Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) is rallying Texas Democrats to call for a full investigation into the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Houston, Texas.
Following the shooting early last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Araujo was not the ICE officers’ intended target. This mistake, which has left Araujo’s family in grief, has enraged Texas Democrats who are now demanding answers about the operation and the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
What are Texas Democrats Asking For?
Rep. Garcia, along with Reps. Al Green (D-TX), Christian Menefee (D-TX) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), issued a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting ICE Director David J. Venturella, demanding a full investigation into the incident.
“We are demanding the full truth, the full footage and a real independent investigation,” Rep. Garcia said. “Lorenzo’s family deserves answers. Houston deserves answers.”
As President Donald Trump’s administration continues its record-breaking crackdown on immigration and border security, enforcement efforts have grown more discreet, with agents increasingly relying on unmarked vehicles and less visible arrest tactics.
“They did not have lights or noise,” Rep. Garcia said at a press conference late last week. “I really did press the ICE director that they should reconsider their policy of unmarked cars.”
Rep. Garcia said Director Venturella did not provide a timeline for when the investigation would begin or finish, or even if it would be pursued at all.
“He made no commitment to answering any of the questions that his members of Congress with oversight responsibility should be getting, and he made no real commitment in doing any kind of independent investigation,” Rep. Garcia said.
The Cost of the Crackdown
But, even if an investigation were pursued, Rep. Garcia said there is no body or dash camera footage of the shooting. She said DHS claimed this was a result of the partial government shutdown in February, but since then, the department has received billions from various reconciliation packages passed by Congress.
“That’s just a freaking excuse because the bottom line is they made a commitment,” Rep. Garcia said. “So they’re either lying to Congress again, or they just don’t know how to get a body cam purchased.”
