HOUSTON — The Congressional Hispanic Caucus will hold a field hearing in Houston on July 24 to gather eyewitness testimony and other evidence related to the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a federal immigration agent.
Members of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security are expected to participate in the hearing, which comes amid criticism from Democratic lawmakers over the federal investigation into the shooting.
Salgado, 52, was shot during what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) described as a targeted enforcement operation. The agency later acknowledged that Salgado was not the individual agents were seeking.
ICE has said Salgado used his vehicle as a weapon and attempted to run over agents. However, his brother and two other men who were in the vehicle disputed that account, saying agents did not identify themselves and that no officer was standing in front of the van before the shooting.
Rep. Sylvia Garcia said the family has been asked to trust the same agency involved in the shooting despite Salgado not being the intended target and having no criminal history.
The hearing follows another fatal ICE shooting in Maine in which federal officials also said the person killed was not the intended target.
Rep. Joaquin Castro cited the two incidents as grounds for Congress to reexamine funding for ICE. He called for freezing additional funding, halting hiring and ultimately abolishing the agency, arguing that changes are needed to prevent similar incidents.
An ICE spokesperson previously denied claims that the agency uses bounty hunters, saying such assertions misrepresent the work of its officers.
