Adrian Rodriguez Serrano, a Mexican national who has lived in the United States since 1999, challenged his detention at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan. Serrano, who has no criminal history and is married with five U.S. citizen children, was arrested on January 21, 2026, while a passenger in a friend's vehicle during an ICE enforcement operation. He was issued a Notice to Appear charging him with being present without admission and lacking proper immigration documents.
Judge Beckering determined that Serrano's detention should be governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which allows for bond hearings, rather than the mandatory detention provisions of § 1225(b)(2). 'The Court concludes that § 1226(a), not § 1225(b)(2)(A), governs noncitizens, such as Petitioner, who have resided in the United States and were already within the United States when apprehended,' Beckering wrote. The judge found that holding Serrano under the mandatory detention framework violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights.
The government argued that Serrano should exhaust his administrative remedies by pursuing a bond hearing through immigration court first. However, Judge Beckering declined to enforce the exhaustion doctrine, citing her reasoning in four similar cases decided in December 2025. The court also rejected the government's argument that only the Detroit ICE Field Office Director was a proper respondent, retaining both that official and the Secretary of Homeland Security as defendants.
Under the court's order, ICE must provide Serrano with a bond hearing under § 1226(a) within five business days or immediately release him from custody. The agency must also file a status report within six business days certifying compliance and detailing whether bond was granted or denied. The ruling follows a pattern of similar decisions by Judge Beckering in immigration detention cases, potentially signaling broader challenges to ICE's detention practices for long-term U.S. residents.