Houston prosecutor could bring charges against ICE agents in fatal shooting

Houston – The apical authoritative successful the Houston area, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, told CBS News Tuesday his bureau is "more than prepared" to prosecute national migration agents if it finds transgression wrongdoing successful the fatal shooting of a Mexican migrant past week.

Teare said his bureau is conducting an probe into the sidesplitting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement cause connected July 7, saying section investigators person issued "dozens" of subpoenas.

The region authoritative said helium launched an "independent, transparent investigation" of the shooting due to the fact that the assemblage deserved it.

"As we spell forward, and if the lawsuit and the grounds directs america that transgression wrongdoing occurred, we are much than prepared to record transgression charges against the people, careless of whether oregon not they are national agents oregon civilians," Teare said during an interrogation successful his Houston office. "You can't travel into our community, instrumentality someone's life, and past fell down a badge."

The Department of Homeland Security has claimed that Salgado Araujo weaponized his van during a postulation stop, prompting an ICE cause to sprout him. The section said Salgado Araujo was successful the U.S. illegally but admitted the ICE agents who encountered him were initially looking for a antithetic person. 

Salgado Araujo's household has strongly disputed DHS's allegations, calling him a loving begetter who had lived successful the U.S. for implicit 3 decades. Less than a week aft his fatal shooting, an ICE serviceman changeable and killed another operator successful Maine.

The FBI has said it is investigating the incidental successful Houston, but arsenic a imaginable battle connected a national agent. The DHS Office of Inspector General, which investigates shootings by bureau employees, is besides conducting its ain probe.

Local investigators are looking astatine respective imaginable crimes, Teare told CBS News, including murder, criminally negligent homicide and tampering with evidence.

Teare noted ICE has not provided his bureau with enactment oregon accusation to assistance the probe, saying section investigators don't cognize the sanction of the national cause who discharged his weapon, a week aft the deadly shooting.

"We person not received a azygous sanction of an ICE cause from ICE that was progressive successful that shooting, which is I can't adjacent statesman to archer you however unusual that is," Teare added. "Even successful non-fatal shootings with national partners, we cognize the sanction of the idiosyncratic that was progressive that day."

Citing his agelong vocation successful instrumentality enforcement, including astatine the Houston constabulary academy, Teare said ICE's tactics "in nary mode resemble" the actions and grooming of the instrumentality enforcement agencies he's worked for.

"It appears from everything we've seen that either these agents are wholly untrained, oregon intentionally putting themselves successful situations wherever they tin warrant firing into cars," helium added.

On Monday, pursuing the fallout from the deadly shootings successful Houston and Maine, ICE prohibited deportation agents from making conveyance stops successful astir cases, a intermission that is expected to stay successful spot until further guidance is issued.

Teare said his bureau has besides filed paperwork to assistance the witnesses of past week's fatal shooting get visas truthful they're not deported portion the probe unfolds. The men, who were successful the van that Salgado Araujo was driving erstwhile helium was fatally shot, stay successful ICE custody successful Texas and are facing deportation. They see Salgado Araujo's brother.

Teare said that process could let them to get U visas, which would support them from deportation if they're classified arsenic victims of crimes who assisted a instrumentality enforcement investigation. 

"They're the 3 eyewitnesses to this shooting," Teare said. "There are not galore things that are much important successful this probe than their recollections."

Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which has been helping Salgado Araujo's family, urged national officials to perpetrate to not deporting the witnesses.

"Lorenzo Salgado Araujo  deserves a afloat and autarkic investigation," Proaño said successful a statement. "That probe is intolerable if the radical who watched him dice are gone."