Mexican Man Fatally Shot By ICE Agent After Allegedly Ramming Vehicle, Trying To Run Over Officer

Last Updated:July 08, 2026, 08:13 IST

The deceased was identified by ICE as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, whom the agency described as a Mexican national and an “illegal alien.”

A Mexican man was fatally shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during an enforcement operation in Houston on Tuesday after he allegedly rammed a law enforcement vehicle and attempted to run over an officer, the agency said.

The deceased was identified by ICE as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, whom the agency described as a Mexican national and an “illegal alien." According to ICE, officers were conducting a “targeted enforcement operation" when Salgado allegedly tried to evade arrest.

The agency said Salgado “rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponised his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer." ICE said the encounter ended with “our officer firing his weapon in self-defence," striking Salgado, who was taken to a hospital and later died of his injuries.

Ronaldo Salgado, who identified himself as the victim’s son, told Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo Houston that his father had been in the area looking for workers when he was shot.

Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed a person lying beside a white van surrounded by law enforcement officers in what appeared to be the aftermath of the shooting.

Calls For Independent Investigation

The shooting has prompted renewed calls for an independent investigation, with critics pointing to previous cases in which official accounts of immigration enforcement operations were later challenged.

Also Read: ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Woman Amid Immigration Crackdown In Minneapolis, Trump Blames ‘Radical Left’

In October, Chicago-area resident Marimar Martinez was accused of ramming law enforcement officers with her vehicle and was shot five times. She survived, and the charges against her were later dropped after video evidence suggested agents may have struck her vehicle themselves.

In another case, Trump administration officials said two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, had threatened officers before they were killed, despite video evidence that contradicted those claims.

In May, a Minnesota prosecutor charged an ICE agent with assaulting a Venezuelan man in a non-fatal shooting in Minneapolis during the same immigration crackdown.

ICE said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would lead the investigation into the “potential assault on a law enforcement officer."

The incident comes as ICE has stepped up immigration enforcement operations across the United States, with immigration officers making around 2,000 arrests a day last week, according to two people familiar with the matter.

US Representative Sylvia Garcia, whose district includes the area where the shooting occurred, called for a “full and impartial investigation," saying “the victim’s family, my constituents, and the entire community deserve a complete and transparent accounting of what happened."

Roman Palomares, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, echoed those demands, saying: “We have seen a pattern of ICE involvement in shootings and excessive use of force. Each time a family is left without answers, and a community is left in fear."

Mary Benton, a spokesperson for Houston Mayor John Whitmire, said the incident resulted from “a federal operation" and that Houston police “were not involved."

Houston Police Department spokesperson Jodi Silva also told Reuters, “to my understanding, no," when asked whether the department was investigating the shooting.

With inputs from Reuters

About the Author

Prisha Vibhavari

Prisha is the Chief Sub-Editor at News18.com, with more than 10 years of experience in national and international news. She specialises in editorial leadership, sharp news judgment, and high-impact st...Read More

News world Mexican Man Fatally Shot By ICE Agent After Allegedly Ramming Vehicle, Trying To Run Over Officer

Read More