A federal judge ordered U.S. immigration authorities Monday to release a key witness from detention, ruling that holding him violates constitutional protections despite his illegal presence in the country. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison gave ICE 48 hours to free Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, who witnessed the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder during an immigration enforcement operation this month in Houston.
The decision marks an unusual intersection of immigration enforcement authority and due process rights. Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers detained after an ICE officer shot and killed van driver Lorenzo Araujo Salgado during a July 7 traffic stop. Judge Ellison agreed with Rojas Pliego's argument that his continued detention violates his Fifth Amendment rights, blocking what would have been his deportation.
Conflicting Accounts of the Shooting
The Department of Homeland Security said shortly after the shooting that Salgado Araujo had "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer," and that the officer fired in self-defense. But Rojas Pliego and another passenger submitted court statements contradicting that account. They wrote that officers were positioned to the sides of their van, never in front or behind it. Rojas Pliego described the government's account as "a lie."
Araujo Salgado, a 52-year-old father of three, had been living in the U.S. for 35 years and was close to obtaining legal status, according to his family. He had no known criminal record. His killing was one of at least 10 during immigration enforcement operations since President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign began. The shooting sparked widespread protests in Houston and calls for an independent investigation.
Immigration Status and Legal Applications
Rojas Pliego entered the U.S. decades ago and hasn't gained legal status, according to his stepdaughter, Griselda Silva. He's applied for a U-Visa, a special legal status for victims of certain crimes who've suffered physical or mental abuse and assisted law enforcement, according to the judge's order. If granted, he'd receive a four-year work permit, protection from deportation and a path to a green card.
The judge's order imposes strict conditions if immigration agents want to detain Rojas Pliego again. They're required to notify him and hold a pre-detention hearing. Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, an attorney for Rojas Pliego, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
All three passengers in the van were taken into ICE custody following the shooting. The case has become a flashpoint in debates over immigration enforcement procedures and officer accountability during deportation operations.
Why This Matters:
This ruling tests the boundaries between immigration enforcement authority and constitutional protections, raising questions about how aggressively federal agents can detain witnesses to controversial incidents. The judge's decision to invoke Fifth Amendment protections for someone in the country illegally could establish precedent limiting ICE's detention discretion when witnesses dispute official accounts of enforcement actions. For immigration enforcement operations, the requirement for pre-detention hearings before re-arresting Rojas Pliego adds procedural hurdles that could complicate future witness detentions. The case also highlights accountability challenges when government accounts of enforcement incidents face direct contradiction from eyewitnesses who remain in federal custody. With at least 10 fatalities during immigration operations under the current administration's deportation campaign, how courts balance enforcement priorities against due process protections will shape the legal framework for future operations.