Judge orders immigration officials to release key witness in Texas ICE shooting

Kevin R. Johnson

30 Jul 2026 — 1 min read

The ICE killing of a man in Houston remains in the news. The Los Angeles Times reports that a federal judge has ordered the release of a key witness in the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder in Houston.

U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered the release of Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego from ICE custody within 48 hours, after the judge previously blocked his deportation from the country.

Rojas Pliego was one of three passengers in a van driven by Lorenzo Araujo Salgado when Araujo Salgado was shot by an ICE officer during a traffic stop. ICE took the passengers into custody.

Immigration Article of the Day: The Price of the Fence: Climate Migration in the 21st Century by Gerald Torres & Al Brady

The Price of the Fence: Climate Migration in the 21st Century by Gerald Torres & Al Brady Abstract Climate change is already displacing millions, yet international migration law offers little protection to those forced to move because of environmental collapse. Most climate-displaced people are excluded from the legal category of

Report: Architecture of Cruelty: Third Country Removal Agreements and the Second Trump Administration

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in December on the lawfulness of the Trump administration's removal of noncitizens to third countries, i.e., countries where they are not from. Here is a resource with much relevant information for analysis of the case. Carolyn Patty Blum, Clinical Professor of

FWD.us: Statement on the Delays in DACA Removal Processing

FWD.us Statement on Impact of Severe, Escalating Delays in DACA Renewal Processing WASHINGTON, D.C. – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement on the continued delay of DACA renewals and the massive human and economic impact: “For more than a decade, nearly every DACA renewal was processed

From the Bookshelves: Denial, Deterrence, and Disenchantment: Why Many Never Immigrate by Jacob Richard Thomas

Denial, Deterrence, and Disenchantment: Why Many Never Immigrate by Jacob Richard Thomas The publisher's pitch: "This book complements abundant research about immigrants by contributing novel data, knowledge, and theories about potential immigrants-those who might have immigrated but did not despite the benefits of migration to immigrants and

Read more

Immigration Article of the Day: The Price of the Fence: Climate Migration in the 21st Century by Gerald Torres & Al Brady

Report: Architecture of Cruelty: Third Country Removal Agreements and the Second Trump Administration

FWD.us: Statement on the Delays in DACA Removal Processing

From the Bookshelves: Denial, Deterrence, and Disenchantment: Why Many Never Immigrate by Jacob Richard Thomas