Judge: ICE Detainee Unlawfully Held Without Hearing

In a significant ruling, a federal judge in Massachusetts declared that an Ecuadorean national, Luis Antonio Mayancela Aguayza, is being unlawfully detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mayancela Aguayza was apprehended by ICE agents in Keene earlier this month and has been held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs granted the man's petition for a writ of habeas corpus, asserting that he is entitled to a bond hearing. The judge's decision follows a class-action lawsuit challenging the ICE's widespread denial of bond hearings, similar to a case involving Jose Arnulfo Guerrero Orellana.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court ruling that found the Trump administration unlawfully denied bond hearings to thousands. Judge Burroughs cited this precedent in her order, stating no reason to deviate from previous findings. She mandated a detention hearing for Mayancela Aguayza by August 29, requiring an immigration judge to explicitly consider his dangerousness, flight risk, and less restrictive alternatives to detention.

Respondents, including ICE, must file a status report within 14 days, detailing whether the petitioner has been granted bond or the reasons for any denial. Meanwhile, a community meeting in Keene addressed concerns over recent ICE actions, with Mayor Jay Kahn assuring residents that the local police department was not involved.