'The proper remedy': Trump admin must free Minnesota man under ICE detention in Texas, judge says in scathing ruling
Source: Law & Crime
Feb 7th, 2026, 9:57 am
A federal judge in Minnesota has ordered the release of a Venezuelan man in a scathing ruling that takes a shot across the bow at ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The ruling addresses the Trump administration's often-litigated efforts to reshape how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) classifies certain immigrants in its custody.
The petitioner won habeas corpus release after quickly convincing U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim, a Bill Clinton appointee, that he was being "unlawfully detained" in a Texas facility by ICE. On Jan. 14, Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez Ledezma was arrested in the aftermath of an incident where an ICE agent "shot a man in the leg at a duplex in Minneapolis," the court's order explains.
After the shooting, ICE agents entered and took Hernandez Ledezma, who was granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2024, into custody. First, ICE sent him to a lockup facility in El Paso. After that, he was transferred to a different facility in San Antonio. Finally, ICE sent him to the T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Taylor – a long controversial lockup facility in the Hill Country.
"Like all Venezuelans, Petitioner's TPS status was terminated in February 2025—however, his status is 'in limbo,' because a case adjudicating the lawfulness of the termination of TPS for Venezuelan citizens is currently proceeding in federal court," Tunheim explains.
Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/the-proper-remedy-trump-admin-must-free-minnesota-man-under-ice-detention-in-texas-judge-says-in-scathing-ruling/
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.231138/gov.uscourts.mnd.231138.6.0.pdf
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