A federal judge in Miami ordered the release of a Cuban citizen detained at the Krome North Processing Center on Friday, concluding that his refusal to sign the deportation notices to Mexico does not amount to obstructing the process and that the Government failed to demonstrate a real plan for his expulsion.
The order, signed on November 10 by Judge Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, partially grants the petition for habeas corpus filed pro se by O.Z.M., identified in the record as Orelbe Zayas Mantilla.
The case has a long history. O.Z.M. arrived in the United States as a permanent resident in 1994, and after being convicted of a felony against a minor, an immigration judge ordered his deportation to Cuba in 2008.
The order was finalized. ICE arrested him in 2015, released him under a Supervision Order, and re-arrested him in October 2025 to carry out the deportation.
The obstacle arose immediately: the Cuban regime rejected his repatriation in November 2025. From that point on, ICE attempted to send him to Mexico as a third country, notifying him of his deportation on four separate occasions—in December 2025, February, May, and June 2026—and trying to execute it at the San Ysidro port on January 28, 2026. In all cases, O.Z.M. refused to sign and did not cooperate.
The Government argued before the judge that this behavior constituted an "obstruction" that justified keeping him in indefinite detention. Judge Bloom did not accept it.
The central analysis of the order revolves around the precedent Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), which establishes six months as the presumptively reasonable period for detaining a foreign national with a final order of deportation.
Once that deadline has passed, if the detainee demonstrates that expulsion is not likely in the reasonably foreseeable future, the burden of proof shifts to the Government.
The judge concluded that the Government did not meet that burden. In her ruling, she stated that "there is no evidence of a real expulsion plan or any coordination with Cuba, Mexico, or any other country."
It also did not find any arrangements for travel documents or identification for a specific third destination: ICE only stated that it was "exploring additional options in third countries."
Regarding the refusal to sign, Bloom was precise: the key to the obstruction analysis is to determine whether "the keys" to the detainee's freedom are in their own pocket; that is, whether ICE could carry out the deportation if the individual simply cooperated. The file does not demonstrate this.
Additionally, it cited the precedent Sanchez v. Bondi (Western District of Washington, January 2026), which warns that Mexico's acceptance of a Cuban may depend on the person's consent, a consent that the Government does not have.
ICE must release O.Z.M. before 5:00 p.m. this Friday under the conditions of his preexisting Supervision Order and certify compliance before Monday, the 16th. The order itself clarifies that the agency can re-arrest him if deportation becomes likely.
The ruling is from the district court and does not establish a binding precedent, but it can be cited in other habeas corpus cases filed since Krome within the Eleventh Circuit.
It is not the first of its kind: similar cases have been resolved in Nevada and in the Tenth Circuit, and a judge in Kentucky also ordered a review of the detention of another Cuban rejected by Havana. Thousands of Cubans with old orders and supervision orders fear being redetained and sent to Mexico under similar circumstances.
The legal landscape could change in December: the Supreme Court is set to examine the case on December 9, which will decide whether the Government must provide due process guarantees before deporting someone to a third country other than the one specified in the original order. Those facing a similar situation should consult an immigration attorney.
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