US migration policy: Witnesses contradict ICE after fatal shooting of Mexicans

After the fatal shooting of Mexican Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE agent, eyewitnesses contradicted the official account of the US immigration authorities. The witnesses’ attorney, Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, said Friday that Salgado Araujo did not use his vehicle “as a deadly weapon,” as alleged by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. The shots were not “self-defense.”

The witnesses confirmed that the ICE employee was never directly in front of the Mexican’s car. Rather, he shot at the vehicle from the side and hit Salgado Araujo, who was driving. The man died from his injuries in hospital.

Salgado Araujo was arrested during a vehicle check on Tuesday in Houston shot in the state of Texas. The US Department of Homeland Security said that during a stop the Mexican “attempted to evade arrest” and “used his vehicle as a weapon” to “run over an ICE federal agent.” The ICE employee then “used his service weapon in self-defense.”

First fatal use of firearms since the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Salgado Araujo did not have a valid residence permit. According to relatives, the Mexican had been living in the United States for almost 35 years and had applied for a work permit for himself and his small construction company. According to media reports, Salgado Araujo was the victim of a mix-up – ICE was therefore looking for another man.

It is the first fatal use of firearms by ICE employees since the deaths of US citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti in January. They were killed in two separate incidents in the city of Minneapolis. An ICE employee is also held responsible for the death of the mother of three Good, and a member of the Border Patrol is responsible for the death of the nurse Pretti. The killings further fueled protests against President Donald Trump’s mass deportations and against ICE.