"It's Just Salt!" Family Fights
Back After Father Is Fatally Shot by ICE Agent in Houston — Attorney Reveals
Shocking Truth
A grieving family is demanding answers after their loved one was shot and killed during a controversial ICE traffic stop in Houston — and now they're pushing back hard against federal claims that a mysterious white substance found in the van was drugs. Their answer? It was simply salt.
The Salt That Sparked a Federal
Investigation
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican immigrant and
hardworking father of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent on the morning of
July 7 while driving his construction crew — including his own brother — to a
job site. Days after the shooting, the FBI filed a warrant application claiming
a white crystal-like substance found inside the van was consistent with methamphetamine.
The claim sent shockwaves through the family and their legal team.
But attorney Ruby Powers, who represents Salgado
Araujo's brother Victor — one of three passengers in the van that morning —
says the federal narrative doesn't add up.
"After consulting with my client and his family, our
understanding is that this substance was granulated salt," Powers
said in an official statement. She explained that the salt was part of a homemade
electrolyte drink — mixed with lemon and water — that Salgado Araujo's
wife prepared every single morning for his hardworking outdoor crew battling
the brutal Texas heat.
"This is something they've been doing for years," Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare confirmed, adding that the location where the bags were found inside the van was completely consistent with that explanation. Toxicology results were expected by late Friday or the following Monday. Both Powers and Teare gave the same timeline — and both said they were confident the results would clear the family's name.
A Father, A Worker, and 35 Years of Life
in America
What makes this story even more heartbreaking is who Lorenzo
Salgado Araujo truly was.
He had lived in the United States for nearly 35
years, quietly building a life in the Houston suburbs — raising three sons
with his wife and constructing homes for other families in the community.
According to his son, Lorenzo had recently submitted an application for a work
permit and was described as being "close to obtaining his legal
status." On the morning of July 7, he was doing exactly what he did
every day — heading to work with his crew at approximately 7 a.m. —
when federal agents moved in for what ICE called a "targeted
enforcement operation."
ICE initially claimed Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE
vehicle, refused verbal commands, and "weaponized his vehicle
in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer," justifying
the single gunshot that ended his life.
But survivors inside the van tell a very different story.
According to two passengers who later spoke with U.S.
Representative Sylvia Garcia, it was the agents' vehicles that
bumped into them first — forcing the van to stop rather than the other
way around. The men say agents never identified themselves before
rushing the vehicle. They only realized it was ICE when, after the shot was
already fired, one of the passengers spotted the word "ICE" printed
on an agent's lanyard as he was being dragged from the vehicle. Critically,
none of the officers involved were wearing body cameras —
leaving no video evidence to settle the dispute.
Eleven days after the shooting, Teare revealed another troubling fact — local law enforcement still did not know the identity of the federal agent who pulled the trigger.
Justice, Investigations, and a Family
Left Waiting
The three surviving passengers were detained following the
shooting. The Harris County District Attorney's office has since
certified U visa requests for all three men — visas that allow
witnesses to serious crimes to remain in the United States while investigations
are ongoing. Attorney Ruby Powers is now calling for her client, Victor
Salgado, to be immediately released so he can grieve alongside
his family and provide his full testimony about what he witnessed the moment
his brother was killed.
Multiple investigations
are now underway:
- The DHS
Office of Inspector General is leading the federal probe
- The Texas
Rangers announced they would investigate alongside federal
agencies with access to all available evidence
- The Harris
County District Attorney's office is conducting its own
independent investigation, with Teare stating clearly: "We
will make a charging decision" once the investigation is
complete
The ACLU of Texas, working closely with the
Salgado Araujo family, released a pointed statement warning the public:
"The Trump administration lacks credibility to investigate itself, and
we should be skeptical of any claims until a full independent investigation is
complete." Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's killing is one of two
fatal shootings by federal officers during immigration enforcement
operations this month alone — the other occurring in Maine — reigniting fierce
national debate over ICE tactics and the growing use of force
during immigration operations across the country.
For a family that simply wants the truth, every day without answers feels like another injustice.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo spent 35 years building a life in
America. His family is now fighting to make sure his death is not reduced to a
federal narrative built on a bag of salt.