Alejandro Mundo Zarate, who has lived in the United States for 26 years, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in October 2025 and held under mandatory detention. He is common-law married with an 11-year-old U.S. citizen son who suffers from health issues, works as a self-employed painter, and has no criminal record. Zarate is also eligible for cancellation of removal under immigration law.
Jackson ruled that Zarate's detention should be governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which allows for bond hearings, rather than § 1225(b)(2)(A), which mandates detention. 'The Court has concluded, now many times over, that § 1226—and not § 1225(b)(2)(A)—governs detention for noncitizens who, like petitioner, entered the country without inspection and are not subject to expedited removal,' Jackson wrote, incorporating reasoning from his prior decisions on the same issue.
The case is part of a series of similar habeas corpus petitions before Jackson challenging mandatory detention of undocumented immigrants. While the Fifth and Eighth Circuits have sided with the government's interpretation, Jackson said he remains 'unpersuaded' and agrees with dissenting judges who found the majority's reading inconsistent with statutory definitions and immigration law history.
Jackson ordered Zarate's release within 48 hours, allowing reasonable conditions but prohibiting bond requirements or ankle monitors. The ruling comes as immigration detention policies face increasing legal challenges, with federal courts split on the interpretation of detention statutes for certain categories of undocumented immigrants.