Key facts
- Over a thousand protesters marched in Houston against ICE after an officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
- ICE stated the shooting was self-defense after Salgado rammed his van into an ICE vehicle.
- Demonstrators are demanding an independent inquiry into the incident.
- Salgado, a Mexican national, had lived in the U.S. illegally for three decades and was a construction worker.
- The incident is part of a broader crackdown on immigration under President Donald Trump, with federal agents detaining approximately 2,000 migrants daily nationwide.
- ICE arrests in Houston more than tripled in the last two weeks of June.
More than a thousand protesters marched in Houston against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national who had been living in the U.S. illegally for three decades. The demonstrators, many waving Mexican flags, demanded an independent inquiry into the incident, which occurred Tuesday.
ICE stated that Salgado rammed his van into an ICE vehicle, refused verbal commands, and attempted to run over an officer, who then fired in self-defense. Salgado was reportedly involved in a targeted enforcement operation when officers attempted to stop his vehicle.
The killing of Salgado, a construction worker who family said had resided in Houston for 35 years and was close to obtaining legal U.S. residency, is the latest in a series of lethal encounters during increased deportation raids nationwide. Since President Donald Trump returned to office and launched a campaign of mass deportations in January 2025, at least six people have been shot dead in immigration enforcement operations.
Federal agents have been detaining approximately 2,000 migrants daily nationwide recently. In Houston, ICE arrests more than tripled from mid-June to late June, reaching around 100 per week, according to preliminary data. The protest, which began with a few hundred people, swelled to over a thousand as it moved through the city, with chants of "ICE out of Houston, ICE out of everywhere."
Protesters expressed fear that such incidents could happen to anyone. A candlelight vigil was held for Salgado on Wednesday evening. As of Wednesday afternoon, no video footage of the shooting had emerged.