Target: Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
Goal: Share evidence and allow investigation relating to fatal ICE shooting of Texas man.
Once again, a person has been shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Once again, the agents have claimed they were acting in self-defense. And once again, witnesses have come forward to dispute the official account.
The fatal incident involved Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Houston resident who authorities claimed rammed an ICE vehicle during a traffic stop. Following the alleged attack, an agent fired into the vehicle, killing Salgado Araujo. But three men who were also in the vehicle with Salgado Araujo claim it was the ICE vehicle that rammed into their vehicle, which they say had slowed down. Then, the witnesses alleged an agent exited the ICE vehicle and began immediately firing rounds. These witnesses are now reportedly being pressured to self-deport.
Adding to the questions is the lack of body cams on the agents and the lack of transparency about the details of the incident. Authorities initially did not disclose that Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of the traffic stop, nor have they apparently even released Salgado Araujo’s body or provided any answers to his grieving family. The ICE vehicle was also reportedly unmarked, and Salgado Araujo’s son insists his father (who had been residing in America for decades and who had no criminal record) would have complied with official commands.
This event echoes several others in which ICE agents claimed vehicles had been weaponized against them, the most high-profile of which involved American citizen Renee Good. In total, nearly a dozen individuals have been killed by ICE since the crackdowns began (including an emerging incident out of Maine involving an as-yet unidentified man), but no agents have faced charges. And allegations of cover-ups continue to accumulate. Local authorities – with whom federal officials have shared no information – have called for an independent investigation into Salgado Araujo’s death.
Sign the petition below to join their calls for transparency.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Mullin,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers receive a fraction of the training mandated by local police departments. And unlike many of these officers, they are not required to have body cams. As a consequence, the number of human beings who have died under questionable circumstances at ICE’s hands continues to rise.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo should be the inflection point, yet less than a week after his death comes words of another ICE-involved shooting (in which details initially provided by ICE have reportedly once again proven false). Build trust by honoring the calls for a full and independent investigation into these deadly encounters. ICE agents should be held to the same standard of accountability as the men and women who have dedicated their lives to law enforcement across the country. And community members nationwide should have reassurance that a traffic stop will not be their final stop.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Paul Goyette
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