Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is speaking out after a Houston man was fatally shot by an ICE officer, drawing outrage in the Texas community and calls for an independent investigation.
“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s family called him “El mundo entero” — the whole world. Two days ago, he was shot and killed by ICE agents on his way to work,” Harris said in a statement posted to social media.
As theGrio previously reported, Salgado Araujo, 52, was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who worked in construction. The husband and father of three was shot in the stomach while in his van alongside his construction crew. The unidentified agent was driving in an unmarked car.
While the Department of Homeland Security accused Salgado Araujo of evading arrest and trying to drive his vehicle into another agent, no video evidence or independent investigation has been released to verify those claims. One video captures the moments after the shooting as Salgado Araujo lay on the ground in agony. His family is joined by elected officials and community leaders in calling for an independent and fair investigation.
“Many of us have seen the horrifying video of him crying out in pain, and we continue to be outraged by the horrific and cruel actions of ICE under the Trump Administration,” said Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, who is considering a third campaign for U.S. president in 2028.
She added, “Doug and my prayers are with Lorenzo’s wife, his three sons, and all those who loved and knew him. I join his son Ronaldo in calling for an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation.”
The death of Salgado Araujo recalls several other fatal ICE shootings since Trump returned to the White House, administering the most aggressive immigration enforcement in modern U.S. history. Cases included Keith Porter, a 43-year-old Black father of two, in Los Angeles, and Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
In the cases of Good and Pretti, two of the more high-profile shootings this year, the Trump administration notably blocked state and local authorities from conducting independent investigations, including access to evidence.
U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) also demanded a transparent investigation of Salgado Araujo. During a news conference, the freshman congressman and former Harris County attorney said, “To be clear, somebody being killed by law enforcement is a big goddamn deal!”
“What other profession has the power to take somebody’s life in the middle of a street?” he continued. “We need a full and transparent investigation into what happened here, and all of the evidence needs to be released to the public.”
