Republican Congressman from Florida Greg Steube introduced articles of impeachment on Thursday against federal judge John E. Steele, whom he accuses of abusing his authority by ordering the release of Miakel Guerra Morales, a Cuban citizen convicted of hijacking an airplane in 2003 and held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while his deportation was being processed.
The resolution, identified as H.Res. 1431, asserts that the magistrate committed "serious crimes and offenses" by granting a habeas corpus petition on July 8 and ordering that Guerra Morales be released in less than 24 hours, without allowing sufficient time for the Government to file an appeal.
"This is exactly the kind of activist judicial overreach that the American people are fed up with," Steube stated in a press release.
The legislator criticized ICE for keeping a convicted air pirate in custody while attempting to deport him, and that despite this, the judge ordered his release.
“The judges cannot overlook the safety of the American people just because it is inconvenient for their agenda,” she argued. “They must be held accountable when they prioritize immigrants with criminal records over the communities they swore to protect.”
The acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Lauren Bis, described the court decision as "another example of an activist judge" attempting to hinder the immigration policy of President Donald Trump, which focuses on deporting foreigners with criminal records.
Guerra Morales was convicted in the United States for participating in the hijacking of a DC-3 aircraft from Aerotaxi on March 19, 2003, when a group of Cubans diverted the aircraft from Nueva Gerona, on the Isle of Youth, to Key West, Florida. The plane landed without casualties after being escorted by U.S. fighter planes.
For that act, he received a sentence of 22 years in federal prison, which he served in full.
After being released from prison, ICE re-arrested him in December 2025 with the aim of deporting him. However, his expulsion was blocked because an immigration judge had previously granted him protection under the Convention against Torture, believing that he could face persecution or abuse if returned to Cuba.
The judge's decision
By ordering his release, Judge Steele applied the precedent established by the Supreme Court in the case Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), which limits the time an immigrant can be detained when their deportation is not reasonably foreseeable.
The magistrate noted that the Government had been trying for years to implement the expulsion without presenting a concrete plan or demonstrating that another country, like Mexico, was willing to accept the Cuban.
Since then, Guerra Morales has remained free under ICE supervision and wearing an electronic ankle monitor, while the government keeps open the possibility of detaining him again if it manages to find a country that will accept his deportation.
An increasing confrontation
Steube's initiative intensifies the clash between the Trump administration and part of the judiciary over decisions related to immigration policy.
This is not the first time that the congressman has pushed for a measure of this kind. In June, he presented another resolution to remove federal judge John J. McConnell Jr. from Rhode Island after he blocked several immigration policies of the administration.
However, the chances of the process succeeding are slim. In the history of the United States, only eight federal judges have been removed by the Senate, all for conduct such as corruption, bribery, or perjury, and not for the content of their judicial decisions.
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