HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge has directed U.S. immigration authorities to free a man who witnessed the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison issued an order requiring ICE to release Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego from custody within 48 hours. The judge had previously blocked Rojas Pliego’s deportation, and now agreed with his legal argument that keeping him detained violates his Fifth Amendment right to due process.
An attorney representing Rojas Pliego, Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, had not responded to a request for comment at the time of this report.
Rojas Pliego was among three passengers riding in a van operated by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado on the day of the shooting. An ICE officer fatally shot Araujo Salgado during a traffic stop, and all three passengers were subsequently taken into ICE custody.
The Department of Homeland Security, shortly after the July 7 incident, stated that Araujo Salgado had “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer,” claiming the officer acted in self-defense. However, Rojas Pliego and a fellow passenger submitted written statements to the court asserting that the officers were positioned to the sides of the van — never directly in front of or behind it. Rojas Pliego called the government’s version of events “a lie.”
Araujo Salgado was a 52-year-old father of three who had lived in the United States for 35 years and was reportedly close to securing legal immigration status, according to his family. He had no known criminal record. His death was one of at least 10 fatalities that have occurred during immigration enforcement operations since the launch of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, and it triggered large-scale protests in Houston along with widespread calls for an independent investigation.
Rojas Pliego also entered the country decades ago and has not obtained legal status, according to his stepdaughter, Griselda Silva.
According to the judge’s order, Rojas Pliego has a pending application for a U-Visa — a special immigration status available to victims of certain crimes who have endured physical or mental abuse and cooperated with law enforcement. If approved, the visa would provide him with a four-year work permit, protection from deportation, and a pathway toward permanent residency.
The judge further specified that if immigration agents attempt to detain Rojas Pliego again in the future, they must first notify him and conduct a pre-detention hearing before taking him into custody.
