Second witness to fatal Houston ICE shooting ordered released from detention

A federal judge in Houston has ordered the release of a second witness who was detained after seeing a U.S. immigration agent fatally shoot a man during a July 7 encounter, according to court records.

Daniel Tirado Pantoja had been held for more than a month after he was riding in a van driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who ran a homebuilding business. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said Salgado Araujo, who had lived in the United States without legal status for 35 years, “weaponized his vehicle” and that the officer opened fire in self-defense.

U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ruled that Tirado Pantoja has no criminal record and is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, records show. “We’re very glad that Mr. Tirado is going to be reunited with his family,” said Ross Miller, an attorney for Tirado Pantoja.

Tirado Pantoja and another passenger, Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, have disputed DHS’s account of the confrontation with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They said the agents were never in front of the vehicle, that Salgado Araujo had put the van in park as the agents were shooting, and that the agents’ vehicle hit them from behind and then again on the driver’s side. Rojas Pliego was released from custody last month. DHS did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment about the judge’s ruling.

Victor Salgado, the brother of the man killed, was also in the van and remains in custody. He also has asked a judge to order his release.

The shooting and the prolonged detention of witnesses have raised questions about how federal agents use force and how long witnesses can be held while federal investigations proceed. In a social media post after the shooting, Ronaldo Salgado, the victim’s son, said his father was on his way to work to pick up employees and was in the process of applying for a work permit. He described his father as a hardworking man who had lived in the Houston area for decades.