A federal judge in the Middle District of Florida has ordered the immediate release of a Colombian national after ruling that federal immigration authorities held him in custody based entirely on factually false information.
Jorge Eliecer Madera Reyes, who entered the United States lawfully in April 2019 on a B-2 visa and has remained in the country while applying for asylum, was arrested by Orlando police on April 8, 2026, for opening a beer inside a convenience store.
Following the local ordinance violation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed a detainer on Madera Reyes, who had no prior criminal record, and took him into custody on April 11.
The charging documents issued by ICE incorrectly stated that Madera Reyes had entered the country on July 31, 2025. Despite Madera Reyes submitting records proving his 2019 entry date, employment authorization, tax filings, community ties, and pending asylum application, Immigration Judge Stuart Siegel repeatedly denied him bond.
In a May 19, 2026 order, Judge Siegel wrote: “After conducting an individualized bond hearing, and after applying the 9 Guerra factors, Respondent has not met his burden in establishing that he is a suitable bond risk based on the fact that Respondent is a recent arrival, Respondent has no relief pending before the Court, and Respondent has already departed the United States during a prior stay in the United States.”
All three findings were inaccurate. Madera Reyes had resided in the United States since 2019, maintained an active asylum claim, and had never left the country after arriving.
Although the Department of Homeland Security later amended its charging document to reflect his correct 2019 arrival date, Judge Siegel denied a renewed motion for bond on July 16, 2026, without holding a hearing. In that ruling, Judge Siegel repeated the same erroneous findings verbatim, writing that “Respondent has not met his burden in meeting that he is a suitable bail risk based on the fact that Respondent is a recent arrival, Respondent has no pending relief pending before the Court, and Respondent has already departed the United States during a prior stay in the United States,” concluding that “no material change in circumstances established to warrant upsetting the Court’s previous Order.”
Madera Reyes subsequently filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, arguing that his continued detention violated his due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. The government argued the federal court lacked jurisdiction to review discretionary immigration bond rulings and maintained that detention during removal proceedings is legally permitted.
The federal court rejected the government’s arguments, finding that immigration officials acted arbitrarily by continually relying on debunked records.
“The government does not dispute that DHS’s original charge of inadmissibility was factually incorrect,” the court order states. “The government’s decision to double-down on its mistake, despite clear evidence and tacit acknowledgement that it was a mistake, is arbitrary.”
The court granted the habeas corpus petition and ordered the government to release Madera Reyes within 24 hours of the August 19, 2026 ruling, directing officials to notify his legal counsel regarding pickup arrangements from the Glades County Detention Center.
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