At least a dozen ICE vehicle shootings reported this year
ICE officers attempted to detain Salgado Araujo during a “targeted enforcement operation” in Houston’s East End neighborhood shortly before 7 a.m. Tuesday, according to DHS. The agency said Salgado Araujo, who was in the country illegally, tried to evade arrest and rammed an ICE vehicle.
“The immigrant weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense,” DHS said in a statement.
Salgado Araujo was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. DHS did not specify the location of the shooting but said the FBI’s Houston field office was investigating the potential assault of a federal law enforcement officer. The FBI referred questions to DHS. The Houston Police Department did not return a request for comment.
Federal immigration officers have been involved in multiple shootings over the last year as part of the Trump administration’s enforcement crackdown. DHS has repeatedly accused immigrants of weaponizing vehicles before officers shot them. The Wall Street Journal reported in January that immigration agents have fired at or into civilian vehicles at least a dozen times, killing at least two people. In all but one instance, the Journal reported, the civilians were unarmed.