ICE agents shot and killed Mexican citizen Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, last week as he was on his way to work with his brother and two other men. Salgado Araujo was not a U.S. citizen, but ICE was reportedly looking for another man who was travelling in his car.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed that Salgado Araujo tried to run over an ICE officer with his car, but that has been contradicted by the other men in the car. The agents were not wearing body cameras.
Arouses anger
The shooting has sparked outrage in Mexico, and President Claudia Sheinbaum has formally requested that U.S. prosecutors investigate deaths of migrants in ICE custody or during raids, although the U.S. has no legal obligation to act.
Mexico has also sent letters of demand to the American companies that operate detention centers where Mexican migrants have died.
A total of 17 Mexican citizens have died since President Donald Trump began his campaign to deport millions of undocumented migrants from the United States, 14 of them in migrant detention and another three in connection with ICE operations.
More and more arrests
The number of arrests made by ICE has doubled this summer compared with earlier in the year, according to information provided to The New York Times. About 2,000 migrants are being arrested daily. Deporting one million undocumented migrants a year was one of Donald Trump's campaign promises.
Critics within human rights organizations say that ambition leads to overly aggressive methods in the hunt for undocumented immigrants. ICE agents have shot more than 20 people since September, and ten people have been killed in connection with operations. Another man, a 26-year-old Colombian, was shot dead in his car during an ICE operation in the state of Maine on Monday.
On Tuesday, DHS announced that ICE agents had been instructed to stop cars until further notice, until they receive new training on how to conduct traffic stops, Fox News reports. However, President Trump on Wednesday urged ICE to continue with traffic stops, calling them one of the agency's "most important and effective law enforcement tools."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is formally a federal police agency with over 20,000 employees and more than 400 offices in the United States and around the world.
ICE was established in 2003 in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Its mission is to protect the United States from cross-border crime and illegal immigration. Unlike the US Border Patrol, however, ICE operates domestically. ICE agents are authorized to stop and arrest people suspected of violating immigration laws.
The agency has received greatly increased resources and has made thousands of arrests since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. Many of the arrests have taken place in public places, which has led to several clashes with demonstrators protesting the agency's work.
The agency only has the right to use force when deemed necessary and in accordance with American law.
