{"id":389104,"date":"2026-07-28T13:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/389104\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:37:12","slug":"texas-politicians-react-after-judge-orders-key-witness-freed-from-dhs-custody","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/389104\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas politicians react after judge orders key witness freed from DHS custody"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 A federal judge has ordered the release of a key witness in the fatal Houston ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo<\/a>, a decision that drew swift reaction from Texas politicians and immigrant-rights advocates as the case continues to spark protests.<\/p>\n

According to The Texas Tribune<\/a>, Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego must be released within 48 hours of an order issued Monday evening. Rojas Pliego was being held in Department of Homeland Security custody.<\/p>\n

Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers inside Salgado Araujo\u2019s van when ICE agents began following them in Houston on July seventh. With no body camera or dash camera video of the shooting, the passengers are the only known witnesses.<\/p>\n

The passengers say agents rammed the van before opening fire. Federal officials, however, say Salgado Araujo tried to ram an agent\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s order says Rojas Pliego must be released in a public place, and his attorneys must be given at least three hours\u2019 notice. DHS would also need a hearing before trying to detain him again.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia responded in a social media post, saying, \u201cWe will keep fighting for their due process, the truth about what happened to Lorenzo, and justice for the Salgado family.\u201d<\/p>\n

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Passengers in Houston ICE shooting say agents rammed their van before firing<\/a><\/p>\n

The Party for Socialism and Liberation called the order a \u201cvictory\u201d and urged supporters to keep fighting.<\/p>\n

The case has continued to draw protests, including an \u201cICE OUT\u201d rally and vigil in Houston this weekend for people killed by federal officers. Mark Rodriguez, identified as a Houston business owner, said, \u201cPeople are in fear of coming out of our community. I mean the school enrollment is down, the construction sites are down. I mean people are in fear for their lives of what happened to Lorenzo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Harris County District Attorney\u2019s Office said a white substance found inside the van was tested and was not an illegal drug. Salgado Araujo\u2019s family said it was electrolyte powder he used while working in the Texas heat.<\/p>\n

Attorneys say the other two witnesses have filed similar requests for release. DHS has not yet commented on the judge\u2019s order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 A federal judge has ordered the release of a key witness in the fatal Houston…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-389104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}