HOUSTON — Nearly three weeks after the fatal ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado in Houston’s East End, Democratic members of Congress held a hearing Friday to examine the case and the broader use of force by federal immigration agents.
Eleven Democratic lawmakers heard testimony from Salgado’s sons, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare and a community activist. Speakers called for transparency, preservation of evidence and reforms within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Teare said his office continues to receive evidence for its independent investigation but noted that information from the federal investigation likely will not be released until that process is complete.
The hearing focused on the family’s calls for accountability.
“These past 17 days, my family has spent every waking morning, over 400 hours, asking questions about our father’s untimely and unnecessarily violent killing,” Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Jr. told lawmakers.
Salgado’s sons urged Congress to ensure an independent investigation and full disclosure of what happened during the July 7 shooting.
They said the Department of Homeland Security initially identified their father as the target of the operation before later stating that he was not the intended target. They also disputed DHS claims that Salgado used his work van as a weapon, citing accounts from the three men who were riding with him.
The family asked lawmakers to preserve evidence and ensure the detained witnesses are able to testify.
“We are stronger than fear, we are stronger than intimidation, we will keep fighting until justice is done,” Rep. Sylvia Garcia said.
Lawmakers also criticized ICE’s use of unmarked vehicles, plainclothes agents and the absence of body camera footage.
“We have 86 law enforcement agencies that operate in Harris County alone. The only one that doesn’t have body cameras is ICE,” Teare said.
The status of the three men detained after the shooting also emerged as a key issue during the hearing. Their testimony is considered central to the investigation, but one witness remains in ICE custody and faces possible deportation.
An attorney representing Victor Salgado said his client has already provided testimony to the Texas Rangers but remains detained by ICE. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of one witness, while the status of the others remains unresolved.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI were invited to participate but declined.
“We invited ICE and they refused. We invited DHS and they refused. We invited FBI and they refused,” Espaillat said. “Our federal authorities have refused to come forward, and so we are here to hold them accountable.”
On July 7, an ICE agent fatally shot Salgado at the intersection of Canal Street and Wayside Drive in Houston’s East End.
ICE said Salgado attempted to run over an agent during a traffic stop involving his work van and that the officer fired in self-defense. The agency has not publicly identified the agents involved, who were reportedly not wearing body cameras.
Salgado’s family and community advocates continue to call for an independent investigation. Teare said the Harris County District Attorney’s Office is continuing its review of the shooting.