Mexican builder fatally shot by an ICE officer is mourned after making a life in the US

Mexican builder fatally shot by an ICE officer is mourned after making a life in the US 1 of 4 | Ronaldo Salgado and Lorenzo Jr., sons of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, hold a photograph of their father during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) 2 of 4 | Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, speaks as his brother, Lorenzo Jr., left, holds family photographs during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) 3 of 4 | A woman who wished to be identified by her last name Faith places a homemade wreath at the site where Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot by an ICE officer in Houston, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan) 4 of 4 | A couple spends a moment after placing flowers at the site where Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot by an ICE officer in Houston, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan) By TIM SULLIVAN Updated 6:00 AM MESZ, July 11, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit The builder got up every morning long before dawn, left home to pick up his construction crew and then headed out to work on yet another house somewhere across the sprawl of Houston. Fourteen hours later, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo would return to the wife he’d met as a teenager in Mexico and the modest house he’d built for his family on the city’s east side. It’s what he’d done for decades, according to Ronaldo Salgado, his oldest son. He said his father built hundreds of houses over 35 years, creating a life for his family and watching as his three sons headed off to college. On Tuesday, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Salgado Araujo, 52, after he was pursued by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles while he was taking his crew to their latest job site. The shooting has outraged Houston leaders and renewed public scrutiny over ICE and Trump’s immigration crackdown. “This family needs answers. America needs answers,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, whose district includes the area where the shooting happened, said Friday. “This should not be happening in our streets or any street in this country.” Salgado Araujo was not the target of ICE’s operation Federal agents were looking for someone else when they tried to stop Salgado Araujo’s white van, Garcia said, citing a briefing she receiving from ICE’s acting director. The Department of Homeland Security has said an ICE officer fired at the van in self-defense after Salgado Araujo, who officials described as an “illegal alien,” rammed an ICE vehicle. They have provided no evidence. Family demands an independent probe after ICE officer fatally shoots a man in Houston 4 MIN READ 224 Mexican man killed in Houston ICE shooting was not the target of operation, lawmaker says 5 MIN READ 492 Federal immigration agent fatally shoots man in Houston during an enforcement operation 5 MIN READ 492 The three men that Salgado Araujo was driving said he was shot through a passenger window and that the ICE officer who fired was not in front of the van or even in danger, a lawyer who has spoken with them said Friday. His family has also disputed the account from ICE. They said lawyers, who were helping him apply for a work permit, had explained how he should behave if immigration agents stopped him. Salgado Araujo was close to obtaining legal status when he was killed, they said. “He knew what to do,” Ronaldo Salgado told reporters this week. “He knew not to sign anything. He knew that the first phone call he should make should be either to myself or to my mom. So that way we can get the process started of getting him out.” He believes his father may have been scared that he was being followed by unmarked vehicles, worried someone was planning to steal his van or his tools. The shooting in the heavily Hispanic neighborhood is at least the eighth death during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. Salgado Araujo entered the U.S. more than 30 years ago, settling in Houston with his wife where they raised their three children. Education was a constant focus in the house, said Ronaldo Salgado, who is now a teacher. One of his brothers is an engineer. The other is in college studying engineering. Several childhood friends of Salgado recalled that his father was kind and softspoken, always inquiring about his wife’s day and how his sons’ friends were doing after a long day at work. “We didn’t really see him until the end of the day when he came home to have dinner, but that just shows how much of a hard worker he was,” said neighbor Jessica Alanis Magdaleno. “Everything they have now is thanks to the dedication to that.” Josué Flores, a friend of Ronaldo Salgado since their freshman year of high school, said he first saw Lorenzo Salgado Araujo at his son’s football game. “I think it speaks volumes of the kind of person that he was,” Flores said, recalling how Salgado Araujo showed up for his son even after an arduous day of work. Salgado Araujo’s wife, a relative said, is “inconsolable.” “She is very upset... angry, sad, disoriented,” Jose Torres Ramon, a nephew who lives in Mexico, told The Associated Press in a Facebook message. After coming home in the evening, Salgado Araujo liked to listen to music on the porch and pet the family dog. His family has described him as a simple man of routine. “He did not deserve to die,” Ronaldo Salgado said. “He dedicated his life in the United States to giving his family the American dream.” Associated Press reporters Jack Brook in New Orleans and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed.