{"id":381807,"date":"2026-07-22T02:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T02:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/381807\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T02:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T02:30:20","slug":"judge-blocks-feds-from-deporting-witness-to-houston-ice-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/381807\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge blocks feds from deporting witness to Houston ICE shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PeoplePeople march to protest the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo on July 8, 2026, in Houston. Credit: Texas Tribune \/ Jon Shapley<\/p>\n

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to not deport a witness in the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a federal immigration agent earlier this month in Houston.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison issued the directive<\/a> on Monday after an attorney for Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, a passenger in Salgado Araujo\u2019s van during the shooting, filed a petition seeking his release from immigration detention.<\/p>\n

The order also said Rojas Pliego cannot be transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility outside of the Southern District of Texas while the petition is pending without the court\u2019s permission.<\/p>\n

DHS, which oversees ICE, didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Rojas Pliego, a Mexican citizen, has lived in the United States since 1998 and has no criminal record, according to his petition. The filing added that he is in a common law marriage with a U.S. citizen, with whom he has three children and four stepchildren \u2014 all of whom are also U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n

Rojas Pliego has been in ICE custody since the July 7 shooting. The petition, filed on Monday, says he is detained in the Montgomery ICE Processing Center in Conroe, north of Houston.<\/p>\n

\u201cPetitioner is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community,\u201d the filing said.<\/p>\n

The two other passengers in the van \u2014 Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Salgado Araujo\u2019s brother Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo \u2014 have also filed similar petitions seeking release from ICE detention.<\/p>\n

Tirado Pantoja came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1996 and also has no criminal history, according to his petition. He is also in a common-law marriage with a legal permanent resident \u2014 commonly known as a green card holder. He has a son and a stepdaughter, both of whom are U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n

Ruby Powers, a Houston immigration attorney representing Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, who was the front seat passenger, asked a federal district judge to keep her client\u2019s petition sealed because she fears the high-profile case could put Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo and his family in danger of \u201cretaliation or intimidation.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> first appeared on The Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"FBI\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tHarris County District Attorney Sean Teare, whose office is running an investigation into the shooting, also expressed doubt that there were drugs in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo\u2019s van.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Houston\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMexico\u2019s president said her government will file complaints and lawsuits over 17 deaths related to U.S. immigration enforcement.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Houston\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tProtesters demanded feds release footage of the shooting and the three men who were in the van with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo before he was killed.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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