A federal judge has ordered US immigration authorities to release Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, a key witness to the fatal shooting of Houston homebuilder Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE officer. The ruling matters because Rojas Pliego and the other passengers are the only known witnesses to the incident, and their accounts dispute the government’s claim that Salgado Araujo tried to ram an officer.

Judge Keith Ellison gave ICE 48 hours to release Rojas Pliego, having earlier halted his deportation and found that his detention breached due-process rights. Rojas Pliego, who has lived in the US since 1998 and has no criminal record, has applied for a U visa; any future attempt to detain him would require advance notice and a hearing.