The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is once again detaining immigrants who had gained their freedom through federal court rulings.
A journalistic investigation identified at least 20 cases over the past year, including several in which individuals were taken into custody again just minutes after being released.
The practice was addressed in an investigation by The Guardian that documented the cases through court records, interviews with lawyers, and press reports.
The affected individuals had obtained favorable rulings through habeas corpus petitions, a procedure that allows them to go to a federal court to challenge the legality of a detention.
However, obtaining a release order has not always meant effectively regaining freedom. In some cases, immigration agents have re-arrested immigrants almost immediately after the judicial decision was executed.
One of the most notable incidents occurred in Minnesota, where seven immigrants were detained again before leaving the federal building Bishop Henry Whipple, located near Minneapolis.
The station Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) confirmed the seven cases and documented situations in which those affected had received their belongings and signed release documents when ICE agents proceeded to arrest them again.
Daniel Suitor, attorney for two of the immigrants, questioned how a person can be taken out of a building to be immediately placed under the custody of several agents and have that procedure considered an effective compliance with the release order.
Among the cases documented by MPR is that of Milton Saltos Velasquez, who on October 19 received instructions to prepare for release from the detention center, but was arrested again before reaching the exit.
Saltos was handcuffed and transferred along with other immigrants to a jail in Kandiyohi County. During the journey, the agents received a call to return because one of the detainees needed to be released once again.
Federal Judge Jeffrey Bryan, who was involved in the case, questioned the practice of re-arresting a person immediately after ordering their release, considering that it could undermine the protection provided by the legal remedy.
Another case is that of Yader Cortez Andino, a Nicaraguan immigrant residing in Minnesota, whose initial detention was declared illegal by a federal judge.
Cortez was transferred to the Whipple building on October 2 to regain his freedom, but immigration agents arrested him again shortly after he was released. He later managed to be released once more.
In statements to MPR, the immigrant described the emotional impact of going from receiving a favorable order to unexpectedly returning to ICE custody.
The investigation also gathered the experience of Akram Mahmoud Omar, a 77-year-old Palestinian who suffered a heart problem while being held at a detention facility located within the Angola state prison in Louisiana.
According to his attorney, Bridget Pranzatelli, Omar was detained again by ICE just ten days after being released through a habeas corpus petition.
Pranzatelli, a member of the National Immigration Project, stated that he has observed a significant increase in new arrests of individuals who had previously obtained favorable judicial rulings.
The lawyer stated that some of these actions occur under circumstances that could directly violate the orders issued by the federal courts.
The situation has started to provoke judicial responses. In October, a federal appeals court from the Tenth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over several states in the western part of the country, denied a petition from the Government related to a habeas corpus appeal after considering its background of new detentions of foreigners who had obtained favorable rulings.
In Louisiana, a federal judge found a senior immigration official in contempt for failing to comply with court orders related to Ibrahim Mohammed, an immigrant who, according to reports, had been detained again on three occasions.
Other courts in Pennsylvania and Minnesota have also questioned these actions and, in certain cases, have warned of possible sanctions for failing to comply with their decisions.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argues that a court order for release does not permanently prevent ICE from re-detaining an individual on immigration grounds.
In statements to MPR, the agency affirmed that its officials can carry out a new arrest as long as they comply with the conditions set forth in the corresponding judicial resolution.
The legality of each new detention, therefore, depends on the circumstances of the case, the grounds used by ICE, and the restrictions imposed by the court.
The lawyers consulted by The Guardian link some of these actions to the increase in deportations to third countries, especially when immigrants cannot be expelled to their countries of origin.
Some people have orders that prevent them from being sent back to their country due to the risk of persecution or torture. Others face difficulties because their governments do not agree to accept them.
In those cases, U.S. authorities have resorted to the possibility of relocating them to different countries, even if the immigrants do not have family ties or a history of residence in those territories.
The legal representatives warn that this practice may lead to new arrests after a court has deemed a person's detention unjustified.
The growing number of lawsuits reflects the magnitude of disputes over immigration detentions. A record compiled by ProPublica counted 91,246 habeas corpus petitions related to immigration since January 2025, according to data updated until October 27, 2026.
That number corresponds to the total judicial resources submitted to challenge detentions, not to the number of immigrants released or to the cases of individuals arrested for a second time.
The cases of new arrests have also affected Cuban citizens.
On October 2, ICE re-arrested the Cuban Jean Marcell Pérez García, who had been in the United States for over 23 years and had obtained a release order from a federal judge in Florida in June.
In that case, the court held that the detention had been prolonged without the authorities demonstrating a realistic possibility of executing the deportation in the reasonably foreseeable future.
However, months later, ICE announced a new arrest of Pérez García, who had a final deportation order and a criminal record.
More recently, on October 27, a federal judge in Nevada ordered the release of Cuban Yunior Roldán and explicitly stated that ICE could not detain him again without demonstrating a change in circumstances that would make his expulsion reasonably foreseeable.
The same ruling required procedural guarantees before any attempt to deport him to a third country, including proper notification and the opportunity to raise potential risks of persecution or torture.
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