Federal judges are examining cases in which immigrants were detained again after winning habeas release orders, as a Tenth Circuit ruling cited a pattern and a Louisiana judge held an immigration official in contempt.
On Oct. 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit declined to end Kaveh Abedi’s appeal as moot and returned his habeas claims for further proceedings. The majority said Abedi faced a “real and substantial threat” of renewed detention, citing a “demonstrated pattern” of detaining other noncitizens again after they received habeas relief. The opinion set no date for further proceedings.
The Guardian’s review tallied at least 20 such cases across the country over the past year, drawing on court records, attorneys and media reports. Separately, ProPublica’s tracker counted 91,246 immigration-related habeas cases since January 2025, with data updated through Oct. 27, 2026; that total covers habeas cases, not re-detentions.
In Louisiana, a Feb. 6 ruling granted habeas petitions for four detainees, including Ibrahim Mohammed, and ordered their release within three hours. The court barred renewed detention without due process. A March 10 order said Mohammed had been detained again and was reportedly being taken to an airport for possible removal to Eswatini; the court blocked his removal for five days and asked the government to address what process it had provided.
The court docket records that Mohammed was detained again on July 28. On Aug. 19, the judge found then-acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official Vernon Liggins in contempt for violating prior orders and awarded Mohammed $180 in compensatory damages, plus attorney’s fees.
In Minnesota, an Oct. 19 order in Milton Zenon Saltos Velasquez’s case said the government missed a 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT) release deadline and required his release by 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). MPR News reported, based on Saltos’ account, that ICE detained him again before he left the federal building. MPR said it had confirmed seven such cases in Minnesota.
MPR reported that the Department of Homeland Security’s position is that ICE may seek a new arrest if it follows the court’s decision. A department spokesperson told the outlet, “ICE complies with all lawful court orders.” The Guardian reported that attorneys linked some re-detentions to efforts to deport people to third countries; that is their assessment, not an agency finding.
