A federal judge on Monday ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to release from their custody one of the witnesses to a federal immigration agent’s fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.
Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego must be released from detention within 48 hours of the order, which was issued Monday evening. Authorities must release Rojas Pliego in a public space and give his attorneys notice at least three hours beforehand, according to the order.
[…]
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison’s order for Rojas Pliego’s release comes less than a week after he issued a separate order blocking Rojas Pliego’s deportation, and he noted in Monday’s order that Rojas Pliego’s request is “one of hundreds of similar petitions” amid the Trump administration’s application of immigration detention protocol.
Ellison’s order states that the government is not permitted to detain noncitizens without “individualized justification” only because they did not enter the country lawfully. It also stipulates that DHS must seek a pre-detention hearing before it seeks to re-detain Rojas Pliego.
See here and here for some background. Rojas Pliego, along with Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, ae the only known witnesses to Salgado Araujo’s killing, and thus the only counter to ICE’s lies. Keeping them all in the country so they can testify – and really, be allowed to return to their quiet, productive lives – is clearly for the best. Hopefully we’ll get quick rulings in favor of the other two as well.
The ICE agent who fired the shot is said to be a 30 year veteran and someone who trains other agents. I have not seen any public identification in any news reports.
An ICE agent with the ICE shooter agent swapped guns with him right after, according to an eyewitness in the van. I wonder, is that in the training manual?