U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, whose district includes the Houston neighborhood where a Mexican immigrant was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent earlier this week, called for an independent investigation into the killing and demanded that all evidence be preserved.
Writing on X $TWTR, Garcia demanded that investigators retain "all available footage, communications, and other evidence" for "a full and impartial investigation," The Associated Press reported. "The victim's family, my constituents, and the entire community deserve a complete and transparent accounting of what happened," she added.
The congresswoman's demand followed a DHS statement in which the agency claimed Salgado Araujo, 52, had turned his vehicle into a weapon and tried to strike an officer, who responded by opening fire, during a traffic stop on July 7. According to The New York Times, a shot to the abdomen sent Salgado Araujo to a hospital, where he later died. Because the agents involved had not been equipped with body cameras, no body-camera footage of the incident exists.
According to The Times, all three passengers riding with Salgado Araujo rejected the government's version of events. Speaking to their lawyer, Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, while held in immigration detention, they maintained that the van was never used aggressively and that no officer's life was at risk.
DHS has separately conceded that Salgado Araujo was never the person agents were looking for; according to The Times, officers pulled the van over because someone inside it bore a resemblance to an individual they were actually pursuing.
According to the Guardian, Mayor John Whitmire did not announce a city-led inquiry, citing the absence of municipal authority over federal law enforcement. At a city council meeting, Whitmire said he was pushing instead for federal authorities to carry out a "transparent, independent investigation."
Two federal bodies have opened parallel reviews of the shooting: the DHS inspector general's office and the FBI's Houston field office. Calls for a community-controlled independent probe have also come from the League of United Latin American Citizens and members of Salgado Araujo's own family, placing Garcia's demand in broader company.
More on this story: ICE agent kills Mexican immigrant in Houston during early morning traffic stop
