Habeas Corpus Win: Asylum Seeker Freed From ICE Detention After Wrongful Arrest
May 05, 2026OUTCOME: The federal court granted the habeas petition, agreeing that our client's immediate self-reporting negated any intent to flee or destroy property. The court ordered her immediate release, bypassing the standard multi-week bond hearing process.
Our client, an asylum seeker from Colombia living in California, had complied fully with every check-in and electronic monitoring requirement for over three years. When her ankle monitor was accidental ... ly damaged during a household task, she self-reported to ICE the very next morning. Weeks later, ICE called her back in under the pretext of replacing the device — and instead arrested her on a federal property-destruction charge, detaining her at a processing center. While in custody, she suffered a serious medical decline, and ICE moved to push through a removal order while she was too unwell to gather evidence in her own defense. Our team filed an emergency Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in federal court, arguing the accidental damage lacked the willful intent required for a federal destruction-of-property charge, and challenged the conditions of her continued detention given her medical crisis.
