Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday broke his silence about the fatal Immigration and Customs Enforcement shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen who lived in the Houston area for decades, saying that “any loss of life is tragic.”
Speaking to reporters, the governor confirmed that the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Rangers, the state police’s investigative division, will probe the shooting with federal authorities, after days of Democratic and civil rights leaders in Houston calling for just that.
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ICE officers killed Salgado Araujo July 7 while trying to pull over a van he was driving, even though federal authorities have since said he was not the target of their operation that morning. Abbott and other top Texas Republicans were largely silent in the days following the killing.
“In Texas and across America, we don’t want to see people shot. Period,” Abbott said. “That’s separate from whether or not the immigration laws are going to be enforced. I fully expect our immigration laws to be enforced, but it’s proven that immigration laws can be enforced and stopping illegal immigration from coming across our border can be achieved without shooting people.”
The 8 days since Salgado Araujo’s death have been defined by unanswered questions surrounding the stop and subsequent shooting, including what prompted it and why officers were not wearing body cameras. Since, ICE officers also fatally shot an immigrant in Maine, renewing outrage across the nation similar to the outcry that followed the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in January during an ICE crackdown in Minneapolis.
In Texas, Democrats have been pushing for an independent probe into Salgado Araujo’s death after the federal government’s initial account was called into question by witnesses.
ICE said its officer had opened fire when Salgado Araujo tried to ram his van into an ICE vehicle, did not follow verbal orders and then “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over” an ICE agent before the officer fired his weapon in self-defense.
But people who were in the van said in written statements that at no point were officers behind or in front of the van, and as such were never at risk of being run over during the chaotic scene.
The state’s top GOP officials did not immediately weigh in on the shooting, but that’s changed in recent days.
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said the lack of body-worn cameras “sounds like a mistake” and added that it “would be wise” for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to redouble its efforts to equip officers with such cameras.
“I think they should be investigating. But it’s not unheard of that people will use their vehicle as a weapon. And the ICE agents are entitled to defend themselves,” Cornyn said Tuesday.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate after he defeated Cornyn in the primary, also commented publicly on the shooting for the first time. Speaking to reporters Tuesday night after a rally in McAllen, Paxton said it was “always complicated” and that such moments require split-second decisions.
“These guys have a hard job,” Paxton said. “All I know is that we need to stand behind our law enforcement. That doesn’t mean that they can’t do no wrong. We always need to verify. But these guys have a hard job and they make tough decisions.”
After the late January shooting of American Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, which was captured on video by bystanders, a handful of Texas Republicans discussed the incident and, in some instances, called for an investigation early on.
Among the commentators was Abbott, who said the federal government should “recalibrate” its approach to its massive deportation operation.
Although the governor said Wednesday that immigration laws can be enforced without shooting people, he has come under fire for past rhetoric about shooting immigrants. In the middle of the state’s immigration crackdown in response to the Biden administration’s policies, he said in a January 2024 radio interview, “the only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border, because of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder.”
That year, Texas National Guard troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of the clampdown, shooting pepper balls — less-lethal munitions that contain an irritating chemical — to deter migrants from crossing the Rio Grande into Texas.
Gabby Birenbaum and Kayla Guo contributed to this report.