Federal agents did not have body-worn cameras when a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a Mexican homebuilder who was driving a work van they were trying to pull over in Houston, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.

Few photos or videos of the Tuesday shooting have emerged publicly in the days since the encounter between Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and ICE agents in one of the city’s heavily Hispanic neighbourhoods, unlike other deaths involving federal immigration officers. The family of Salgado Araujo, who had lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, has questioned ICE’s account and called on the agency to release evidence.

In a statement, DHS said the agents at the scene in Houston had not yet been issued body cameras, which it blamed on Democrats and a record government shutdown that was fuelled by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

  • AnchoriteMagus@sh.itjust.works
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    7 days ago

    It has been ICE policy since 2021 to require the use of body worn cameras, dating back to ICE Memo 19010.1

    Don’t believe the bullshit about a government shutdown. ICE is the recipient of the largest budget for a paramilitary law enforcement organization in history, and they’ve had 5 years to purchase body cameras.