- Federal judges in Wisconsin ordered the release of two men detained during recent construction-site raids.
- Courts in Maine and Wisconsin found that denying individualized custody reviews violates Fifth Amendment due process.
- The rulings come amid Operation Metro Surge, which has triggered over 24,000 habeas petitions nationwide.
(MADISON, WISCONSIN) — Federal judges in the Madison-based U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ordered the release of two Ecuadorian men held in a county jail after immigration officers arrested them in a construction-site raid near Minneapolis, as courts in Wisconsin and Maine issued a string of habeas rulings scrutinizing how long people can be held without an individualized custody review.
Reports from Wisconsin Watch and Civic Media on March 6, 2026 described the two men as detained in the Douglas County jail in Superior, Wisconsin, after the raid in a Minneapolis suburb, with the court finding legal flaws in how the government kept them in custody.
Judges in the district ruled that detainees were held unlawfully when the government failed to provide individualized custody determinations, and the rulings often framed the problem as a due-process concern under the Fifth Amendment.
The court activity drew attention locally because the Madison-based court had not handled an immigration-related habeas case in over a decade, until “Operation Metro Surge” brought a wave of petitions into the district.
In immigration detention cases, a writ of habeas corpus is a court order that lets a person challenge the lawfulness of confinement, and it can require the government to justify continued custody or release the person when the detention process falls short.
The Wisconsin rulings landed amid broader legal fights over bond, after judges in the district cited the lack of individualized determinations as a recurring issue in cases tied to the recent enforcement surge.
Separately, federal judges in Maine ordered the release of two workers detained during a major immigration operation at a tomato plant in Madison, Maine, according to the case details dated March 3 and 4, 2026.
Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. ordered the release of Yubizay del Carmen Torrealba Linarez (20), describing the Venezuelan single mother seeking asylum as a “good candidate” for release and setting a deadline of 8 p.m. on March 3, citing serious medical concerns. Judge Stacey D. Neumann ordered the immediate release of Junior Xavier Guedez (34), a Venezuelan asylum seeker, on March 4.
Both individuals had been held at a Border Patrol station in Fort Fairfield, and their attorneys sought relief through writs of habeas corpus while challenging the government’s authority to detain asylum seekers indefinitely without bond hearings.
Bond hearings are the process in which an immigration judge weighs whether a person should remain detained or be released while their case proceeds, and the Maine orders highlighted disputes over the absence of timely, individualized bond or custody review after worksite-related detentions.
The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have defended their enforcement posture while facing judicial pushback, including litigation focused on oversight and detention conditions as well as who gets a custody review and when.
In a joint memo dated Feb. 18, 2026, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons directed agencies to “detain and inspect” individuals at the one-year mark of their arrival, specifically describing refugees, and the memo said: “This detain-and-inspect requirement ensures that refugees are re-vetted after one year, aligns post-admission vetting with that applied to other applicants for admission, and promotes public safety.” Readers can track agency updates through the USCIS newsroom and related announcements from the ICE newsroom.
On March 3, 2026, as DHS responded to a separate ruling that forced the reopening of detention centers to congressional oversight, a DHS spokesperson said, “The agency disagreed with the new ruling and called the seven-day notice requirement a ‘commonsense measure to ensure the safety of staff, law enforcement, visitors, and detainees alike.’” DHS posts statements and releases through its press releases page.
Judges have also delivered blunt warnings about the constitutional stakes of continued detention without individualized custody determinations. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan, speaking during a testy contempt hearing in Minnesota involving property lost during the “Operation Metro Surge” crackdown, warned on March 3, 2026: “Continued detention without individualized custody determinations, after this court’s repeated holdings that such detention violates the Fifth Amendment, will result in legal consequences.”
The court orders in Wisconsin and Maine unfolded against the backdrop of “Operation Metro Surge,” described as the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history and primarily targeting the Midwest, with over 3,000 arrests and rising friction between federal judges and the Department of Justice.
A broader litigation wave has followed. Nationwide, federal district courts have received more than 24,000 habeas petitions since January 2025, with the surge linked to the Board of Immigration Appeals decision to restrict bond hearings.
Even when Judges order releases, outcomes can split families. In Madison, Wisconsin, Dailin Pacheco-Acosta was ordered released after an asylum win, but her husband, Diego Ugarte-Arenas, remains detained in the Dodge County Jail pending a government appeal.
For updates, readers can monitor verified public statements and agency postings in the DHS press releases and the ICE newsroom, while local reporting on the Madison cases has appeared at Wisconsin Watch. Detention-related litigation can move quickly, and new court orders can change who remains detained and who walks free.
