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A police presence is active on the 6800 block on Canal Street after a shooting during an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement traffic stop in Houston, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. Federal immigration officials were driving unmarked SUVs when they attempted to stop three men in a van, shooting and killing the driver.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jacob Lujan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Isaias Guerrero lights a candle at a memorial for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a candlelight vigil following his shooting by a federal agent during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Houston on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, holds a photo of his father during a news conference about the ICE shooting death in Houston Wednesday, July 8, 2026.<\/p>\n
Melissa Phillip\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Outrage over a deadly traffic stop in Magnolia Park<\/a> on Tuesday is drawing new scrutiny to how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conduct arrests on city streets, including their use of unmarked vehicles, the absence of body cameras and a growing reliance on roadside encounters during a nationwide immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n The fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo<\/a> has become a flashpoint in a broader debate over how ICE is carrying out immigration enforcement. While the agency has long conducted traffic stops and arrests away from the border, immigration experts, local residents and civil rights advocates say the Trump administration\u2019s push for dramatically higher arrest numbers has made the encounters more frequent, more visible and, potentially, more dangerous.<\/p>\n \u201cVehicle pursuits are inherently unsafe, and if they’re going to conduct thousands of these every week, we will inevitably end up with these situations,\u201d said David\u00a0J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. \u201cICE right now appears to be doing the exact opposite of what it should be doing to reduce threats to its officers, the public, and immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Agents often use vehicles without police markings or the lights and sirens typical in law enforcement, with ICE often using large and small dark colored SUVs as well as white government fleet vans to patrol neighborhoods, according to immigrants\u2019 rights groups that have encouraged people to know their rights<\/a> and spot vehicles in their community<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, confirmed Friday that none of the ICE vehicles were equipped with cameras, nor did any of the officers have body cameras.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey should have something so that the public can know that if they are being followed, that they know who it is,\u201d Garcia said during a Friday press conference with others demanding more transparency about the incident. \u201cIf I am being followed by a black SUV, and I don\u2019t know who it is, I too would be scared. And I, too, probably would not have stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n ICE\u2019s approach differs from Houston Police Department policies discouraging officers from initiating pursuits in unmarked vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n The policy exists because pursuits in unmarked vehicles can create confusion for both officers and motorists, said Gregory Fremin, a former HPD captain.<\/p>\n Hundreds of demonstrators gather in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood for a protest, march and candlelight vigil the day after\u00a0the shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a federal agent during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Houston on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Additional Presence<\/p>\n ICE does not disclose the number of agents in Houston \u2013 home to one of the agency\u2019s 24 regional field offices. Officials also do not typically discuss how they enforce immigration laws in Houston, aside from national directives on training and officer protocols.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week said there was no active surge in immigration agents in Houston.<\/p>\n But the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown has driven a surge in ICE activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Historically, more migrants were detained near the Mexico and Canada borders by Customs and Border Protection agents than in the interior of the country by ICE. But since February 2025 ICE has outpaced CBP.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Houston, that has meant more frequent on-street arrests, often by agents in unmarked cars, witnesses said.<\/p>\n Neighbors near where an ICE agent fatally shot Salgado<\/a> on Tuesday say more officers are on the streets, discouraging people from spending time out and about in the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Houston man killed by ICE agent was not initial target, Rep. Sylvia Garcia says<\/a><\/p>\n Juan Gonzalez has lived in the same house on Canal Street for 55 years and hadn\u2019t had problems until recently.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n