Houston DA to Present ICE Shooting Evidence to Grand Jury Amid Lack of Federal Cooperation

Prosecutor Sean Teare of Harris County, Texas, said Friday that his office will present the evidence it has gathered on the fatal July 7 shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to a grand jury in the next few weeks. Teare said the move is partly intended to force the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release additional information that federal officials have so far withheld.

Teare’s office has collected what it considers “as much physical evidence as we think we’re going to get” and plans to bring witnesses to the grand jury to give a fuller picture of the incident. He added that the district attorney may file a federal lawsuit to compel DHS to provide the missing details. The timing of the grand jury, however, will depend on cooperation from the Texas Rangers, DHS’s Office of Inspector General, and other individuals involved.

The shooting occurred when four ICE agents, in unmarked black SUVs, pursued a white van in a heavily Hispanic Houston neighborhood. Salgado Araujo, a 23‑year‑old construction worker from Mexico, was traveling with three passengers when the agents opened fire, killing him. None of the ICE officers wore body cameras, and the agency has said dash‑cam footage from the two vehicles is not available.

The initial tip that set the encounter in motion was reportedly incorrect. ICE agents said they were originally looking for a Guatemalan man with a prior deportation order who was also driving a white van. Salgado and his passengers had no criminal record, according to their attorneys and families. In a federal filing, ICE alleged that the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) had provided the initial information about the targeted van, but the DPS spokesperson Ericka Miller wrote that the state police did not provide any information to immigration officers about the incident.

ICE’s own account, which was filed this week as part of a petition to release one of the passengers from detention, states that the agents received intelligence from DPS troopers about two people in a white van with Texas plates, but that neither was the registered owner of the vehicle. The agents conducted their own surveillance and had previously tried to stop the van, but when its driver fled they did not pursue. On July 7, ICE observed a matching van and pursued it until the driver was shot.

An unnamed ICE spokesperson said, “From information we are receiving, he rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self‑defense.” The three passengers in Salgado Araujo’s vehicle have refuted those claims. Two of them were released from detention by federal judges who blocked the government from immediately deporting them.

The shooting is one of at least three fatal encounters involving DHS agents in Texas since President Trump returned to office, and it adds to a growing national tally. In many of those cases, including all Texas incidents, agents were not wearing body cameras. The Minnesota shootings that sparked nationwide protests have yet to result in indictments of ICE agents, illustrating the difficulty states face when prosecuting federal officers.

Salgado Araujo’s brother, who was in the front passenger seat and had the most complete view of the shooting, remains in custody. His attorney said the Trump administration has indicated it is likely to approve his application for temporary legal status because he is a witness to a potential crime. The sealed application has “seen movement” this week, but a final decision is pending.

Teare said that his investigators were not given access to the scene until a day after the shooting, making the independent investigation difficult. He also noted that the DA’s office has not received the field operations worksheet that details the ICE officers’ justification for stopping the van, their use of force, and pursuit policy. “This is so unique,” Teare said, “to not have this is just so out of the norm.”

The grand jury proceedings could ultimately result in a criminal indictment. The outcome will depend on the evidence presented and the cooperation of federal agencies, as Teare’s office seeks to fill the gaps left by the lack of information from DHS and DPS.