Judge Orders ICE Officials To Release Witness In Houston ICE Shooting

A federal judge ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to release a key witness in the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered the release of Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego from ICE detention, giving officials 48 hours to remove him from ICE custody.

Judge Ellison’s decision comes after he previously halted Rojas Pliego’s deportation, siding with his counsel’s argument that his detention violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights.

Judge Ellison affirmed that if immigration agents attempt to detain Rojas Pliego once again, they’re required to alert him and hold a pre-detention hearing.

Witness Testimony of The Incident

Rojas Pliego, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, and Víctor Hugo Salgado Araujo – the victim’s brother – were the three passengers alongside Araujo Salgado during the “targeted enforcement operation” that led to the Mexican national’s death. Following the incident, all three passengers were taken into ICE custody.

According to statements by Rojas Pliego and another passenger submitted in court, the ICE officers involved in the incident were on the sides of Araujo’s van, never in front or behind it.

Both witnesses’ testimonies appear to invalidate the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) report of the incident.

Following the shooting, DHS accused Araujo of crashing into an “ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE enforcement officer.”

Rojas Pliego, Tirado Pantoja, and Víctor Hugo all argued that the agency’s description of the incident is “completely false.”

Araujo Salgado Was Reportedly Not The Intended Target

Araujo Salgado, a 52-year-old father of three and homebuilder, had been residing in the U.S. for 35 years and was close to receiving legal status, according to his family.

The victim’s death became even more tragic, as sources with preliminary details of the operation reportedly indicated that Araujo Salgado was not the intended target of the operation.