ICE retreats in Texas: deportation halted and migrant freed after testifying in Houston shooting

A federal judge has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stop the deportation and release a key witness to a fatal shooting involving an ICE agent in Houston. The judge, Keith Ellison, ruled that the continued detention of José Trinidad Rojas Pliego would violate his constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment's due process clause.

Rojas Pliego was detained in Conroe, Texas, since July 7. He is seeking a U visa, a temporary permit for victims or witnesses of crimes. His attorneys argued that his detention was unconstitutional, a claim the judge supported. Lawyers for the Department of Justice had argued that a precedent set by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed for Rojas's detention, but Judge Ellison rejected this interpretation, stating it had "no effect" on Rojas's claims.

Rojas Pliego, originally from Mexico, has lived in the U.S. since 1998 and has no criminal record. He was reportedly accompanying Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the man who died during an ICE operation on July 27. ICE claims Salgado Araujo attempted to use his truck as a weapon, prompting officers to act in self-defense. However, Rojas Pliego and another witness deny this account, stating that Salgado Araujo did not pose a threat.

The death of Salgado Araujo, a father of three who had lived in the U.S. for 35 years and was reportedly close to obtaining legal residency, has sparked outrage within the migrant community. This incident is one of at least ten similar events occurring during immigration enforcement operations since the current deportation campaign began.