The son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on his way to work in Texas, has shared the heartbreaking details of how he discovered his father was dead.
Ronaldo Salgado, a teacher, paid tribute to his dad at an emotional press conference Wednesday morning, less than 48 hours after he was fatally shot by ICE in East Houston during what the Department of Homeland Security said was a “targeted operation.”
Lorenzo Salgado, a husband and father of three, lived in the United States for 35 years and “dedicated his life to giving his family the American dream,” his son said. He had a small construction business and was “close to obtaining his legal status,” the family said.
In a statement, Homeland Security alleged Lorenzo Salagado tried to “evade arrest,” and “rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer.” The officer fired his weapon at Lorenzo Salagado “in self-defense,” according to the department.
Lorenzo Salgado was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries. His son said he rushed to the scene Tuesday morning after receiving a panicked call from his mother that something was wrong.
“Around 7 a.m. I was notified by my mom that something bad had happened to my dad,” he said. “We didn’t know what. All we knew is that it was ICE-related.”
By the time Ronaldo Salgado arrived at the scene of the shooting, his father’s van was still there, but there was no sign of his dad.
“I learned of my father’s passing from a news report on social media, not the hospital, not law enforcement,” Ronaldo Salgado said, through tears. “I saw a video posted on Facebook that he had been shot. I recognized him immediately, not from his appearance, but from his voice crying for help as he lay on the street, bleeding out.”
Lorenzo Salagado’s death marks the first person killed by federal immigration officers since Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
His family, local officials and the Hispanic civil rights group League of United Latin American Citizens have called for a full and transparent investigation into the shooting.
Ronaldo Salgado said his father was in the process of obtaining his work permit and “dotted every i and crossed every t.”
“My father did not deserve this,” he added.
Houston city council member Alejandra Salinas said the incident was “deeply concerning,” while Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia, whose Houston district includes the shooting scene, called for an independent review.
LULAC, a civil rights group, said “ICE’s claim that Mr.Salgado attempted to use his vehicle to injure officers cannot simply be accepted at face value” and called for the release of bodycam footage, surveillance, radio communications and witness statements.
“This is not the first time ICE has justified a shooting by claiming someone tried to run over officers, only for later evidence to prove that to be untrue,” the group said, highlighting the 2025 shooting of American citizen Marimar Martinez and Good’s killing in Minneapolis in January 2026.
Martinez was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago last year. The 30-year-old teaching assistant was accused of assaulting officers with her car during the Trump administration’s surge in the city, but the evidence against her showed the allegation to be false.
In Minneapolis, Good was accused of running over an ICE agent with her car. She was shot at point-blank range by the officer. Video footage disputed the allegation, but Good was labeled a “domestic terrorist” by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House officials in the aftermath of her death, prompting global outrage.
In a statement to The Independent, the Department of Homeland Security said the Office of Inspector General was leading an investigation into the shooting, and the FBI Houston was leading a probe “into the potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer.”
“This is a developing situation, and we will update the public when more information is available,” the department added.
