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An immigration lawyer representing two illegal immigrants who were involved in a recent fatal ICE shooting in Houston has prior domestic abuse and kidnapping charges, documents reveal.
Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, a private practice attorney in Texas, represents two of the three passengers who were in a van when Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent last week.
At a press conference after the shooting, Balderas-Ibarra ripped the agency, demanding an immediate release of his clients and accusing ICE agents of lying about the shooting and of “racial profiling.” He said that his clients “will forever be physically and emotionally scarred by this killing,” adding, “None of these families will ever be whole again.”
However, a Harris County District Court charging document obtained by reveals that Balderas-Ibarra is currently out on a $20,000 bond on a felony assault family violence by impeding breathing charge stemming from a 2024 incident.
ICE SAYS OFFICER SHOT AND KILLED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO TRIED TO RAM HIM WITH CAR IN HOUSTON
Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, a private practice attorney in Texas, represents two of the three passengers who were in a van when Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent last week. (RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
The document states that the alleged assault took place in 2024 when the victim and Balderas had a dating relationship. According to the victim, they got into an argument the day she was set to take a flight over something she had seen on his phone. This caused her to pack all her belongings, which Balderas-Ibarra found and took. The woman took an Uber to the airport.
While Balderas-Ibarra agreed to bring her luggage to the airport, once there, the document says he “threw her luggage on the ground,” and when she went to pick it up, he “grabbed her by her neck with his left hand.” She told investigators that he held her thus for several seconds, and when he noticed people getting close to them, he “squeezed harder and twisted her throat.”
She said she was unable to breathe during the strangulation and felt dizzy and disoriented. Afterwards, she said she had nausea, a headache and felt faint. The document states that photos taken by authorities after the incident show redness and swelling on the woman’s neck.
After this incident, Balderas-Ibarra was charged with felony assault family violence – impeding breathing.
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Lorenzo Salgado Jr., left, and Ronaldo Salgado, right, sons of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, are shown during a news conference about the ICE shooting death of their father in Houston Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Further, a Harris County bond motion shows that at the time of the strangling incident, Balderas-Ibarra was already on bail for a separate domestic violence charge, kidnapping and false imprisonment in Seminole County, Florida.
Digital reached out to Balderas-Ibarra’s office for comment.
According to the website for the State Bar of Texas, Balderas-Ibarra is eligible to practice law in the state with a “probationary license.”
He spoke at a press conference on the ICE shooting last Friday alongside Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, and Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, who is also a Democrat.
Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen who authorities said was in the country illegally, was shot and killed in Houston after ICE said he tried to ram an ICE officer with his vehicle during a traffic stop. Araujo was struck and taken to a hospital, where he later died.
At the press conference, Balderas-Ibarra said that ICE’s accounts of the shooting have “varied” and that his clients’ versions of the events are “extremely different from what ICE agents are saying or what the agency is saying.”
MAINE ICE SHOOTING VICTIM WAS NOT TARGET OF ARREST WARRANT, SEN. KING’S OFFICE SAYS AFTER EARLIER DHS ACCOUNT
Rep. Al Green (right), D-Texas, speaks alongside Rep. Slyvia Garcia (center), D-Texas, and attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra (left) during a news conference to discuss the case of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, in Houston, Texas, on July 10, 2026. (RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)
“All three of my clients reiterated that at no point was there ever an agent standing in front of the vehicle, nor was an agent ever placed in the line of danger. That is simply false. And I believe my clients are telling the truth,” said Balderas-Ibarra.
He demanded ICE release his clients to ensure they are not deported, which he said would preserve the “integrity” of the investigations into the shooting.
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“I am calling for drastic changes to the way ICE conducts their immigration enforcement,” he said, adding, “This is not immigration enforcement. This is racial profiling.”
Digital also reached out to the offices of Green, Garcia and Teare for comment.
