Tom Homan says compliance would have prevented the fatal ICE shootings
Tom HomanWhite House border czar
Tom Homan said Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Guerrero would be alive if they had complied with federal vehicle stops, while reserving final fault determinations for the investigations.
“Well, bottom line is, we'll see when the investigation plays out, but they would be alive today if they simply complied with- with a vehicle stop by federal law enforcement. Just comply.”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Was ICE justified in fatally shooting Lorenzo Salgado Araujo?
On July 7, 2026, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Houston construction contractor Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an attempted vehicle stop. ICE said the officer fired in self-defense after Salgado Araujo tried to run over an officer with his van. Passengers said no officer was in the van’s path and that Salgado Araujo had stopped before the shot. A later Justice Department account described possible vehicle movement with an officer beside or partly inside the van but expressly reserved any final conclusion.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
Full CBS transcript of Margaret Brennan’s interview with White House border czar Tom Homan. Homan blamed the two deaths on noncompliance, while also saying he had not seen the Houston video and that failure to activate emergency lights would present an issue.
Before the quotation
Margaret Brennan asked Homan about the fatal shootings in Houston and Maine and pressed him on the Houston agents’ use of an unmarked vehicle.
After the quotation
When Brennan said the Houston family believed Salgado Araujo thought he was being robbed, Homan said agency vehicles have emergency lights. He then acknowledged that he had not seen the video and said failure to activate those lights would present an issue.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
On the ICE officer’s fatal use of force against Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Homan shifts responsibility to the people who were killed and presents compliance as what would have prevented the shootings. That excuses the fatal force despite his separate caveat that the investigation remained open.
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- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
More from this case
Read the full casePadilla co-signs letter citing Salgado Araujo's death as showing inadequate ICE use-of-force training
“On July 7, 2026, an ICE officer in Houston, Texas fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old construction worker and father of three, while he was driving a work crew to a job site. Witnesses have disputed DHS's account that Mr. Salgado Araujo used his vehicle as a weapon. ... These killings, combined with the whistleblower's account of corners cut on both vetting and training, make clear that officers hired during the surge did not receive adequate instruction in de-escalation, use-of-force standards, and vehicle-stop protocols before being sent into communities with the authority to use deadly force.”Read statement
Ronaldo Salgado questions the public-safety justification for pursuing his father
“How is going after my dad going to work making the city safer?”Read statement
Free Speech For People condemns the Salgado Araujo killing
Free Speech For People
“While the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was the most horrific instance of criminality federal agents committed in Houston”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Tom Homan says compliance would have prevented the fatal ICE shootings". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1409-tom-homan-said-lorenzo-salgado-araujo-and-joan