A federal judge in Nevada granted a habeas corpus petition to the Cuban Yunior Roldán and ordered his release from the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The resolution also establishes restrictions to prevent him from being deported to a third country without proper due process guarantees.
The decision was issued on Tuesday, October 27, by Judge Gloria M. Navarro of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, in the case Roldan v. Leyva et al., identified by the number 2:26-cv-01982-GMN-DJA.
The order states that Roldán is to be released under reasonable supervision conditions this Wednesday, October 28, between 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
So far, it has not been independently confirmed that the release has taken place.
Why was Yunior Roldán detained?
Roldán arrived in the United States in 2013 as a lawful permanent resident. Following a criminal conviction, he received a deportation order to Cuba on May 25, 2018.
The expulsion could not be carried out, and that same year he was released under a Supervisory Order.
On June 4, 2026, he was arrested again after local authorities took him into custody under a court order.
ICE revoked the terms of his supervision citing a criminal conviction from four years ago and subsequently notified him that he would be deported to Mexico.
Roldán refused to sign the document because he did not agree to his expulsion to that third country.
According to the evidence gathered in the process, he/she also did not have the opportunity to present a claim based on the fear of persecution or torture in the country of destination.
Since then, he has remained in immigration custody.
Why did the judge order her release?
Judge Navarro based her decision on the precedent set by the United States Supreme Court in Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), which establishes constitutional limits on immigration detention when there is no significant likelihood of executing deportation in the reasonably foreseeable future.
That precedent acknowledges a period of six months of allegedly reasonable detention.
Once this period has elapsed, if the detainee presents sufficient reasons to believe that their deportation cannot be executed in the reasonably foreseeable future, it is the Government's responsibility to provide evidence that refutes this conclusion.
In Roldán's case, the court took into account the detention periods of 2018 and 2026 and concluded that the Government had not sufficiently demonstrated that his deportation could be carried out within a reasonably foreseeable time frame.
The deportation order remains in effect
The resolution states that ICE will not be able to detain Roldán again without presenting evidence of a change in circumstances that makes his deportation reasonably foreseeable.
It also prevents sending it to a third country without proper notification and without providing the opportunity to apply for the reopening of their migration procedure to raise potential risks of persecution or torture.
However, the court decision does not nullify the deportation order from 2018 nor does it grant Roldán a new immigration status. His release is subject to supervision conditions.
The judge also ordered the parties to submit a joint compliance report by Thursday, October 29, stating the date and time of their release.
Other Cubans have obtained similar judicial rulings
The case of Roldán adds to other lawsuits filed in 2026 by Cuban citizens detained by ICE.
At the beginning of October, another Cuban received a release order in Nevada, and a few days later a court in Florida ordered the review of the detention of another Cuban citizen.
Although related to immigration detention, the cases present different circumstances and judicial decisions.
The difficulties in carrying out direct deportations to Cuba have also led U.S. authorities to resort to expulsions to third countries.
On October 21, 69 Cubans were deported to the Central African Republic, amid legal controversies regarding the guarantees that must be provided before transferring migrants to countries other than those originally specified in their expulsion orders.
The favorable ruling for Roldán does not automatically apply to other detainees, but it represents another judicial statement on the limits of prolonged immigration detention and the conditions that must be upheld before executing a deportation to a third country.
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