Ismael Solis-Gutierrez, who has been detained at the Denver Contract Detention Facility since January, challenged his indefinite detention without a bond hearing. The Mexican citizen entered the U.S. in 2011 and has no significant criminal history beyond a non-violent misdemeanor that resulted in probation. He was arrested by ICE in January 2026 while seeking protection under the Convention Against Torture.
Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter found that Solis-Gutierrez is entitled to a bond hearing under section 1226(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, not the mandatory detention provision under section 1225(b)(2) that the government claimed applied. "The Court remains firmly convinced that it and the other judges in the District who have addressed this issue have correctly decided those cases," Neureiter wrote, noting that "every decision in this District addressing the issue" has rejected the government's interpretation of the mandatory detention statute for long-term U.S. residents.
The case is among numerous similar challenges in Colorado federal court, with judges consistently ruling against ICE's interpretation of detention statutes. The government acknowledged that "until the Tenth Circuit rules on this issue, this Court's prior ruling on this issue would lead the Court to reach the same result here." Neureiter also rejected the government's reliance on Fifth Circuit precedent, calling a dissenting opinion in that case "more rigorous and compelling."
The ruling orders ICE to provide Solis-Gutierrez with a bond hearing within seven days, with the government bearing the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that continued detention is justified. If no hearing is provided, he must be released immediately. The decision adds to growing tensions between federal immigration officials and district judges over detention policies, with circuit courts split on the interpretation.