State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, sent a letter late last week to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) demanding it detail the extent of its involvement in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s fatal shooting of a Houston man.
An ICE agent fired on Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three last week while the Mexican national was on his way to work. Salgado Araujo’s death, which ignited street protests in Houston and calls for an independent investigation, is at least the eighth fatality tied to the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts.
Gutierrez’s letter questions the role DPS played in facilitating Araujo’s death.
“ICE is a rogue agency that has found a collaborator in DPS, whose reputation is still stained with the blood of the Uvalde massacre,” Gutierrez said in a statement. “It is deeply troubling that Texas law enforcement resources are being abused to hunt down hardworking people instead of hardened criminals.”
The senator, whose district includes Uvalde, fired off his letter after the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Salgado Araujo wasn’t the target of ICE’s operation. The agency claims to have received a tip from an unspecified law enforcement agency that led agents to surveil a Houston residence and subsequently follow Salgado Araujo’s work van.
While DHS officials alleged that the Houston father attempted to run over an ICE officer with his vehicle, those traveling in the van with Araujo dispute that claim. The national uproar surrounding the incident has brought new scrutiny to cooperation between ICE and state and local law enforcement agencies.
Texas state law mandates DPS must cooperate with ICE. In his letter, Gutierrez said he wants to see the Texas Legislature investigate that collaboration.
“The cruelty currently unleashed by Trump’s ICE has been enabled and abetted by this governor, who doesn’t care about the safety of the people of this state,” Gutierrez wrote. “When the legislature reconvenes in January, we’re going to have a hard look at the collaboration between DPS and ICE, and investigate the horrific conditions of family detention centers.”
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