A federal court in Florida ordered the release of Emmanuel Jesús Gallegos Peña, a Cuban who entered the United States through the CBP One program, received parole from the federal government, and applied for permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
However, he was subsequently arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without a formally initiated deportation proceeding against him at that time.
The decision represents a setback for the federal government and could have implications for other Cubans who arrived through the same route and are in similar immigration situations.
The case of Emmanuel Gallegos Peña
Emmanuel Jesús Gallegos Peña entered the United States on October 10, 2023, through the CBP One appointment program.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) granted you parole and initially opened a deportation proceeding through a Notice to Appear (NTA).
Gallegos Peña submitted his application for status adjustment under the Cuban Adjustment Act within the corresponding timeframe.
In April 2024, an immigration judge closed the deportation proceedings with the consent of DHS itself to allow him to continue with the permanent residency process.
The situation changed on July 2, 2026, when ICE arrested him through an administrative order I-200.
At that time, there was no criminal accusation or a new deportation procedure formally initiated.
The new NTA was issued ten days later after the arrest, a detail that proved decisive for the ruling.
The judge questions why there is an arrest first and justification sought afterward
The federal judge Sheri Polster Chappell, of the Middle District of Florida, granted the petition for habeas corpus —case 2:26-cv-02262-SPC-NPM— on August 12 and ordered the release of Gallegos Peña within a maximum of 24 hours.
Chappell concluded that the Government violated the Cuban's right to due process.
In her ruling, the judge stated that immigration authorities do not have unlimited powers to first detain a person and subsequently determine the legal grounds that would justify that detention.
The court also emphasized that the uncontested evidence showed that Gallegos Peña had followed the established immigration procedures
- Entered through CBP One.
- Received parole.
- Timely submitted his application to remain in the United States.
- He had not violated any criminal laws or immigration requirements, according to what is stated in the resolution.
The judge also noted that the Government had not claimed that the agent who made the arrest had the necessary probable cause to justify a detention without a warrant under any other exception provided in immigration law.
The legal argument that the Government lost
The government lawyers argued that Gallegos Peña could remain under mandatory immigration detention pursuant to section 1225(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The judge rejected that interpretation based on a binding precedent from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, established in 2026 in the case Hernandez Alvarez v. Warden, Federal Detention Center Miami.
In that decision, the appeals court determined that section 1225 fundamentally applies to foreigners who are arriving and seeking to enter the country, while another provision, section 1226, regulates certain detentions of individuals who are already within the United States.
The Eleventh Circuit has jurisdiction over Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, so its published rulings constitute binding precedent for the federal courts in those states.
A ruling with broader implications
The Trump administration eliminated the CBP One appointment system on January 20, 2025, leaving tens of thousands of people who had entered through that channel with parole in a vulnerable situation.
Detentions of Cubans by ICE increased by 463% between late 2024 and early 2026, while approvals for permanent residency for Cubans plummeted by 99.8% during the same period.
For Cubans who entered with CBP One and received parole, —in effect since 1966— represents the primary pathway to permanent residency.
The Chappell ruling applies the legal standards of the Eleventh Circuit to the case of Gallegos Peña and could be relevant for other litigations with similar circumstances, particularly those involving individuals detained by ICE when there was no active deportation proceeding at the time of the arrest.
The government was required to certify Gallegos Peña's release before the court within three days of the court order.
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