HOUSTON – The federal government is fighting to overturn a judge’s order releasing a key witness to the deadly ICE shooting in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood.
José Trinidad Rojas Pliego walked out of ICE custody Wednesday, more than three weeks after he witnessed ICE agents shoot and kill his friend and former boss, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, along Canal Street.
One of Rojas Pliego’s first stops after his release was the growing memorial honoring Salgado Araujo near the site of the July 7 shooting.
Rojas Pliego was inside Salgado Araujo’s van as the men headed to work when ICE agents opened fire after the vehicle came to a stop.
“I’m sad for what happened, and more so for what I saw, that I was the one who saw everything,” Rojas Pliego told CNN.
His common-law wife, Apolonia Martinez, told KPRC 2 in a respectful conversation on Friday that Rojas Pliego remains traumatized by the shooting. She said he woke up several times during his first night back home.
Martinez said the couple is asking for time and privacy as they process what happened and the continuing federal court battle over his release.
Government appeals release order
A federal judge ordered ICE on Monday to release Rojas Pliego, ruling that his continued detention violated his constitutional due process rights.
“We’re very happy that he has been released and he is now with his family, which was the most important part of all of this,” attorney Gabriela Rivero said.
Federal respondents filed a notice of appeal Thursday, formally notifying the district court that they are appealing the July 27 release order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The government also filed a motion Wednesday asking the district judge to stay—or temporarily suspend—the release order while the appeal is pending.
The government argues that Rojas Pliego’s detention is authorized under federal immigration law and that the Fifth Circuit’s handling of similar cases supports keeping the release order on hold during the appeal.
Rojas Pliego’s attorneys plan to oppose the motion.
“We’re not expecting him to rule in the government’s favor,” Rivero said.
The notice of appeal does not, by itself, return Rojas Pliego to ICE custody. His attorneys point to language in the district judge’s order stating that he cannot be detained again without prior notice and a change in circumstances. A stay or reversal from the courts could affect his release as the appeal moves forward.
If the district judge rejects the government’s request for a stay, the government could make a similar request directly to the Fifth Circuit.
Two other witnesses remain detained
The two other witnesses to the shooting, Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Victor Salgado Araujo, remain in ICE custody.
Attorneys representing the men say they are continuing their separate efforts to secure their release. Rivero said Tirado Pantoja’s habeas corpus case is progressing through a more typical schedule, with the government expected to respond before his attorneys have another opportunity to make their arguments.
ICE has said its agents opened fire after the van was used as a weapon during an enforcement operation. The surviving witnesses have disputed the government’s account of the shooting.