Reilan Urdaneta-Ortega, a Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. in August 2022 and was initially released after a brief detention, was re-detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on February 20, 2026, as he was leaving the Salt Lake County District Court courthouse. Urdaneta-Ortega had pending criminal charges in Utah state court from a January 2024 arrest, which the government argued justified his continued detention under mandatory detention provisions.
Judge Drozd rejected the government's arguments, finding the case analogous to his previous ruling in Ayala Cajina v. Wofford, where he had similarly ordered release. "In the present case, there is no indication that petitioner was provided notice, an explanation, or a hearing before a neutral adjudicator before he was re-detained by immigration officials," Drozd wrote. The judge noted that respondents "failed to either provide any documentation indicating that petitioner was re-detained because of the criminal charges pending against him" and offered no meaningful argument distinguishing the case from Ayala Cajina.
The government had argued that Urdaneta-Ortega was subject to mandatory detention as an applicant for admission under 8 U.S.C. ยง 1225(b), but Drozd noted he had "previously rejected" this argument "on several occasions." Respondents did not oppose the court ruling on the merits based on current briefing, but contended the pending criminal charges made this case distinguishable from Ayala Cajina, where the petitioner faced only misdemeanor DUI and driving without a license charges.
Drozd ordered Urdaneta-Ortega's immediate release under the same conditions he had prior to re-detention and enjoined ICE from re-detaining him without written notice and a hearing where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a flight risk or danger to the community. The ruling adds to a growing body of Eastern District of California decisions challenging ICE re-detention practices without adequate due process protections.