Rafael Antonio Hernandez Morales, a native and citizen of El Salvador, entered the United States at the Del Rio Port of Entry on July 21, 2021, and was paroled in by the Department of Homeland Security for one year. DHS later charged him with inadmissibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act on the ground that he was present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, or who arrived in the United States at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General. The Detroit Immigration Court denied his asylum application on January 16, 2025, and ordered his removal to El Salvador or Mexico. He appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and that appeal remains pending. ICE took him into custody on December 10, 2025, when he reported for a scheduled check-in appointment. He has been held at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.
The government argued that Hernandez Morales is subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2). Judge Jane M. Beckering of the Western District of Michigan rejected that position, holding that § 1226(a) — not § 1225(b)(2)(A) — governs noncitizens who have resided in the United States and were already present inside the country when apprehended. Because his BIA appeal is still pending, the court also held that his removal order is not yet administratively final and that § 1231's mandatory detention provision is therefore inapplicable.
The court further held that detaining Hernandez Morales under the § 1225(b)(2)(A) mandatory detention framework violates his Fifth Amendment due process rights. The government had argued that he received notice of the charges, has access to counsel, may attend hearings, has the right to appeal any bond denial, and has been detained for a relatively short period — contentions the court rejected by adopting the constitutional analysis from its prior decisions.
The opinion reaches its conclusions on exhaustion, statutory interpretation, and due process by adopting the reasoning set forth in four earlier Western District of Michigan decisions issued on December 12, 2025: Antele Cobix v. Raycraft, Candela Bastidas v. Noem, Acuna Sanchez v. Noem, and Penagos Robles v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The court acknowledged two recent circuit court decisions reaching contrary conclusions — Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi from the Fifth Circuit and Avila v. Bondi from the Eighth Circuit — but held that those non-binding decisions do not change its analysis.
As a remedy, the court ordered the government to provide Hernandez Morales with a bond hearing under § 1226(a) within five business days, with notice to the parties as soon as practicable and no later than 24 hours before the scheduled hearing, or to release him immediately. Respondents must also file a status report within six business days certifying compliance and detailing whether and when the bond hearing occurred, whether bond was granted or denied, and, if granted, the conditions of bond or, if denied, the reasons for denial.
The case is Morales Martinez v. Raycraft, No. 1:26-cv-760, in the Western District of Michigan, decided April 17, 2026.