Three days after federal immigration agents fatally shot a man during a traffic stop in Houston, most of Texas' Republican leaders had yet to weigh in on the incident or respond to calls from Democrats and civil rights advocates for an independent investigation.

As public outcry has rippled across the internet and the streets of Houston, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and most of the state's GOP congressional delegation have kept mum about the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national who had lived in the country for decades. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot him to death earlier this week when authorities tried to stop his van during an operation.


Details about the shooting have been fluid and little video evidence has emerged, even as the government's account is called into question by witnesses. An ICE spokesperson said agents, who did not have body-worn or dashboard cameras, opened fire Tuesday morning because Salgado Araujo  weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense. 

However, three men who were in the van with Salgado Araujo disputed ICE's version of events; one noted there were no law enforcement officers in front or behind the vehicle - only to the side. The witnesses, who are now in immigration custody, said Salgado Araujo never rammed ICE's vehicles with his van, according to written accounts relayed by their lawyer.

Additionally, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said she was informed by ICE's acting director that Salgado Araujo was not the target of the operation.

At a press conference Friday, Garcia and other Houston Democrats renewed their criticisms of ICE and their demands for an investigation conducted outside the agency. They also called for ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, to release evidence supporting their claims.

Garcia, who represents the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, said she had not heard from Abbott nor any of her congressional Republican colleagues.

The gove

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