Asylum seeker with work permit held by ICE for months
A Guatemalan asylum seeker with a valid work permit through 2028 was detained for months before a judge ordered his immediate release, ruling he had a protected right to stay free.
Feb 9, 2026California City, CA
The petitioner entered the United States on a visitor visa in October 2017, authorized to stay until April 2018. He filed for asylum in March 2018, shortly before his visa expired, and has since been granted work authorization multiple times, with his most recent authorization valid from August 2022 through October 2028. On February 9, 2026, he was transferred from local custody into ICE custody, where he was held under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) at a detention facility. He filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention on procedural due process grounds and sought a temporary restraining order for immediate release. The government argued he should be required to exhaust administrative remedies and that he had received all process due under the statute, but failed to fully respond to the court's requests for documentation about his asylum status, work authorization, and custody determination. The court found that immigration authorities had been aware of and had authorized his continued presence in the U.S. for years after his visa expired, giving him a protected liberty interest in his continued release. The court granted his habeas petition, ordered his immediate release, and barred future re-detention without a pre-detention hearing unless exigent circumstances exist.
Tags
Sources
Loading…
More incidents in California
- Three parents arrested by ICE outside Van Nuys elementary schoolOct 21, 2026 · Van Nuys, CA
- Oakland man hospitalized with broken ribs after ICE tackles him to groundOct 21, 2026 · Oakland, CA
- Santa Rosa man pulled from car at gunpoint by ICE agentsOct 21, 2026 · Santa Rosa, CA
- ICE SUV strikes man filming agents' activity in Woodland, CaliforniaOct 20, 2026 · Woodland, CA
- Masked ICE agents slam San Francisco man to ground, breaking his glassesOct 19, 2026 · San Francisco, CA
- Milton R.R.: Salvadoran man held at gunpoint by ICE agent, claimed citizenshipOct 19, 2026 · San Francisco, CA