David Donatti says Salgado Araujo should still be alive
David DonattiSenior staff attorney, ACLU of Texas
David Donatti said Salgado Araujo should still be alive and accused the government of constructing a false narrative after the shooting.
“Lorenzo Salgado Araujo should still be alive today, and nothing about the government's so-called 'search' could have changed that fact. By taking the unusual steps of securing and then unsealing their search warrant, the government has demonstrated that it is more interested in creating a false narrative than in seeking the truth.”
Official statement
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
Official statement
About this source
Official ACLU of Texas statement after laboratory testing found that powder seized from the van was not drugs. Donatti said Salgado Araujo should still be alive and accused the government of constructing a false narrative.
Before the quotation
Laboratory testing found that the white powder seized from Salgado Araujo’s van was not drugs.
After the quotation
Donatti said the family deserved answers and renewed the call for an independent, complete investigation.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to the fatal use of force, Donatti says Salgado Araujo should still be alive and rejects the government’s post-shooting narrative. The statement condemns the killing itself rather than only challenging its description.
- Recorded on
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- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
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. "David Donatti says Salgado Araujo should still be alive". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1414-david-donatti-said-salgado-araujo-should-still-be