Newark, NJ – A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of an Ecuadorian man who had been held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility, ruling that his continued detention violated federal immigration law.
In a July 16 opinion, U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi granted a habeas corpus petition filed by Alex Morocho Morocho, concluding that the government improperly detained him under a statute that did not apply to his circumstances.
Court rejects government’s legal argument
According to court records, Morocho, a native and citizen of Ecuador, unsuccessfully attempted to enter the United States in 2002 and 2021 before later crossing the southern border without inspection sometime after August 2021.
The court said Morocho then lived with his brother in New Jersey for an extended period before being arrested during a targeted immigration enforcement operation on June 25, 2026. Court filings state he has no criminal history and had remained in custody at Delaney Hall without receiving a bond hearing.
The federal government argued Morocho was lawfully detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), a provision governing certain applicants seeking admission into the United States. Judge Quraishi rejected that argument, noting that the District of New Jersey has repeatedly ruled the statute does not apply to individuals who entered the country unlawfully but then lived in the United States before being taken into ICE custody.
“Petitioner’s continued mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2) is therefore unlawful,” Quraishi wrote.
Judge orders immediate release
Government attorneys asked the court to require only that Morocho receive a bond hearing under a different immigration statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which generally governs detention of noncitizens already present in the United States.
Judge Quraishi declined, writing that it was not the court’s responsibility to correct the government’s legal error by converting the detention into one authorized under another statute.
“Because the Government has only sought to detain Petitioner under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), and he is clearly not subject to detention under that statute… the Government [must] release Petitioner from custody immediately,” the opinion states.
The ruling follows several similar decisions issued this year by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey rejecting the government’s use of Section 1225(b)(2) in cases involving migrants who had been living in the United States before being detained by immigration authorities.
Related Keywords: Delaney Hall Detention Facility, ICE, New Jersey federal court, Zahid N. Quraishi, immigration detention
