Overview
- On July 7, an ICE officer shot and killed 52‑year‑old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston, and DHS said the agent fired in self‑defense after the driver ‘weaponized’ his work van.
- Two passengers in Salgado Araujo’s van have filed habeas petitions and submitted handwritten statements that contradict the federal account, and U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison has barred ICE from deporting witness Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego while his petition proceeds.
- Harris County’s district attorney has opened an independent criminal probe and is helping the detained passengers apply for U‑visas as federal reviews by the FBI and DHS Office of Inspector General continue.
- Investigators face major evidence gaps because the officers were not wearing body cameras and no public video of the stop has surfaced, prompting community protests and organized calls for an independent inquiry and release of agent identities.
- The FBI executed a warrant that alleged small bags of a white substance in the van appeared to be methamphetamine, but local prosecutors and defense lawyers have publicly disputed that claim, underscoring the contested physical evidence investigators must resolve.