A Cuban with a deportation order that has been active for more than two decades refused to cross into Mexico after agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took him to the border and told him to get off the bus and enter the neighboring country.
The incident, which occurred on March 27 of this year, is described in a order issued on September 8 by federal judge Sheri Polster Chappell of the Middle District of Florida, who questioned the circumstances of the ICE attempt and ordered a review to determine if there are grounds to keep the immigrant detained.
The Cuban was identified as Rogelio Roche, who arrived in the United States on May 12, 1980, and later obtained permanent residency. In 1995, he was convicted of kidnapping and sexual assault, and on April 6, 2004, an immigration judge ordered his deportation to Cuba.
Capture of judicial document.
However, ICE was unable to execute that deportation order for years, and Roche remained free under a supervision order. That situation changed on February 26, 2026, when immigration authorities revoked the measure, arrested him, and detained him at the facility known as Alligator Alcatraz.
A month later, the unusual episode occurred that is now documented in the court records.
On March 27, ICE transported a group of immigrants, including Roche, to the border between the United States and Mexico, and instructed them to get out of the vehicle and cross into Mexican territory.
Roche remained inside the bus and refused to cross. In response to his refusal, the officers took him back to Alligator Alcatraz, where he continued to be detained.
Subsequently, the Cuban filed a petition for habeas corpus to challenge the legality of his prolonged detention.
Upon analyzing the case, the judge concluded that Roche had demonstrated that there is no significant likelihood that his expulsion could be carried out in the reasonably foreseeable future.
The order specifically states that the Cuban government will not accept him for repatriation. In light of this situation, the U.S. government pointed to the transfer made to Mexico in March as evidence of its efforts to expel him.
But that argument did not convince the court.
According to the judge, the available evidence suggests that what happened at the border was "an informal effort to compel a voluntary departure," rather than a formal attempt at deportation that met legal and constitutional requirements.
The magistrate also pointed out that ICE did not prove that it could legally deport Roche in the reasonably foreseeable future.
The decision is based, among other precedents, on Zadvydas v. Davis, a Supreme Court ruling that established limits on immigration detention following a deportation order when the removal of the foreign national cannot be carried out.
In accordance with that framework, six months constitutes a period of detention that is presumably deemed reasonable. After that timeframe, if the immigrant presents reasons to believe there is no significant likelihood of deportation in the foreseeable future, it is up to the government to provide evidence to refute this.
However, the judge did not order Roche's immediate release.
Due to his criminal record, the court deemed that it still needs to be determined whether he poses a danger to the community that would justify keeping him in custody.
The judge gave ICE 30 days to conduct a custody review and determine if there is a risk. Once completed, the government will have seven days to submit an additional response to the court.
If the authorities decide that Roche should remain in detention for posing a danger to the community, they will have to present the specific facts supporting that conclusion to the judge. The Cuban will then be able to respond to those arguments.
While that process is ongoing, your habeas corpus petition remains pending a final decision.
The episode became known after other Cubans in immigration custody were transferred from the United States to Mexico. One of the most recent cases is that of Justo Betancourt, a Cuban who spent months in ICE custody. Authorities attempted to send him to Mexico, but that country did not accept him, and Betancourt ended up back in Alligator Alcatraz before gaining his release after a legal battle led by his family.
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