Democratic congressmen accused the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) on Tuesday of having hidden evidence related to the death of Mexican migrant Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot dead by federal agents on July 7 during an operation in Houston, Texas.
The complaint was presented by members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus after an information hearing held on July 24 in Houston, where legislators reviewed documents, testimonies and evidence related to the case. At the end of the meeting, the representatives stated that the information collected contradicts part of the version initially disseminated by the federal authorities.
“Federal agents killed a man on his way to work, they hid the evidence, and administration officials led a smear campaign against Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a man who built homes to support his family,” the congressmen said in a statement. Salgado, 52, was traveling to work with his brother and two other colleagues when the van in which they were traveling was intercepted by immigration agents as part of an operation aimed at detaining a person with an irregular immigration status.
Legislators question the official version of the operation
After the incident, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), on which ICE depends, maintained that during the intervention the agents located a crystalline substance similar to methamphetamine on the dashboard of the vehicle, an argument that was reflected in a search warrant prepared by an FBI agent.
However, according to the Hispanic Caucus, subsequent testing by the Texas Department of Public Safety ruled out the presence of narcotics. In addition, the legislators indicated that the Harris County Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the substance corresponded to electrolyte powder used by workers to stay hydrated during work days, as Salgado's family had maintained since the beginning of the investigation.
The congressmen pointed out that this finding calls into question the initial narrative used by the authorities to justify part of the operation and reinforces the need for an independent investigation into the use of force.
ICE, DHS and FBI declined to participate in the hearing
During the hearing organized by the Hispanic Caucus, representatives Adriano Espaillat and Sylvia García participated, among others, and extended formal invitations to officials from ICE, DHS and the FBI to offer their version of the events. According to organizers, the three federal agencies declined to attend, prompting lawmakers to criticize their lack of willingness to publicly respond to questions about the case.
The death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo has become one of the episodes that has intensified scrutiny of immigration operations in the United States and the use of force by federal agents.
According to data cited by the congressmen, at least six people have died this year from shots fired by immigration agents during different operations in the country. Among them are US citizens Alex Pretti and Renée Good, who died during a deployment in Minnesota. While the investigations continue, Democratic legislators and immigrant rights organizations maintain the call for federal agencies to make transparent all the evidence related to the death of the Mexican worker and be accountable for the decisions made during the operation.
