Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Clara Ester Fleitas-Langford, David L. Wilson, WILSON LAW GROUP, 3019
Minnehaha Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55406, for Petitioner.
ROBERTO N.M.,
Petitioner,
v.
PAMELA BONDI, U.S. Attorney General;
DAREN K. MARGOLIN, Director, Executive
Office for Immigration Review;
EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION
REVIEW;
KRISTI NOEM, Secretary, U.S. Department
of Homeland Security;
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY;
TODD M. LYONS, Acting Director of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS
ENFORCEMENT; and
DAVID EASTERWOOD, Acting Director, St.
Paul Field Office, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement,
Respondents.
Civil No. 26-799 (JRT/DTS)
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
GRANTING PETITION FOR WRIT OF
HABEAS CORPUS
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Ana H. Voss, Jesus Cruz Rodriguez, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE,
300 	South 	Fourth 	Street, 	Suite 	600, 	Minneapolis, 	MN 	55415 	for
Respondents.
Petitioner Roberto N.M. was arrested and detained by United States Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) on January 28, 2026. Roberto N.M. petitions for a writ
of habeas corpus, arguing that he is being detained unlawfully. 	Because the Court
concludes that Roberto N.M.’s detention is unlawful, the Court will grant his petition for
writ of habeas corpus and order that he be released from custody.
BACKGROUND
Roberto N.M. is a citizen and native of Mexico. 	(Verified Pet. Writ of Habeas
Corpus (“Pet.”) ¶ 26, Jan. 28, 2026, Docket No. 1.) He entered the United States without
inspection in 2006. (Id. ¶ 27.)
On January 28, 2026, ICE arrested Roberto N.M. without a warrant. 	(Id. ¶¶ 30–
31.) 	He was taken into custody and detained at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal
Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota. (Id. ¶ 32.) Roberto N.M. was transferred to a facility
in El Paso, Texas shortly thereafter. (Response, Jan. 31, 2026, Docket No. 5.)
Also on January 28, 2026, Roberto N.M. filed a Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas
Corpus, alleging that his continued detention is unlawful and requesting that the Court
order his immediate release, or alternatively, a bond hearing. (Id. ¶¶ 77–112.)
The 	next 	day, 	the 	Court 	issued 	an 	order 	(1) 	enjoining 	Respondents from
transferring Roberto N.M. outside the District of Minnesota pending a ruling on his
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habeas petition, and (2) directing Respondents to file an answer by February 1, 2026.
(Docket No. 3.) The Respondents answered the Petition (Docket No. 5), and Roberto N.M.
replied (Docket No. 6).
DISCUSSION
Respondents argue that Roberto N.M. is subject to mandatory detention under 8
U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2). After thorough review of the parties’ filings, the Court concludes that
the legal issues presented by Roberto N.M.’s habeas petition are subject to the same
analysis the Court recently employed in Herrera Avila v. Bondi, No. 25-3741, 2025 WL
2976539 (D. Minn. Oct. 21, 2025) and Romero Santuario v. Bondi, No. 25-4296, 2025 WL
3469577 (D. Minn, Dec. 2, 2025). The factual record before the Court shows that Roberto
N.M. was arrested while already in the United States. For the same reasons articulated
in Herrera Avila and Romero Santuario, the Court concludes that it possesses jurisdiction
over this petition, and that Roberto N.M.’s detention is not authorized by § 1225(b)(2).
The Court therefore turns to the proper remedy. In previous cases involving this
issue, the Court has concluded that a bond hearing pursuant to § 1226(a) is the
appropriate remedy. 	However, the Court is now persuaded that where, as here,
(1) Respondents erroneously assert that a detainee is being held pursuant to § 1225(b)(2);
and (2) Respondents have not produced a warrant, as is required to effectuate an arrest
pursuant to § 1226(a), the appropriate remedy is release from custody. See, e.g., Ahmed
M. v. Bondi, No. 25-4711, 2026 WL 25627, at *3 (D. Minn. Jan. 5, 2026); Lauro M. v. Bondi,
No. 26-134, 2026 WL 115022, at *3 (D. Minn. Jan. 15, 2026); cf. Munaf v. Geren, 553 U.S.
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674, 693 (2008) (“Habeas is at its core a remedy for unlawful executive detention. . . . The
typical remedy for such detention is, of course, release.”).
The Court will grant Roberto N.M.’s petition for writ of habeas corpus and order
that he be returned to Minnesota and then released from custody.
ORDER
Based on the foregoing, and all the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. 	Petitioner Roberto N.M.’s Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Docket No.
[1]) is GRANTED, as follows:
a. 	Petitioner 	is 	not 	subject 	to 	mandatory 	detention 	under 	8 	U.S.C.
§ 1225(b)(2).
b. 	Respondents shall TRANSPORT Petitioner to Minnesota and RELEASE
Petitioner from custody immediately. 	Petitioner’s release in Minnesota
must occur no later than 48 hours after the filing of this Order.
c. 	If Petitioner is being detained in Minnesota, Respondents shall RELEASE
Petitioner from custody as soon as practicable, and no later than 48 hours
from the filing of this Order.
d. 	Given the severe weather conditions in Minnesota, Respondents are
ORDERED to coordinate with Petitioner’s counsel to ensure that upon
Petitioner’s release, they are not left outside in dangerous cold. 	It is
preferable to release Petitioner to counsel to ensure humane treatment.
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e. 	Respondents must release Petitioner with all personal effects, such as
driver’s 	licenses, 	passports, 	or 	immigration 	documents, 	and 	without
conditions such as location tracking devices.
f. 	The parties shall provide the Court with a status update concerning the
status of Petitioner’s release by no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 4,
2026. 	Further, the parties shall advise the Court whether any additional
proceedings in this matter are required and submit any proposals for the
scope of further litigation.
DATED: February 1, 2026 	_____/s/ John R. Tunheim ____
at Minneapolis, Minnesota, 	JOHN R. TUNHEIM
at 8:41 P.M. 	United States District Judge
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