehicle." One of the men provided a written account saying officers were positioned on the sides of the van, not in front or behind it.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed Salgado "rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer." A DHS spokesperson added that Salgado and others like him were "assaulting law enforcement and turning their vehicles into weapons."
That narrative has become familiar in recent months. At least 10 people have been killed by federal immigration officials since January 2025, often under similar circumstances where the government's initial claims have later been contradicted.
Salgado, who had lived in the United States for nearly 35 years, had no criminal history. ICE believed someone else was in the van, not Salgado himself, according to reporting and statements from Representative Sylvia Garcia of Texas.
A grocery store in the area captured the incident on security cameras, but the corporate office has refused to release the footage to media outlets, though investigators have received it. Representative Garcia noted there appeared to be no damage to the vehicles at the scene, contradicting the ramming allegation.
Salgado was taken to a hospital where he died. Video from bystanders shows him bleeding on the ground as ICE officials stand over him. His family learned of his death through social media.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare launched an investigation into the shooting, though he said his office was not invited to the scene. The DHS inspector general is reviewing the incident, and the FBI is investigating whether Salgado assaulted ICE officials. Teare promised to work to collect evidence for the public record.
The three men inside the van are now detained at a privately run ICE facility in Conroe, Texas, and are reportedly being pressured to sign voluntary departure orders. Balderas-Ibarra warned that deporting his clients could compromise the investigation. "It is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation," he said. "That will all be out the window if they are deported."
This is the latest case raising questions about ICE tactics under the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign. In January, federal agents killed two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis under disputed circumstances. Democrats have repeatedly called for ICE to equip officers with body cameras during arrest operations, but the agency has resisted.
Author James Rodriguez: "The pattern is unmistakable: federal agents make controversial shootings, offer one story, then the actual witnesses and evidence tell a different one. If they're pressuring these men to disappear before the full picture emerges, that's not justice."
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