Three men died in encounters with US immigration authorities in the space of eight days, according to official statements and local law enforcement. On 7 July, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national, was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Houston, Texas. On 13 July, Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian, was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine. A third man, a 28-year-old Mexican citizen, died on 14 July in St Augustine, Florida, after being struck by a tractor-trailer while fleeing on foot from ICE and Homeland Security Investigations agents, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that neither Salgado Araujo nor Durán Guerrero was the intended target of the operations that led to their deaths. In the Houston case, ICE said an officer fired in self-defence after the van struck an agency vehicle and attempted to ram an officer; three passengers in the van, including the victim’s brother, disputed that account, and local prosecutors described them as key witnesses. In Maine, authorities said the officer who fired was a recent recruit, and the state attorney general’s office confirmed the agent had been suspended. No body-worn camera footage exists from either shooting, a fact confirmed by DHS and members of Congress. A subsequent FBI search of Salgado Araujo’s van noted the presence of small plastic bags containing a white crystalline substance; the family’s attorney said the material was a homemade electrolyte mix used by outdoor workers, and the Harris County district attorney called the disclosure irrelevant to the question of whether lethal force was justified.

The deaths prompted swift diplomatic reactions. Mexico’s government announced it would file criminal complaints with the US Department of Justice and state prosecutors, and President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated that “migration should not be criminalised.” Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro demanded a formal accusation against the agent who shot Durán Guerrero. In Washington, DHS briefly ordered a nationwide pause on most vehicle stops, a directive that was reversed by President Donald Trump within a day after criticism from hard-line allies. The White House press secretary subsequently said vehicle stops would continue, and DHS issued new guidance requiring that at least one officer on each arrest team wear a body camera, with full deployment expected within 60 days.

Multiple investigations are under way. The DHS Office of Inspector General and the FBI are examining the Houston shooting, while the Texas Rangers have opened a parallel state inquiry at the request of Houston’s mayor. In Maine, the state attorney general and police are investigating, and the state’s two senators have asked the Department of Justice to cooperate with local authorities. The Florida Highway Patrol is leading the inquiry into the pedestrian fatality. No criminal charges have been filed in any of the three deaths.