Houston witness to ICE shooting freed after judge blocks deportation

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 30, 2026 07:04 IST

Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, a witness to the fatal shooting of a man by a US immigration agent in Houston earlier this month, was released from a detention centre on Wednesday after spending weeks in custody following the incident. A federal judge had earlier ordered that he should not be deported.

Rojas Pliego was one of three men in a work van on July 7 when the vehicle, driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was stopped by federal agents in unmarked vehicles. In court documents, Rojas Pliego disputed the Trump administration's version of the shooting and called it a "lie".

According to his stepdaughter Griselda Silva, Rojas Pliego has lived in the US for several decades but does not have legal status. She said the family could not afford the legal fees needed to try to adjust his status. Around the time he walked out of the detention centre on Wednesday, federal prosecutors asked for a stay on his release while they appealed, arguing that US District Judge Keith Ellison's ruling on Monday conflicted with decisions in other immigration cases.

Wearing an ankle monitor, Rojas Pliego visited the roadside memorial for his former boss on Monday and recalled the moment ICE agents followed their group. "We were on our way to work when they took Lorenzo Salgado's life," he said in Spanish. "Instead of giving him first aid right away, they handcuffed him and pushed him to the ground. That's not right. I want justice for Lorenzo Salgado, my boss."

Shortly after the shooting, the Department of Homeland Security said Salgado Araujo had "weaponised his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer" and that the officer fired in self-defence. But Rojas Pliego and another passenger said in statements filed in court that the officers were on the sides of the van and were never in front of or behind it.

Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three, had lived in the US for 35 years and was close to getting legal status, according to his family. He had no criminal record. His death is one of at least 10 during immigration enforcement operations since the start of President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign, and it has led to protests in Houston and calls for an independent investigation.

At the memorial, Rojas Pliego played a song on his phone and told reporters that he missed Salgado Araujo. "I worked alongside him through thick and thin. My whole life," he said, describing him as a "good boss". "Rest in peace," he said. "I couldn't be present at your funeral, but you have me here now." The case has drawn attention to the shooting, the conflicting accounts of what happened, and the legal battle over Rojas Pliego's detention and release.

With PTI Inputs

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