U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger ordered ICE to release an Egyptian Christian asylum-seeker from ICE custody, finding that the government detained him without a required bond hearing. WKRN first reported the ruling, issued Monday, Oct. 5.
The judge identified two problems with the detention: officials had not formally terminated the man’s prior parole before taking him into custody again, and they had not provided the required hearing. The order directed his release by the following afternoon.
Court filings describe a man who had previously been screened for possible religious persecution and permitted to enter the United States on parole. The court’s decision addressed his detention and the process required before the government could hold him again.
The order also barred officials from moving him out of the state or detaining him again without first providing an individualized hearing. That restriction came as he had already been moved toward Louisiana.
The order set a deadline and limited where the government could move him
Trauger required ICE to release the man no later than 1 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, Oct. 6. She also barred the government from re-detaining him or transferring him outside Tennessee unless it first provided an individualized bond hearing.
The location issue was already unfolding when the judge issued the order. Court documents say the man had been transferred to the Western District of Tennessee, with Louisiana as his intended destination. The filings characterized that move as an effort to get around the release order.
Louisiana falls within the Fifth Circuit. The restriction in Trauger’s order specifically covers transfers outside the state and further detention without a hearing; it does not describe a general ban on all future detention or movement.
His detention followed earlier parole and a screening for persecution risk
The man was taken into custody on Friday, Sept. 18. Court filings describe him as having been held unlawfully for about 17 days, and say officials told him he would be deported to Egypt.
He told U.S. officials he left Egypt in Aug. 2023 after receiving death threats from people trying to force him to convert to Islam. Court documents describe him as a devout Christian who had been physically beaten in Egypt by a radical Islamic group because of his faith.
An asylum officer with Citizenship and Immigration Services had earlier found a reasonable possibility that he would face religious persecution if returned to Egypt. The government granted him parole into the United States in Nov. 2023.
He had lived in Nashville for three years, according to the filings. They also say he complied with every condition of his status and had no criminal offenses.
The habeas petition described a risk of violence if he returned to Egypt
The man asked the court to review his detention through a habeas corpus petition. He said his refusal to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam put him at grave risk if sent back.
“the near-certainty of physical assault and/or death if he is sent back to Egypt”
The petition’s account framed the potential return in terms of danger tied to his religious faith. The court’s order, however, focused on the legality of his detention: the prior parole had not been formally terminated, and the government had not provided a hearing.
The order leaves the government bound by an individualized-hearing requirement
The decision requires the government to provide an individualized hearing before re-detaining the man or transferring him outside Tennessee. The condition applies to those actions, not simply to the earlier custody decision.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The order’s stated release deadline was Tuesday, Oct. 6.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
