India, July 8 -- A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a motorist in Houston on Tuesday during an attempted vehicle stop, the agency said, in an incident that has reignited scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement tactics amid one of the most aggressive deportation pushes in recent memory.

The man killed was identified by ICE as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national the agency described as an "illegal alien" who attempted to evade arrest during what it called a targeted enforcement operation. According to ICE's account of the encounter, Salgado rammed a law enforcement vehicle, ignored repeated verbal commands, and used his vehicle in an attempt to run over an officer, prompting the agent to open fire in wha...