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A small memorial of flowers, candles, and written messages to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo on July 8, 2026, at the site where he was fatally shot 36 hours prior.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tA small memorial of flowers, candles, and written messages to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo on July 8, 2026, at the site where he was fatally shot 36 hours prior.<\/p>\n
Two days after a federal immigration officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo<\/a> in Houston, Mayor John Whitmire told reporters the city’s police department cannot independently investigate the incident. <\/p>\n “This is a time for the federal government to oversee their employees,” Whitmire said. “I\u2019m not going to promise something that I can\u2019t carry out. … This is a federal matter, and we have no access to the evidence. We were not involved. And we do have high expectations for ICE, the FBI and the federal government.”<\/p>\n A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alleged Salgado Araujo “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’s family<\/a> disputed the allegation and joined local Democratic elected officials in calling for an independent investigation<\/a> of the shooting.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Hello, Houston!<\/a> daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n In a statement, the Houston Police Department said Whitmire instructed the department to “remain in contact” with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General \u2014 which was probing the shooting \u2014 as well as the FBI, which was investigating the incident as a potential assault on a law enforcement officer. <\/p>\n RELATED: Hundreds march in protest of fatal ICE shooting in Houston\u2019s Magnolia Park<\/a><\/p>\n “Federal law states local law enforcement has no independent jurisdiction to investigate federal agencies or federal law enforcement personnel who are acting in the course and scope of their official duties,” HPD stated. <\/p>\n Legal experts disagree with Whitmire and HPD<\/p>\n Thomas Hogan, assistant professor at the South Texas College of Law, said the assertion that HPD lacked jurisdiction was “ridiculous.”<\/p>\n “Suppose a federal officer, while he was working, shot the mayor,” Hogan said. “Is everyone going to claim that he can\u2019t be prosecuted for murder just because he was on duty at the time? No, of course not.”<\/p>\n Hogan previously worked in a district attorney’s office in Pennsylvania, where he said he conducted investigations into shootings by federal law enforcement officials \u2014 largely focused on whether the use of force was “reasonable.” <\/p>\n “The minute you exercise deadly force in an unreasonable fashion, you are no longer within the scope of your duties,” Hogan said. “You don\u2019t know until you investigate.”<\/p>\n Sandra Guerra Thompson, professor at the University of Houston Law Center, agreed the incident could be investigated by local authorities. <\/p>\n “If you have a federal officer who just at point-blank decides to kill someone, that\u2019s a state crime \u2014 that would be murder under state law,” Thompson said. “They\u2019re not relieved of jurisdiction just because the person is a federal agent. Now, what (HPD’s) language says is, \u2018If they\u2019re acting in the course of their normal duties,’ but that really can\u2019t be determined until there is an investigation.”<\/p>\n Thompson pointed to ongoing investigations into the fatal shootings of Ren\u00e9e Good and Alex Pretti by ICE officers in Minnesota. State and local officials there accused President Donald Trump’s administration of withholding evidence, and they’re battling the federal government in court in an effort to access it. <\/p>\n RELATED: Hundreds of people march through Houston, protesting fatal shooting of Minneapolis woman by ICE agent<\/a><\/p>\n “It may not be easy to conduct a local investigation, but it is certainly legally possible,” Thompson said. <\/p>\n On Thursday, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told Houston Public Media his office had launched an investigation<\/a> into Salgado Araujo\u2019s shooting death. <\/p>\n “If a state crime was committed, be it a murder, be it a manslaughter, be it tampering with evidence, we are going to investigate it,” Teare said, “and if someone committed that crime, you don\u2019t get to hide behind a badge.”<\/p>\n Whitmire faces complex political calculus<\/p>\n The death of Salgado Araujo at the hands of federal law enforcement officers is not the first immigration-related crisis faced by Whitmire this year. <\/p>\n In April, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to revoke $114 million<\/a> in public safety funding to Houston unless city officials reversed a policy intended to curb HPD’s coordination with ICE. Whitmire and the city council conceded<\/a> and revised the policy, and HPD subsequently issued guidance<\/a> that enables its police officers officers to “wait a reasonable amount of time” for ICE to “obtain custody” of people with civil immigration warrants.<\/p>\n Kyle McClenagan\/Houston Public Media<\/p>\n Houston Mayor John Whitmire, left, and Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz speak at a HPD facility ground breaking on July 9, 2026.<\/p>\n Echoing his statements in April, Whitmire told reporters on Thursday he didn’t want to “play politics” with the most recent incident by launching an independent local investigation. <\/p>\n Whitmire “tries to steer clear of angering the Trump administration or state leadership when it comes to ICE enforcement,” said UH political science lecturer Nancy Sims. <\/p>\n “He\u2019s seemed sympathetic to the Latino community and to the people, but he is very concerned that forceful engagement will cost the city money, and that has been a consistent stance for him around this issue since the increased enforcement started,” Sims said. <\/p>\n![\"Houston](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DSC_0810-1000x667.jpg\")
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