Feds ask judge to suspend order releasing witness in Houston's deadly ICE shooting

HOUSTON - The federal government is asking a judge to suspend an order that released a witness to the deadly ICE shooting in Houston earlier this month, a move that could open the door for immigration authorities to seek to take him back into custody. [Click2Houston]

A man who witnessed a fatal shooting by federal immigration officers in Houston was freed from detention Wednesday, but the government quickly moved to reverse that release through an appeal.

Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego spent several weeks in custody following the July 7 incident in which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the driver of a work van. A federal judge ordered Rojas Pliego's release Monday and barred authorities from taking him back into custody without first holding a hearing before an immigration judge, where the government would need to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a flight risk or threat to public safety. Despite the order, federal prosecutors filed a motion Wednesday asking the judge to suspend it while they appeal the decision.

Rojas Pliego had entered the country without legal documentation in 1998 and has lived in the United States for nearly three decades without criminal history. He maintains a common-law marriage to a U.S. citizen and is father or stepfather to multiple American children. He has also applied for a U visa, a designation available to crime victims who cooperate with law enforcement. His family said financial constraints prevented them from pursuing legal status adjustment.

The circumstances surrounding Salgado Araujo's death remain contested. Federal homeland security officials initially stated the 52-year-old driver, who had been in the country for 35 years and was pursuing legal status, "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer." However, Rojas Pliego and another passenger submitted court statements contradicting this account, saying officers were positioned on the sides of the van rather than in front of or behind it.

At a memorial site erected in honor of his former boss, Rojas Pliego, wearing an electronic ankle monitor, reflected on the encounter. "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."

Salgado Araujo's death marks one of at least 10 fatalities during immigration enforcement operations since the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign began, prompting protests across Houston and demands for an independent investigation into the shooting.