Samuel Ochoa Ochoa, a Venezuelan immigrant who entered the U.S. near El Paso in October 2023, was released on his own recognizance after DHS initiated removal proceedings against him, with no later convictions or violations of his release conditions. He filed an asylum application in September 2024, but in June 2025 DHS moved to dismiss those proceedings in order to place him into expedited removal, after which he was detained by ICE for 126 days. A federal judge ordered his release in October, and his habeas corpus ruling has since been cited in 186 other immigration cases filed in the Northern District of Illinois.