Greg Abbott speaks at a recent political engagement. Credit: Shutterstock / lev radin

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has finally broken his silence on the fatal shooting of a Houston man by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

During a press conference Wednesday in Houston, the Republican governor and steadfast ally of President Donald Trump said he’s ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate ICE’s shooting of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, according to media reports. The shooting occurred on Tuesday, July 7.

“The Texas Rangers are now going to be involved in an investigation of this matter, working alongside federal officials to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. We don’t want people shot. Period,” Abbott said during the presser, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Abbott’s calling for the involvement of the Texas Rangers comes after a chorus of local and state Democratic lawmakers, including State Rep. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, have called for an independent probe.

“[The investigation is] separate from whether or not the immigration laws are going to be enforced,” Abbott said, according to the Chronicle’s report. “I fully expect our immigration laws to be enforced, but it’s proven that immigration laws can be enforced, and stopping illegal immigration from coming across our border can be achieved without shooting people.”

Although the Texas Rangers will work with federal investigators, Abbott reiterated that their analysis will be independent, adding that they will report their own findings.

“Any time the Texas Rangers are involved, they work independently,” Abbott said, according to the daily. “They’re well known, not just in the state of Texas, but elsewhere, for their independence in conducting investigations.”

Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three, was on his way to work in the Houston area when his vehicle was intercepted by ICE agents, who reportedly mistook him for somebody else. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that federal agents fired at Salgado Araujo after he tried to strike them with his vehicle.

Witnesses dispute that claim, however.

Araujo is at least the eighth fatality tied to the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts, according to The Guardian and the American Immigration Council.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...