Baltimore, MD — A federal judge in Maryland has ordered the release of Ajmal Afghan, an Afghan national detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), finding that his confinement violated federal immigration law and that he is entitled to a bond hearing.
In a December 23, 2025 memorandum opinion, U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher granted Afghan’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, directing that he be released from custody pending a prompt bond hearing to be scheduled by immigration authorities in Maryland.
Afghan, who fled Taliban persecution and arrived in the United States in 2021 under a U.S. military evacuation program, had lived in the country lawfully on humanitarian parole while pursuing asylum. Despite having no criminal record and maintaining compliance with all immigration requirements, he was suddenly detained by ICE on December 12, 2025, after being summoned to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appointment.
According to court filings, Afghan and his wife were intercepted en route to their attorney’s office by federal officers, handcuffed, and transported first to Baltimore and then to a detention facility in Georgia. His counsel argued that ICE had unlawfully detained him without providing a bond hearing and had misapplied the wrong section of immigration law.
Judge Gallagher agreed, ruling that Afghan’s detention was improperly classified under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)—which governs “arriving aliens” subject to expedited removal—rather than 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which applies to individuals already living in the United States and entitles them to a bond hearing before an immigration judge.
“The statutory language alone, in combination with the I-200 warrant, establishes that Petitioner’s arrest is governed by § 1226 and that he is entitled to a bond hearing,” Judge Gallagher wrote. She joined “hundreds of judicial colleagues” in rejecting the Board of Immigration Appeals’ recent decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado, which the court found inconsistent with the text and structure of federal immigration statutes.
Afghan, who remains in the United States legally under pending asylum and re-parole applications, will be released pending the bond hearing.