Federal judge blocks deportation of witness in Houston ICE shooting
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered that a witness in the July 7 shooting of a Mexican construction worker by ICE remain in Texas while his habeas petition proceeds.
A federal judge on Monday ordered that Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, a passenger in the van whose driver was shot by an ICE officer in Houston on July 7, must stay in the Southern District of Texas while his habeas petition is considered. The judge, Keith Ellison, wrote that Rojas Pliego is being held in ICE custody without constitutional justification and therefore cannot be deported at this time.
Rojas Pliego, who entered the United States decades ago without legal status, was among three passengers in the van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado when the officer opened fire. Araujo Salgado, a 52-year-old construction worker who had lived in the country for 35 years, was killed, prompting protests and calls for an independent investigation.
The Department of Homeland Security said it will comply with the court order. Attorneys for the three passengers have challenged the agency’s account that Araujo Salgado attempted to run over an ICE officer, noting that DHS claims the officers were targeting two Guatemalan men for possible deportation. A federal prosecutor has said the officers were focusing on the two Guatemalan men.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is assisting the passengers in applying for U-visas, which are available to witnesses cooperating with law-enforcement investigations, though it remains uncertain whether U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will grant them.
Another passenger, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, also filed a habeas petition. Araujo Salgado’s brother, Victor Salgado, is scheduled for an immigration hearing, and his attorney asked that any petition be sealed due to concerns about retaliation.
The FBI executed a search warrant on the van and reported finding small bags containing a white powder believed to be methamphetamine. Victor Salgado’s lawyer described the substance as a salt mixture used by the men as an electrolyte supplement during manual labor in the Texas heat.
Attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, representing Rojas Pliego and Tirado Pantoja, did not respond to a request for comment.