Court finds DHS unlawfully detained petitioner without a hearing under wrong immigration statute
NEWARK, NJ – A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered the immediate release of Dalva Yerleska Cruz-Davila, a Nicaraguan national who was detained at Delaney Hall in Newark without a bond hearing, ruling that her detention violated federal law.
In a decision issued this week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel granted Cruz-Davila’s habeas corpus petition, rejecting the federal government’s argument that she was properly held under 8 U.S.C. §1225(b)(2), a statute used for individuals detained at or near the border. The court found instead that Cruz-Davila, who had been living in the United States for more than a year before her arrest, fell under 8 U.S.C. §1226, which requires an individualized bond hearing.
Key Points
- Judge Edward Kiel ruled that DHS improperly used a border detention statute to hold Cruz-Davila.
- The petitioner, a Nicaraguan woman, had been living in the U.S. since December 2022.
- The court ordered her immediate release and enjoined further unlawful detentions.
Detained without hearing despite no removal order
According to court records, Cruz-Davila entered the United States without inspection in December 2022 and was later placed in an alternatives-to-detention program. After more than a year living in the country, she was arrested during a routine immigration check-in on February 1, 2026, and confined at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility.
The Department of Homeland Security argued that she could be detained indefinitely as an “applicant for admission.” However, Judge Kiel rejected that claim, noting that Cruz-Davila was apprehended well inside U.S. borders and was therefore entitled to a custody review and the opportunity to seek bond.
Court cites widespread judicial rejection of government’s stance
Judge Kiel pointed out that nearly every federal court to consider similar cases has ruled against the government’s position. He cited roughly 300 cases across the country concluding that §1226, not §1225, governs detention for noncitizens arrested after residing in the U.S.
“The basis for the petitioner’s continued detention was blatantly unlawful from the start,” the opinion stated, quoting prior precedent that immediate release is “the only commensurate and appropriate equitable remedy.”
The ruling places additional pressure on the Department of Homeland Security to revise its detention policies following a series of nearly identical court losses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Cruz-Davila’s release was ordered effective immediately, with the government barred from re-detaining her under the same circumstances.
