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HOUSTON - The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in partnership with the House Homeland Security Committee, has announced a joint congressional field hearing in Houston.
The emergency proceeding will call upon witnesses and examine the facts surrounding the deadly July 7 encounter in East Houston where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Lawmakers stated the hearing will be used to demand answers from those responsible.
What is a field hearing?
According to the Congress' website, field hearings are congressional hearings that operate outside Washington D.C. They operate under the exact same congressional regulations and legal authorities. Witnesses are called to testify under oath, and all statements are permanently recorded into the official congressional record.
A field hearing can be used to raise public visibility of an issue, provide an opportunity to evaluate a government program "on site", reinforce a Member's relationship with his or her constituents, and attract local, and sometimes national, media attention.
Shooting death of Lorezo Salgado Araujo
The backstory:
On Tuesday, July 7, in Houston's East End on Canal Street, Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE officer around 7 a.m.
Araujo was shot in the abdomen, according to the Houston Fire Department. He was taken to Ben Taub Hospital with CPR in progress. He was later pronounced dead from his injuries.
On the day of the shooting, ICE says agents were attempting to stop Salgado Araujo as part of what the agency described as a targeted enforcement operation.
According to ICE, Salgado Araujo, did not have legal permission to be in the United States, rammed an ICE vehicle, ignored verbal commands and attempted to run over an officer.
On Thursday, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia was reportedly told by ICE that Lorenzo and his brother were not the intended targets.
In a statement from DHS on Thursday evening, officials said, "After receiving a credible tip from our law enforcement partners, our officers conducted surveillance on a target’s address. Weeks prior to the incident, they noted two white vans at the property. On July 7, officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop."
The Source: Information from this article was provide by members of Congress during a press conference on Tuesday and previous FOX 26 reports.