The Mexican government has announced plans to pursue formal legal action against the United States after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed a Mexican national in Houston on Tuesday, according to ABC7 News.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum forcefully condemned the incident during a press conference on Wednesday, signaling a significant escalation in diplomatic tension over the treatment of Mexican citizens by American authorities.
“Our objective is to go beyond diplomatic notes and the measures we have already raised before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, because we cannot allow the mistreatment of our fellow Mexicans in the United States,” President Sheinbaum told reporters.
“Unfortunately, there has been another death of a Mexican national in the United States for being detained, when that person’s only offense was lacking immigration documents, even though they had been hired by an American company.”
Read more about this topic: US: ICE agent kills Mexican during Texas traffic stop (with video)
According to ICE officials, the fatal shooting occurred on Tuesday during a targeted vehicle stop conducted as part of an enforcement operation to arrest a man suspected of residing in the country unlawfully.
Federal immigration authorities identified the deceased as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. ICE alleges that Araujo attempted to evade arrest by ramming his vehicle into an ICE tactical unit and repeatedly ignoring commands to stop. The agency stated that Araujo then attempted to run over an operative, prompting the agent to discharge their firearm in self-defense. Araujo was struck by the gunfire and transported to a local hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
On Wednesday, Araujo’s family members alongside Houston community leaders publicly disputed the official account, demanding an immediate, independent investigation into the use of lethal force.
Araujo’s son revealed that his father had resided and worked in the United States for nearly 35 years and was actively in the process of securing his official employment authorization at the time of his death. Activists argued that the encounter should never have escalated to a fatal shooting, maintaining that the victim did not deserve to die over an administrative immigration violation.
