The fatal shooting of a man in Houston by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Tuesday is the latest in a series of migrant deaths while in federal custody or interacting with agents in Texas since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a man from Mexico whom ICE said was undocumented, was shot after agents attempted to pull his vehicle over early Tuesday, according to an ICE statement. The statement said Salgado Araujo attempted to evade arrest and tried to run over a federal officer.


The shooting - the second of its kind in Texas - prompted local leaders to call for an independent investigation of the incident, as ICE's description of the shooting mirrors previous contradictory accounts of fatal shootings by the agency, including the killing of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island last year.

According to a Texas Tribune analysis of federal detainee death notifications and media reports, at least 14 other people have died in custody in Texas since January 2025.

A crackdown on illegal immigration was a cornerstone of Trump's 2024 campaign for reelection, which he claimed was fueling violent crime in the country. Since his reelection, he has embarked on mass deportation efforts and deployed thousands of ICE agents across the country. The impact of his immigration enforcement has been particularly felt in Texas, which reportedly holds the most immigrants of any state at its 23 detention facilities.

What we know about Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's death

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was identified by ICE as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Public records searches revealed a 52-year-old Houston man by the same name had no criminal record in the state.

The Department of Homeland Security said agents were attempting to stop Salgado Araujo's vehicle as part of an unspecified  targeted enforcement operation  in Houston's East End, a predominantly Latino neighborhood.

At a news conference Wednesday, Salgado Araujo's son, Ronaldo Salgado, said his father was on his way to his job building homes when the shooting happ

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