Judge Blocks Deportation of Witness in Houston ICE Shooting of Lorenzo Salgado

On July 7, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempted to stop a white van in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood. An ICE officer fired, killing 52‑year‑old Mexican construction worker Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Federal officials claimed Salgado was “weaponizing his vehicle” and trying to run over an officer, but two passengers – José Trinidad Rojas Pliego and Daniel Tirado Pantoja – filed handwritten statements in federal court saying the agents were beside the van, not in front of it, and that Salgado had stopped to park before the shots were fired. The passengers called the government’s account “a lie.” All three men remain in ICE custody and have filed habeas corpus petitions alleging unconstitutional detention.

U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison issued an order temporarily prohibiting ICE from deporting Rojas Pliego while his petition proceeds and barred transfer of the witnesses without court approval. The judge’s order also supports the three passengers’ applications for U‑visas, which protect witnesses assisting law‑enforcement investigations. The shooting has triggered protests in Houston, calls for an independent investigation, and scrutiny of ICE’s use of force, especially since officers were not wearing body cameras and no video of the incident has been released.