SAN DIEGO, United States (CMC)—The California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) on Tuesday demanded a “full, independent investigation” into the fatal shooting of a man, who the United States Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents shot and killed after pulling him over in Houston.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, claimed on July 7 that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo had “weaponised his vehicle.”

But HBA Executive Director Guerline Jozef told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that HBA wants “complete transparency and accountability” from DHS and ICE.

“Reports indicate that Mr Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of the operation, raising serious concerns about ICE’s tactics, use of force, and disregard for human life, especially Black and brown immigrants,” she said.

Jozef said this tragedy is not an isolated incident, stating that at least 50 people have died in ICE custody or during ICE enforcement operations.

“These deaths point to a deeply troubling pattern of violence, neglect, and a lack of accountability that demands immediate action. Haitian Bridge Alliance calls on the Department of Justice to immediately launch an independent investigation, publicly release all available evidence, and hold accountable anyone found to have violated the law or agency policy.

“No federal law enforcement agency should be permitted to investigate itself without meaningful independent oversight. The killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is not simply another tragedy—it is part of a deeply troubling pattern of violence and impunity that has become synonymous with ICE enforcement,” she said.

Jozef said far too many people have died during interactions with ICE and that communities are living in fear, families are being devastated, and accountability remains elusive.

“We cannot continue to accept a system that repeatedly produces these outcomes. It is past time to abolish ICE and replace it with an immigration system rooted in due process, transparency, human dignity, and respect for life,” Jozef said.

She reiterated that the Haitian Bridge Alliance stands in solidarity with the Salgado family and every family that has lost a loved one during immigration enforcement operations.

Caribbean immigration advocates in New York have also called for the abolition of ICE in the wake of Salgado Araujo’s killing.

“No one should have to fear that masked federal agents can stop their vehicle and take their life with impunity,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella organisation of over 200 immigrant and refugee groups in New York State.

“Yet once again, ICE has killed someone on an American street, and once again, DHS has sought to justify the use of deadly force by claiming that the individual ‘weaponised his vehicle’.

“DHS has repeatedly lied in these moments, undermining public trust and raising serious questions about their credibility. Their claims cannot be accepted at face value and must be subjected to an independent investigation,” Awawdeh said, adding, “our hearts are with the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during this horrific tragedy”.

ICE’s acting director, David Venturella, said in a statement that Araujo was an “illegal alien,” who had “weaponised his vehicle” in trying to run over the ICE agent, who fired at him.

But Araujo’s son, Ronaldo Salgado, said on Facebook that his father was “a hardworking Mexican man”.

“My father has been in this country for nearly 35 years, working in construction to provide for myself, my two brothers, and my mother. He was in the process of obtaining his work permit through the legal process. He was on his way to work, picking up his workers. My father did not deserve this,” said Ronaldo.

The chief executive of the League of United Latin American Citizens, Juan Proaño, also called for an independent investigation into Araujo’s killing, disputing DHS’s account of the incident, describing it as “a template.”

“We don’t trust ICE, and we don’t trust the FBI to be responsible enough or open or transparent enough with what happened today,” Proaño said.

Araujo’s shooting comes as the Trump administration has intensified its arrest and deportation onslaught of Caribbean and other immigrants.

In response to reports of a surge of 10,000 ICE arrests within five days, Yaritza Mendez, deputy director of the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York, said ICE is “ramping up arrests of mothers, fathers, and community members to meet their 2,000 arrest-per-day quota.

“This is a clear illustration of this administration’s inhumane tactics, which reduce people to nothing more than numbers. The Trump administration’s actions over the past few months may not seem as oppressive as what we witnessed in Minneapolis, but, in reality, their mass deportation apparatus is as cruel as ever.

“Instead of sending armed militias into American cities to terrorise the population, the administration has fortified its reliance on racial profiling and surveillance technology to separate families,” Mendez added.

Last month, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said he would send ICE agents to New York City in response to New York Governor Kathy Hochul signing a slate of immigration legislation into law.