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ICE agent fatally shoots man in Houston during 'targeted enforcement operation'

By Kyle McClenagan | Houston Public Media

Published July 7, 2026 at 4:14 PM CDT

In this July 8, 2019, file photo, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer looks on during an operation in Escondido, Calif. Advocacy groups and unions are pressuring Marriott, MGM and others not to house migrants who have been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But the U.S. government says it sometimes needs bed space, and if hotels don’t help it might have to split up families.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed a Mexican national on Tuesday morning in Houston, according to a spokesperson for the federal agency.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said in a statement to Houston Public Media the shooting occurred at approximately 6:50 a.m. Tuesday during a "targeted enforcement operation." ICE identified the man who died as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, saying he was from Mexico and did not have legal status in the U.S.

Federal officials claimedAraujo attempted to evade arrest.

"From information we are receiving, he 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, resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense," the ICE spokesperson said.

Araujo was transported to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to ICE.

It was not immediately whether any federal agents were injured.

The ICE spokesperson said the FBI had taken over the investigation. The FBI’s Houston Field Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The shooting occurred in Houston’s East End, a predominantly Latino area, according to multiple news reports.