Van Passenger on ICE Narrative: 'That Is a Lie'

After ICE officers fatally shot a man in Houston this week, the agency said he had tried to ram the officers' vehicle. But witnesses say the government's version of events is wrong, reports the Washington Post. Three men who were in the van when construction boss Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed insist he never drove at agents, contradicting Homeland Security's claim that he "weaponized" his work van and tried to run one over. "That is a lie," wrote passenger Jose Trinidad Rojas in a statement.

Speaking from immigration detention through their attorney, the men—Salgado Araujo's brother Victor and co-workers Rojas and Daniel Tirado—say that after an unmarked vehicle cut them off, Salgado Araujo made a U-turn. The ICE vehicle then turned on its police lights, and at no point did Salgado Araujo try to ram the other car, say the men. According to their version of events, an officer jumped out, shouted "Stop!" and started firing into the van, hitting Salgado in the abdomen.

The attorney says all three men, held separately and all long-term undocumented residents with no criminal records, told the same story. The ICE officers were not wearing body cameras, a Trump administration official said. Salgado Araujo, who is undocumented, was a father of three who had lived in the US for decades, per the AP. The agency has said they were looking for another individual they mistakenly thought was in the van.