President Donald Trump listens during a briefing with the media, Friday, June 27, 2025, at the White House in Washington (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin).
A federal judge in Florida has ordered the Trump administration to immediately release a Colombian man who has repeatedly been denied release from detention due to the government's own repeated errors of fact.
The six-page opinion and order comes amid a long line of court cases challenging efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to institute a mandatory detention regime in the country.
In the case, Jorge Eliecer Madera Reyes won habeas corpus relief by convincing U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell, a Barack Obama appointee, that his continued detention violates due process.
"Madera Reyes made a prima facie case that his detention violates his Fifth Amendment liberty rights, and the government presents no evidence to justify his detention," the opinion reads.
At the outset, the court recites the facts of the case.
"He has not departed the country since his 2019 arrival, and he has applied for asylum, obtained work authorization and steady employment, filed income tax returns, and developed family and community ties," the opinion reads. "On April 8, 2026, Orlando police arrested Madera Reyes for opening a beer inside a convenience store in violation of a local ordinance."
After that, despite "no prior criminal history," ICE agents issued an immigration detainer and moved to deport him, the judge notes.
But the habeas petition was only filed earlier this month.
Along the way, the government served a notice to appear (NTA). That's where the first problem occurred.
"The NTA incorrectly alleged Madera Reyes entered the United States on July 31, 2025," Chappell noted. "ICE took custody of Madera Reyes on April 11, 2026, and he promptly requested a custody redetermination hearing."
After some back-and-forth, a bond hearing was scheduled.
Before the hearing, "Madera Reyes submitted evidence addressing his immigration history, employment history, federal tax filings, family and community ties, pending application for asylum and withholding of removal, and other relevant factors," the order explains.
After the bond hearing, Immigration Judge Stuart Siegel denied bond and gave three reasons for the denial, the district judge notes.
The denial reads, in relevant part:
Respondent has not met his burden in establishing that he is a suitable bond risk based on the fact that Respondent is a recent arrival, Respondent has no relief pending before the Court, and Respondent has already departed the United States during a prior stay in the United States.
This time, there were three more problems.
"There is no dispute that each of the three stated reasons for denying bond are factually incorrect," Chappell explains. "Madera Reyes has been living in the United States since 2019, he has a pending asylum claim, and he has not departed since his 2019 arrival."
After that, Madera Reyes appealed the ruling. But the immigration judge simply repeated those same three mistakes.
"Judge Siegel issued a bond memorandum, which reiterated the incorrect factual basis for denying bond," the court notes.
In July, Madera Reyes "established that the allegations in the NTA were inaccurate." This time, the Department of Homeland Security took the opportunity to "correct the inaccuracies" and filed amended charges — but that did not much matter.
In turn, Siegel "denied the renewed motion without conducting a hearing and based on the same mistaken understanding of the facts," the district court's order explains, citing the second bond denial order at length.
Again, the immigration judge repeated the three false claims about Madera Reyes' arrival status, pending relief, and alleged departure.
Finally, Madera Reyes filed his habeas petition — alleging "his detention violates the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Fifth Amendment because he has not received a custody redetermination hearing based on the current, corrected administrative record," the opinion explains.
In its analysis, the court quickly establishes that it has jurisdiction to hear the due process claim and that Madera Reyes is entitled to the protections of the Fifth Amendment.
Turning to the facts, the judge says the government's detention authority "is not unfettered." The court goes on to note that the government did not dispute that the original charges were "factually incorrect."
From the court's order, at length:
And while DHS eventually corrected its allegations to reflect the correct date of Madera Reyes's admission into the country, there is no dispute that the Executive Branch has continued to rely on the error—along with the incorrect understanding that Madera Reyes has no pending petition for immigration relief—to justify his continued detention. The government has rebuffed Madera Reyes's diligent efforts to receive a custody redetermination based on the corrected facts.
"The government's decision to double-down on its mistake, despite clear evidence and tacit acknowledgment that it was a mistake, is arbitrary," the opinion and order concludes.
Now, ICE must release the petitioner within 24 hours of the order.