New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani renewed his push to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday, one day after an ICE officer shot and killed a Mexican national in Houston who federal agents say attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon against law enforcement.
The shooting occurred at approximately 6:50 a.m. on July 7 in Houston’s East End during a targeted enforcement operation. ICE spokeswoman said agents attempted to conduct a vehicle stop to arrest Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 35, described by the agency as “an illegal alien from Mexico.”
“The driver of the vehicle attempted to evade arrest,” the ICE spokesperson told The Hill. The agency said Salgado Araujo drove his car into an ICE vehicle, failed to comply with 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.”
Salgado Araujo was transported to a hospital where he later died from his wounds. The FBI’s Houston field office is leading an investigation into a potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer.
Mamdani posted on social media Thursday morning calling for a “full, independent investigation and real accountability.”
“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo called Houston home for 35 years. On Tuesday, an ICE agent shot and killed him. His family learned of his death from a video before anyone bothered to knock on their door,” the mayor wrote. “Abolish ICE.”
Mamdani has previously called for the agency’s abolition and has maintained sanctuary city policies in New York that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The shooting drew responses from members of Congress and Salgado Araujo’s family, who said he had worked in the U.S. for 35 years and was headed to a worksite when the incident occurred. Lawmakers have pressed for an independent investigation.
