New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday renewed his call to “abolish ICE” after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a man in Texas earlier this week.

“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo called Houston home for 35 years. On Tuesday, an ICE agent shot and killed him,” Mamdani said on social media. “His family learned of his death from a video before anyone bothered to knock on their door.”

“New York City stands with the Salgado family in demanding a full, independent investigation and real accountability,” the mayor added. “To the Salgado family and any immigrant family in this city living in fear: We grieve with you, and we will continue to stand beside you in the pursuit of justice.”

More than 1,000 people gathered in Houston’s East End on Wednesday evening to remember Salgado, a 52-year-old married father of three originally from Mexico who, according to relatives, was in the process of legalizing his status in the United States.

Salgado’s son, school teacher Ronaldo Salgado, said that his father had “dedicated his life to giving his family the American dream.”

Salgado was driving in the Magnolia Park neighborhood to pick up his construction crew on Tuesday morning when an unidentified ICE agent fatally shot him during an enforcement operation. ICE claimed that Salgado tried to evade arrest and threatened agents with his vehicle, but his family, civil rights advocates, and community leaders strongly dispute that account, pointing to surveillance footage and eyewitness accounts that they argue undermine the agency’s narrative.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The New York Times late on Thursday that neither Salgado nor any of his three passengers were the targets of ICE enforcement, but that they drew agents’ attention because one of them resembled a wanted man from Guatemala.

Democratic lawmakers and civil rights groups have joined Salgado’s relatives in demanding an independent investigation of his killing.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Thursday that her government plans to file criminal complaints in the United States in connection with 14 Mexican nationals who died in ICE custody. Sheinbaum added that Salgado’s killing “is not only sad and regrettable, but also appears to have been targeted.”

On-duty officers from ICE and other Department of Homeland Security agencies have fatally shot at least four other people during President Donald Trump’s deadly second-term crackdown on undocumented immigrants: Silverio Villegas González of Mexico and US citizens Ruben Ray Martinez, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

At least dozens of people have also died in ICE custody or shortly after being released during Trump’s second term. Last month, ICE announced that it was rescinding a 2021 Biden administration policy requiring congressional notification and an investigation whenever a detainee died within 30 days of their release.


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  • BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    Abolish. Prosecute. Imprison.

    Nuremberg trials for every fucking member, participant, accomplice, and accessory of the Republican gestapo.