Demonstrators march through downtown Houston during the “ICE Out of Texas / Marchamos Por Lorenzo” rally on Saturday, July 25, 2026. The march called for accountability in the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and reforms to federal and state immigration policies.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
A federal judge on Monday ordered U.S. immigration authorities to release Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, one of the witnesses to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s shooting death.
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison granted Rojas’ habeas petition and ordered ICE to release him from a Conroe detention facility within 48 hours, according to a filing issued in the Southern District of Texas.
Ellison said Rojas’ continued detention would violate his Fifth Amendment rights to due process, if he were held without an “individualized justification.”
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Justice Department lawyers argued in a Friday motion that precedent set by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans allowed Rojas to be detained throughout removal proceedings. Ellison noted the Fifth Circuit’s ruling, but wrote that it had “no effect” on Rojas’ claims.
Rojas’ lawyer couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. The U.S. Attorney’s office and Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Rojas has been held at the Conroe facility since July 7. He was one of three construction workers whom Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was driving to work that morning, shortly before immigration agents began pursuing the van they were riding in.
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The chase ended on Canal Street in Houston’s East End, where an ICE agent fatally shot Salgado. Federal officials have said in statements that Salgado “weaponized” his van and rammed pursing ICE vehicles. But through statements passed through their lawyers, Rojas and the other men have denied that Salgado attempted to hit anyone on purpose.
Salgado’s death sparked weeks of protests in Houston and prompted calls for independent investigations. At least three agencies — the Department of Homeland Security, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Rangers — have said they are investigating the shooting.
Rojas had been detained without a bond determination while removal proceedings continue. He has applied for a U visa based on the circumstances of the shooting, with certification from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
After his arrest, Rojas was charged with being an alien present in the United States who was not admitted or paroled, a civil violation, according to Ellison’s order. ICE began removal proceedings, but an order paused them while Ellison considered Rojas’ request for release.
Rojas is a Mexican citizen who has lived in the United States since 1998 and has no criminal history. He’s never been deported before.
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The U visa he applied for is a type of temporary immigration permission given to some crime victims and witnesses to crimes.
Ellison ruled that Rojas’ continued detention could be prolonged because of his U visa application, and that in turn could make holding him unconstitutional. Some of the factors in Rojas’ case could result in his removal being canceled altogether, Ellison said in the order.
Ellison ordered Rojas to be released in a public place within the Southern District of Texas, and for his lawyer to be notified of his release three hours before it happens. If the government wants to detain Rojas again, attorneys must notify him in advance and schedule a hearing in front of Ellison to argue whether he is a flight risk or danger to the community.
Ellison, 76, was appointed to the federal bench by Bill Clinton in 1999
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The two other witnesses to Salgado’s shooting — Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Victor Salgado Araujo — had also filed similar petitions for release. As of Monday evening, no release orders had been issued for either man, according to court records.