A federal court ordered ICE to release a Haitian asylum seeker detained for four and a half months without a hearing, ruling her detention violated the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process.
She Did Everything Right. They Held Her Anyway.
Our client arrived in the United States on May 3, 2023, through an official port of entry. She was inspected by US Customs and Border Protection, issued an I-94, and paroled into the country. She complied with every condition of her release. When her parole expired, she filed a timely asylum application and pursued Temporary Protected Status.
She was not hiding. She was not evading. She was working as a Certified Nurse Aide — part of the healthcare workforce that keeps hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities functioning across Houston and Southeast Texas. She had no criminal record. No violations. No failures to appear. She was, by any legal standard, exactly the kind of person the immigration system is supposed to accommodate while a case is resolved.
On December 15, 2025, ICE took her into custody near the US-Canadian border. She was transferred to the Houston Contract Detention Facility.
Four and a half months passed. No individualized hearing. No finding that she was a flight risk. No finding that she was a danger to the community. The government simply held her — and never once had to justify why.
What Powers Law Group Did
Powers Law Group filed a federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 — a legal tool that gives federal courts the authority to review whether the government’s detention of a person is lawful.
Habeas corpus is not simple to pursue in immigration cases. It requires identifying the right respondents, establishing federal jurisdiction, framing the constitutional arguments precisely, and moving quickly while the client is still detained. The government responded by filing a motion for summary judgment seeking to have the case dismissed entirely. That motion was denied.
On May 1, 2026, Judge Keith P. Ellison of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted the petition and ordered our client released.
What the Court Found
Judge Ellison held that continuing to detain our client violated her Fifth Amendment right to due process.
The Court weighed the factors clearly. On our client’s side: her substantial liberty interest as someone who had lived lawfully in the United States, her demonstrated compliance during her previous period of parole, her active pursuit of asylum and TPS relief, and her documented employment history and community ties.
Against those factors, the government offered generalized detention interests. The Court found that was not enough. The government had not shown — because it had never been required to show — that she posed a flight risk or danger to the community. That omission was the constitutional defect at the heart of the case.
Four and a half months. No hearing. No individual determination. The Court said that was unconstitutional.
What the Court Ordered
The ruling was specific and enforceable. Judge Ellison did not simply order release — he set out clear terms designed to prevent the government from using procedural delay or informal leverage to undermine his order.
Release within 48 hours, under the conditions of her previous parole. Release must occur in a public place within the Southern District of Texas, with the government required to notify our attorneys of the exact time and location at least three hours in advance.
All personal property must be returned immediately — including her social security card, Employment Authorization Document, driver’s license, and passport.
That last provision matters more than it might appear. For someone released after months of detention, having immediate access to those documents means being able to work, travel, access medical care, and prove legal status from day one. The Court did not allow the government to hold those documents as informal leverage.
The order also established that she cannot be re-detained during her removal proceedings unless the government first appears before an Immigration Judge and makes an affirmative, on-the-record showing that she is a flight risk or a danger to the community. ICE has re-arrested individuals after court-ordered releases. This provision is a meaningful barrier — not a formality.
Why This Case Matters Beyond One Client
This victory matters for our client above all else. She is going home. She can return to her work. She can reunite with her community. She can continue pursuing the legal protections she has sought since she arrived.
But the principles the Court applied matter for thousands of people across the country who are sitting in detention facilities right now — in Houston, in El Paso, in Georgia, in Louisiana — without an individualized hearing, without a finding of flight risk or danger, held simply because the government has the power to hold them.
The Fifth Amendment does not disappear at the door of a detention facility. Due process applies to everyone on US soil, regardless of immigration status. A person who entered legally, complied with all conditions, filed for asylum, worked, and built community ties cannot be held indefinitely — for months, without a hearing — just because the government prefers not to hold one.
That is what Judge Ellison’s ruling says. And that ruling, in Case No. 4:26-cv-03283 in the Southern District of Texas, is now part of the legal record.
If Someone You Know Is Detained Without a Hearing
If you or someone you know is being held in immigration detention and has not had an individualized custody determination — a hearing before an Immigration Judge to assess whether detention is actually warranted — that may be a violation of their constitutional rights.
Habeas corpus petitions are time-sensitive. The longer a person has been held without a hearing, the stronger the constitutional argument becomes — but waiting does not make the path easier. The right time to act is now.
Powers Law Group has experience filing federal habeas corpus petitions in immigration detention cases, including in the Southern District of Texas. If someone you know is detained and has not had a custody hearing, contact us today to discuss your options.
Sources
- Powers Law Group, Case No. 4:26-cv-03283, US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Judge Keith P. Ellison, May 1, 2026.
- 28 U.S.C. § 2241 — Federal Habeas Corpus Statute. https://www.law.cornell.edu
- American Immigration Council, The Rights of Immigrants in Detention, 2025. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org
- National Immigration Law Center, Due Process Rights in Immigration Detention, 2025. https://www.nilc.org
- ACLU, Habeas Corpus in Immigration Cases, 2024. https://www.aclu.org
- Human Rights Watch, Systemic Medical Neglect and Due Process Failures in ICE Detention, 2025. https://www.hrw.org
- TRAC Immigration, ICE Detention Population and Length of Stay Data, 2026. https://trac.syr.edu
- NBC News, As Immigrant Deaths in Custody Grow, ICE Reduces What Details Are Made Public, April 15, 2026. https://www.nbcnews.com
- Powers Law Group, They Had Names: The 17 People Who Have Died in ICE Custody in 2026, April 2026. https://www.rubypowerslaw.com
- Powers Law Group, ICE Is Telling Her the Cyst Doesn’t Exist. Her Attorney Says It’s the Size of a Tennis Ball., April 2026. https://www.rubypowerslaw.com
