July 9, 2026 / 8:06 PM EDT
/ CBS/AP
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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on Tuesday was not wearing a body camera because officers in that field office were not yet equipped with them, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. The officers in Houston "had not been issued body-worn cameras due to back-to-back Democrat shutdowns," the spokesperson said, blaming a series of government funding lapses that arose when Congress failed to pass measures to fund department and agency operations. There was a 43-day government shutdown in late 2025, as well as a separate 76-day DHS shutdown that started in February and ended in April. The spokesperson said that the shutdown interrupted the body camera procurement process for ICE field offices. The spokesperson went on to say that half the field offices are now equipped with body cameras, and the other half are expected to receive them in the next 60 days.Salgado Araujo, who lived in the U.S. for decades, was driving a crew to a homebuilding site when he was killed, his family and a Texas congresswoman said Wednesday. His son said he had been working toward securing legal status in the U.S. after neglecting to do so for years.DHS alleged in a statement Tuesday that Salgado Araujo was shot after he ignored "multiple verbal commands" and attempted to ram an officer who fired his weapon in self-defense. ICE officers were targeting him because he was living in the country without legal permission, according to the department, which oversees ICE. Houston firefighters said Salgado Araujo was struck in the abdomen, and then his car hit an ICE vehicle. He was taken to the hospital but died of his injuries, according to DHS.Federal officials have not released video or images showing the shooting or damage to the vehicles.
