Diego P. Cuchiparte Ante, a citizen of Ecuador who entered the U.S. without inspection, had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark since February 2026. Cuchiparte Ante filed an asylum application with USCIS in 2024 and has lived continuously in the U.S. for approximately one year and seven months, with a master calendar hearing scheduled for June 2026.
Judge Semper found that because Cuchiparte Ante was apprehended in the interior after residing in the U.S. for an extended period, he should have been detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1226, which allows for bond hearings, rather than under the mandatory detention provisions of § 1225(b). "The only commensurate and appropriate equitable remedy to even partially restore [Petitioner] is to immediately release him and enjoin the Government from further similar transgressions," Semper wrote, citing Martinez v. McAleenan.
The decision follows a pattern of similar rulings across federal courts, with Judge Semper noting that "federal courts have in near unanimity similarly rejected the Government's position in approximately 300 cases to date." The court cited a Pennsylvania decision noting that "of the 288 district court decisions to address the issue, 282 have determined that § 1226(a) applies or likely applies in situations similar to those presented here."
The ruling also permanently enjoins the government from rearresting Cuchiparte Ante under § 1225, with the court retaining jurisdiction should the government attempt future detention. The decision reflects growing judicial pushback against the Biden administration's immigration detention policies, particularly the categorical application of mandatory detention statutes to long-term U.S. residents.