'He did not deserve to die': Family of man killed by ICE speaks out

Ronaldo Salgado spoke publicly about his father for the first time since the man’s death. Salgado described his father as a tireless worker who lived for his family.Show Caption

The son of a man fatally shot by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in Houston says his father should have been able to spend the evening he was killed as he always had, relaxing at home after a hard day’s work.An ICE agent on July 7 fatally shot Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, described by loved ones and a congresswoman at a news conference as a 52-year-old father of three U.S. citizens with no criminal convictions. The agency says that the shooting happened after Salgado tried "to run over" an agent who was trying to detain him around 7 a.m."I am deeply heartbroken to see that the man who taught me the value of hard work, family values, and education will no longer spend an evening on that porch," Salgado Araujo’s eldest son, Ronaldo Salgado, told reporters on Wednesday, July 8."He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of Mexican man shot and killed by ICE," Ronaldo Salgado said.Immigration authorities have not responded to questions about what prompted officers to stop Salgado Araujo. Authorities called him an "illegal alien" but did not answer specific questions about his status. Salgado said his dad had been "close to obtaining" legal status in the U.S.Critics are comparing ICE's account that Salgado Araujo "weaponized his vehicle" to other shootings involving the agency, including that of Renée Good in Minneapolis in January.ICE did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on Wednesday.Calls for an investigationSalgado called for a full investigation into his father’s death. ICE said Homeland Security's inspector general will be investigating the shooting, and FBI officials in Houston will be investigating a "potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer."Houston officials have said they will assist federal authorities in their investigation but are not planning to conduct independent probes, as seen in Minnesota following the killings of U.S. citizens Good and Alex Pretti.Salgado said he hopes that the three men who were with his father at the time of the shooting, including one of the younger Salgado’s uncles, will get a chance to testify about what they witnessed. "I have not heard from them, but I hope that they are able to provide their own statements to prove that my father feared for his life as unmarked cars followed my dad, who only wanted to get back to work and back to us," Salgado said. ICE has not responded to questions about the other men detained during the shooting incident.'A hardworking, family man'Salgado Araujo was a "hardworking, family man" who on July 7 began his day like any other, his son told reporters.Salgado Araujo rose at 5 a.m. "before the rest of the world did," ate a hearty breakfast cooked by his wife, patted his dog goodbye and set out for a day building homes in the Houston suburbs, his work for some 35 years.Salgado Araujo’s unshakeable routine, his son said, was driven by a simple motivation: "He dedicated his life in the United States to giving his family the American dream."The man’s three sons were his "pride and joy," Salgado said of his father, and he raised them "on the idea of education taking us so far in life."Salgado said he graduated from the University of Houston, his younger brother graduated from Tufts University in Massachusetts and his youngest brother also is in college and relying on his dad for help with his tuition, Salgado said. An American dream Salgado said he first learned "something bad had happened" to his father shortly after the shooting though he didn’t have any confirmation until hours later when he came across a Facebook video where he recognized his dad’s voice."I recognized him immediately, not from his appearance, but from his voice, crying for help as he lay on the street, bleeding out," Salgado said.The encounter with ICE cut short Salgado Araujo’s efforts to become a U.S. citizen, Salgado said, but he still achieved the American dream."Part of his dream was to build a house for himself and his family, just like the hundreds he had built for himself over his career. One that he could call home," Salgado said. "And he did. He achieved it … and up until last weekend you can find him every evening after work, resting on his porch, listening to music, petting his dog."He added: "That's how I want the world to know my father, not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understood that good things come to those who put in hard work."Shooting sparks protestA crowd protesting Salgado Araujo’s shooting took to the streets where he died on Wednesday, carrying a banner that said "Abolish ICE" and signs that showed Salgado Araujo, the Associated Press reported.Meanwhile AP reported that Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that her country is “preparing legal measures” over Salgado Araujo's death because “we cannot allow the mistreatment of our brothers and sisters in the United States.”