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Judge orders release of deadly Houston ICE shooting witness
A second witness in the deadly Houston ICE shooting has been ordered to be released by a judge. FOX 26's Karys Belger has the latest.
CONROE, Texas - One of the men who witnessed the deadly ICE shooting in Houston was released from custody on Wednesday following an order from a federal judge.
Video shared by Latino civil rights organization LULAC showed Daniel Tirado Pantoja walking out of the Montgomery Processing Center.
Judge orders Daniel Tirado Pantoja’s release
United States District Judge Alfred H. Bennet granted Tirado Pantoja’s petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus this week.
Tirado Pantoja had been in immigration detention for more than a month.
Court documents argued that Tirado Pantoja – a Mexican citizen – has no criminal history, is not a flight risk, and poses no danger to the community. While the government argued that he was subject to mandatory detention without bond, the court determined that continuing to detain him without an individualized assessment or opportunity to be heard violated his procedural due process.
Witness to Houston ICE shooting
The backstory:
On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE officer on the morning in Houston’s East End.
At the time of the shooting, his family says he was picking up three workers, which included Tirado Pantoja, on his way to a construction job.
A federal prosecutor has said that ICE officers that morning were targeting two Guatemalan men who were potentially subject to deportation and driving a van similar to Salgado Araujo’s vehicle.
ICE officers claim they were trying to conduct a stop on Salgado Araujo’s work van when he rammed their vehicle, refused to follow verbal commands and tried to run over an officer. The agency says the ICE officer shot Salgado Araujo in self-defense.
The Associated Press reports that the passengers, according to their attorneys, have disputed DHS’s account of the shooting.
Tirado Pantoja was one of three surviving passengers inside the van on July 7.
Jose Rojas Pliego was released from immigration custody on July 29 after a federal judge granted his habeas petition.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's brother, Victor Salgado, remains in ICE custody while his own habeas petition is pending.
Immigration case continues
What's next:
Tirado Pantoja's release does not end his immigration case.
Ross Miller, managing shareholder at Gonzalez Olivieri, LLC and one of the attorneys representing Tirado Pantoja, told FOX 26 that Tirado Pantoja is applying for a U-visa, which can provide immigration protections to certain victims of crimes who assist law enforcement.
According to Miller, the Harris County District Attorney's Office has signed Pantoja's U-visa certification, and that certification has been filed with immigration authorities.
Miller said the U-visa process itself can take years.
The judge's order this week places limits on whether Tirado Pantoja can be detained again while his immigration proceedings continue. Before he can be re-detained, the government must receive authorization from an immigration judge after a hearing and show by clear and convincing evidence that Pantoja is a flight risk or danger to the community.
The Source: The information in this article comes from court documents, a video posted by LULAC and previous FOX 26 reporting.