The court held that Batista, a Cuban national paroled into the U.S. in December 2024, was illegally detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225 rather than § 1226, and that his continued confinement without an individualized assessment violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights.
Batista, who has lived in the Louisville area working as a painter since his parole, was arrested on March 3, 2026, for traffic violations and subsequently transferred to the Oldham County Jail. ICE issued an I-200 warrant and placed him in mandatory detention, relying on July 2025 DHS guidance that classified him as "seeking admission" despite his prior parole.
The court rejected the government’s argument, incorporating reasoning from prior Western District of Kentucky decisions to find that an individual paroled without expedited removal cannot later be designated for it. Consequently, § 1226, not § 1225, governed his detention.
Applying the Mathews v. Eldridge balancing test, the court found all three factors favored Batista. It noted his significant liberty interest, the high risk of erroneous deprivation due to the lack of a merits bond hearing, and the minimal burden on the government to provide such a hearing.
The government did not address the merits of the due process claim, focusing instead on the statutory interpretation of § 1225 versus § 1226. The court emphasized that while the government has an interest in public safety, existing statutory safeguards adequately serve that interest when a bond hearing is provided.
The order directs the United States to release Batista immediately due to the unlawful detention and to provide him with a bond hearing on the merits before a neutral immigration judge pursuant to § 1226 and 8 C.F.R. §§ 1236.1(c)(8), (d)(1).
The court further ordered the government to certify compliance with the release and hearing mandate by filing on the docket by April 18, 2026.