A federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security on Monday to release Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, whom the government took into custody in connection with the recent fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by federal agents in Texas.Immigration and Customs Enforcement killed Salgado Araujo, a homebuilder in Houston, on July 7 as he drove his work crew to a construction site. Rojas Pliego, a Mexican citizen who has lived in the United States since 1998, was one of three other people in the white work van, all of whom were detained by ICE following the fatal incident.After Rojas Pliego filed a writ of habeas corpus petition for his release, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison on Monday evening ordered the DHS to release the Mexican, who is considered a key witness in the case, within 48 hours. The government is not permitted to detain noncitizens without “individualized justification,” according to Ellison’s order, which states that the DHS must seek a predetention hearing before it seeks to redetain Rojas Pliego.
Rojas Pliego has applied for a U-visa, a special status for crime victims who assist law enforcement that is sponsored by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, according to Ellison. Rojas Pliego would receive a four-year work permit, protection from deportation, and a path to a green card if the application is granted.Raed Gonzalez, one of Rojas Pliego’s attorneys, told the Texas Tribune that the two other passengers in the van who were detained, Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Salgado Araujo’s brother, Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, have filed similar petitions for their release. He said it was still too early to tell whether the judge would grant their requests for release.The debacle began on the morning of July 7, when several ICE vehicles that appeared to be unmarked began chasing Salgado Araujo’s white work van. Officials have said the Houston homebuilder was not the target of ICE’s original operation, but that they began the chase because they believed the white vehicle could have been the one officers had previously identified at the site they were headed to.After chasing the van down Houston streets, the government said that Salgado Araujo sought to weaponize his van against officers and ram it into ICE’s vehicle. Agents fatally shot Salgado Araujo in self-defense, officials said. In an initial assessment of the case, the FBI claimed there was a possibility of drugs being in the van, saying that after the shooting, an agent looking at the vehicle from the outside spotted what he thought could have been meth.The Trump administration’s account of the incident has been heavily disputed by passengers in the car, who said ICE never identified themselves during the deadly incident.Narcotics testing confirmed that the substance in white bags seen by the FBI was merely salt for the homemade electrolyte mix Salgado Araujo’s wife prepared for the work crew every day, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said Friday. Salgado Araujo was afraid for his life because he did not realize the agents were with ICE, as they were wearing unmarked clothing and vehicles, according to his brother, who was in the work van. He was also concerned about his tools and workers, as the work van had been stolen in the past, according to Salgado Araujo’s son, Ronaldo Salgado. Rojas Pliego and another passenger wrote in statements submitted in court that the officers were to the sides of their van, never in front or behind it, denying claims that the deceased driver tried to ram government agents.“Victor had been, was being pulled out of the van, and that’s when he saw the lanyard that said ICE,” said Ruby Powers, the family’s lawyer. “There was no indication they were ICE until that moment.“One of my dad’s biggest fears was for his work van and tools to be stolen,” Ronaldo said during an interview with ABC News. “In the past, it has happened before that his work van was stolen, and he never got those tools back. He got his van, but no tools. So ever since then, he’s been cautious about where he leaves his van, where he drives, who’s around him.”Ronaldo Salgado, son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
