FREEHOLD, NJ – A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of a woman held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after finding the agency relied on the wrong federal immigration detention law.
According to a memorandum opinion filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Judge Zahid N. Quraishi granted a habeas corpus petition filed by Brenda Roxana Calderon-Calderon, ruling that her continued detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) was unlawful.
Woman lived in New Jersey since 2016
According to the habeas petition, Calderon-Calderon is a native and citizen of Guatemala who entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, in 2016 while she was still a minor with her one-year-old daughter. Court records state she was classified as an unaccompanied child, placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement for six months, and later released to a family friend in New Jersey, where she has lived since.
The court found that Calderon-Calderon was arrested by police in Freehold in March following an argument with her daughter’s father. According to government filings, she was charged with aggravated assault related to domestic violence before being transferred to ICE custody, where she remained throughout the federal court proceedings.
Court records show prosecutors later dismissed the aggravated assault charge. The government informed the court that Calderon-Calderon ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal trespass.
Judge rejects government’s detention argument
According to a response filed by the federal government, attorneys initially argued Calderon-Calderon could be detained under both 8 U.S.C. §§ 1225(b)(2) and 1226. In a July 1 filing, however, the government withdrew its reliance on Section 1226 after the aggravated assault charge was dismissed, leaving Section 1225(b)(2) as its sole legal basis for detention.
Judge Quraishi noted that the District of New Jersey has repeatedly rejected that interpretation in similar immigration cases involving individuals who entered the country without inspection but later lived in the United States for years before being detained.
“The Government recognizes that its position ‘relies on the same statutory-interpretation arguments,’ this Court has repeatedly rejected,” Quraishi wrote, citing several recent District of New Jersey decisions reaching the same conclusion.
The judge concluded that because Calderon-Calderon had lived at liberty in the United States for several years after entering the country, she could not lawfully be detained under Section 1225(b)(2).
Court orders immediate release
Government attorneys asked the court to order only a bond hearing, arguing Calderon-Calderon could potentially be detained under a different immigration statute.
Judge Quraishi declined that request, writing, “It is not incumbent upon the Court to fix the Government’s flawed application of § 1225(b)(2) by converting Petitioner’s detention into a potentially lawful alternate form under a different statute with different procedural requirements and rules.”
Because the government sought to detain Calderon-Calderon only under Section 1225(b)(2), the court granted her habeas petition and ordered her immediate release from ICE custody.
Why it matters
The decision continues a series of rulings from the District of New Jersey rejecting the federal government’s use of mandatory detention under Section 1225(b)(2) for immigrants who have lived in the United States for extended periods after entering without inspection. The opinion cites multiple recent federal cases reaching the same conclusion, signaling that judges in the district continue to reject the government’s legal interpretation.
Key Points
- A federal judge ordered ICE to immediately release Brenda Roxana Calderon-Calderon from immigration custody.
- According to a memorandum opinion filed in U.S. District Court, the judge ruled the government relied on the wrong immigration detention statute.
- The court denied the government’s request for a bond hearing and instead ordered Calderon-Calderon’s immediate release.
