Judge Orders Release of ICE Shooting Witness in Texas
A federal judge has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release a key witness to the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder by an ICE officer in Houston, ruling that the witness’s continued detention violates his Fifth Amendment due process rights.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison directed immigration authorities to release Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego from ICE custody within 48 hours, according to NBC News. The order, issued July 27, followed a previous ruling by Ellison on July 21 that blocked Rojas Pliego’s deportation. The judge agreed with the witness’s argument that his detention amounted to a constitutional violation.
Background of the Shooting
Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado, a 52-year-old father of three who had lived in the United States for 35 years and was close to obtaining legal status. On July 7, an ICE officer fatally shot Salgado during a traffic stop in Houston’s heavily Latino east side. All three passengers were taken into ICE custody.
The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed that Salgado had “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer,” and that the officer fired in self-defense. But passengers have vehemently disputed that account.
Conflicting Accounts Emerge
In handwritten statements filed in federal court, Rojas Pliego and another passenger, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, described a very different sequence of events. They said unmarked ICE vehicles struck their van from behind and the side before Salgado brought the vehicle to a stop.
“At no moment were the agents in front of the vehicle,” Tirado Pantoja wrote. “Lorenzo had come to a full stop while the agents fired.”
Rojas Pliego was even more direct, describing the government’s version as “a lie.” He wrote: “When Lorenzo stopped the van, the officer shot him anyway.” According to the passengers, the officers were positioned to the sides of the van, not in front of it, making a self-defense claim untenable.
The witnesses’ accounts are particularly critical because neither the ICE officers nor their vehicles were equipped with body cameras or dashboard cameras, leaving no video record of the shooting itself. DHS later confirmed that Salgado was not the intended target; agents had been searching for two Guatemalan men driving a similar van.
The Court’s Ruling
Judge Ellison’s release order stated that the government cannot detain noncitizens without “individualized justification” solely because they entered the country unlawfully. The ruling also requires DHS to hold a pre-detention hearing before any attempt to re-detain Rojas Pliego. Immigration agents must release him in a public space and notify his attorneys at least three hours in advance.
Rojas Pliego has a pending application for a U-Visa, a special legal status for victims of certain crimes who have assisted law enforcement. If granted, the visa would provide a four-year work permit, protection from deportation, and a path to a green card.
Broader Implications
Salgado’s killing is one of at least 10 deaths during immigration enforcement operations since President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign began in January 2025. The case has drawn widespread protests in Houston and renewed scrutiny of ICE tactics, including the use of unmarked vehicles and plainclothes officers.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan has acknowledged concerns, telling CBS News that if ICE agents “didn’t activate the lights, then there’s an issue there.” He has also stated he wants body cameras for all ICE officers “as soon as possible.”
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has said federal investigators withheld evidence — including the name of the agent who fired the fatal shot — preventing local authorities from conducting their own investigation. A white substance found in the van that federal officials suggested could be methamphetamine was later confirmed by the district attorney to be salt.
What’s Next
The judge’s ruling applies specifically to Rojas Pliego. Two other passengers — Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, the victim’s brother — have filed similar habeas petitions seeking release from immigration detention. Their cases remain pending before different judges. The Trump administration has provided scant additional details about the shooting, and calls for an independent investigation continue to mount.