A federal judge in Houston ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday to release Daniel Tirado Pantoja, a Mexican citizen who witnessed the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by agency officers last month. U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett granted a petition for writ of habeas corpus, a legal action used to determine if a person's detention is lawful, ruling that Tirado Pantoja’s continued confinement would violate his procedural due process rights.
Tirado Pantoja had been held at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, since the shooting. He was one of three passengers in a van driven by Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old business owner who had lived in Houston for 35 years. The shooting occurred after ICE officers in unmarked vehicles followed and surrounded the van; federal officials stated the officer acted in self-defense after Salgado Araujo weaponized his vehicle, while passengers and the family of the deceased have disputed that account.
In his three-page order, Judge Bennett noted that Tirado Pantoja has no criminal history and does not pose a flight risk or a danger to the community. The court required ICE to release him in a public place within 48 hours and return all identification documents seized during his detention. The agency must also provide a status report on his release within 72 hours and was ordered to notify his counsel or a friend three hours before the release takes place.
The case involves at least three other individuals directly impacted by the shooting and subsequent detentions. While Tirado Pantoja is the second witness ordered released—following José Trinidad Rojas Pliego last month—the brother of the deceased, Victor Salgado, remains in ICE custody. The family of Salgado Araujo, which includes three U.S. citizen children, is seeking to resolve conflicting accounts between federal officials and witnesses regarding the use of lethal force during the operation.
This decision emphasizes the role of procedural due process in immigration detention for non-citizens who have not been charged with a crime. It follows statements from Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), who reported that Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of the ICE operation. The agency has not yet commented on the ruling. Moving forward, ICE faces a 72-hour deadline to report to the court on Tirado Pantoja's status, while the broader investigation into the fatal shooting of Salgado Araujo continues.