Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, a witness to a fatal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shooting in Houston, was released from immigration detention on Wednesday. Rojas Pliego was one of three men riding in a work van on July 7 when it was stopped by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles. The van’s driver, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was shot by an ICE officer.

Disputed Account of Shooting

Rojas Pliego has disputed the Trump administration’s account of the shooting, calling it a “lie” in court documents. According to Rojas Pliego and another passenger, the officers were on the sides of the van, never in front of or behind it. The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Salgado Araujo had “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer,” and that the officer had fired in self-defense.

Rojas Pliego, who has lived in the U.S. for several decades without legal status, was released after a federal judge ordered his release and instructed the government not to deport him. Rojas Pliego’s stepdaughter, Griselda Silva, said the family could not afford to pay the legal fees to try to adjust his status.

Call for Justice

Rojas Pliego visited a curbside memorial commemorating Salgado Araujo on Monday and recalled the events surrounding the shooting. “We were on our way to work when they took Lorenzo Salgado’s life,” he said in Spanish. “Instead of giving him first aid right away, they handcuffed him and pushed him to the ground. That’s not right. I want justice for Lorenzo Salgado, my boss.” Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old father of three, had been living in the U.S. for 35 years and was close to obtaining legal status.

Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.