A Cuban man detained by US immigration authorities for nearly six months must be released immediately, a federal court in Kentucky ruled on Tuesday.
asserted
court → detain → Tuesday
The court found that officials had failed to follow the required legal process before keeping him in custody, violating his constitutional right to due process.
asserted
officials → find → process
The ruling available on
Justia, concerns Damichel Jesus Viamontes Castellano, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on May 19.
uncertain
who → concern → May
He had earlier been taken into custody by US Border Patrol agents in Texas in 2022 but was allowed to remain outside detention while his immigration case proceeded.
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case → take → detention
Castellano has since been held at the Oldham County Detention Center in La Grange, Kentucky.
asserted
Castellano → hold → Grange
His immigration case took another turn on July 28, when an immigration judge directed that he be removed to Cuba.
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he → take → Cuba
However, he challenged that decision, and his appeal is still being considered by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
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appeal → challenge → Appeals
The pending appeal was important to the court's decision because the removal order had not yet become administratively final.
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order → pende → decision
The judge also noted that both sides agreed that Castellano's detention fell under Section 1226(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
asserted
detention → note → Act
This provision allows immigration authorities to hold a person while deciding whether they should be removed from the country.
asserted
they → allow → country
Castellano has family and business connections in Kentucky.
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Castellano → have → Kentucky
He is the father of a child born in Louisville in 2024 who is a US citizen.
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who → bear → 2024
His mother is also a lawful permanent resident and has an approved family petition filed on his behalf.
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mother → have → behalf
He runs an active Kentucky business, as its sole organiser and registered agent.
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He → run → organiser
According to the court, officials had not properly assessed whether he needed to remain in custody or informed him of the procedure available to challenge that decision.
uncertain
he → accord → decision
How ICE brought Castellano back into custody
Castellano first came to the attention of US immigration authorities in 2022, when Border Patrol agents arrested him in Texas.
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agents → bring → Texas
He was issued a notice to appear in immigration proceedings and subsequently released on his own recognisance.
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He → issue → recognisance
ICE revisited his case in May.
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ICE → revisit → May
Officers found that he had earlier received the immigration notice and had faced charges of DUI and reckless driving in February 2025.
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he → find → February
These charges prompted the agency to plan a targeted operation to take him into custody.
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charges → prompt → custody
ICE arrested him on May 19 and withdrew the release granted to him in 2022.
uncertain
ICE → arrest → 2022
Officials issued several immigration documents, including a warrant of arrest, but did not give him Form I-286, the notice used to communicate an initial custody decision.
That missing document became central to the court proceedings.
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document → issue → proceedings
It allows a detained person to understand the government's decision and seek a review by an immigration judge, including a hearing to request release on bond.
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person → allow → bond
The court found no record showing that ICE had considered Castellano's individual circumstances before deciding to detain him.
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ICE → find → him
Under the applicable rules, officers must examine whether a person is likely to attend future immigration hearings and whether their release would create a safety risk.
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release → examine → risk
The judge also found that the government had not established that Castellano received the required information about his detention or how he could challenge it.
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he → find → it
Why court rejected government's argument
The government maintained that Castellano should have approached the immigration court himself to seek a fresh decision on his custody.
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Castellano → reject → custody
Its lawyers argued that he could have filed a request for a bond hearing rather than approaching the federal court directly.
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he → argue → court
Castellano argued that immigration officials had failed to complete the initial steps required by their own rules and could not shift the responsibility to him after leaving those steps unfinished.
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officials → argue → steps
The federal judge accepted this argument.
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judge → accept → argument
The court found that the authorities had not carried out the initial custody review or provided the necessary notice.
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authorities → find → notice
It therefore declined to make Castellano complete another administrative process before considering his challenge.
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Castellano → decline → challenge
The judge also considered the time he had already spent in custody.
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he → consider → custody
By the time he approached the court, he had remained detained for more than 120 days without an independent judicial examination of the decision to keep him there.
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he → approach → him
The ruling further addressed the responsibility of proving whether detention was necessary.
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detention → address → responsibility
The government wanted the detained person to demonstrate that they were neither a danger to the community nor likely to flee.
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they → want → community
The court disagreed with this approach.
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court → disagree → approach
It held that the government must establish through clear and convincing evidence that a person presents a danger or flight risk during a bond hearing under Section 1226(a).
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person → hold → Section
In explaining its position, the judge pointed to the difficulties faced by people in immigration detention.
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judge → explain → detention
They may struggle to collect documents and evidence, understand complicated immigration procedures or obtain legal assistance.
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They → struggle → assistance
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
