Over the weekend, we won a preliminary victory on behalf of a man unlawfully jailed by federal immigration officials in Maine. Now we've filed a class action lawsuit to uphold the rights of other people in similar situations.
Last Friday, we sued U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) for unlawfully jailing a man without giving him the opportunity for a bond hearing. The man was arrested by local police near Waterville and transferred into CBP custody. He was then transported over 200 miles and detained in Fort Fairfield.
While in detention, our client was held "incommunicado" for nine days, meaning he had no ability to contact family or legal counsel. Additionally, he was not deemed a threat to public safety or a flight risk, and therefore had the right to a bond hearing. As our lawsuit alleges, CBP violated his due process rights by denying him the opportunity for a bond hearing, as required under federal law.
Over the weekend, a federal judge ruled in our client's favor. The United States District Court for the District of Maine blocked the federal government from transferring our client out of the state. This will help our client remain connected to his community and legal counsel. The court also concluded that our client is likely to prevail on claims that his due process rights were violated when he was arrested and detained without a bond hearing.
Following this preliminary victory, we joined other advocates to file a class action lawsuit seeking relief for other people in similar situations. Indefinitely detaining people and separating them from their legal counsel, families, communities, and jobs is not only cruel – it’s against federal law. Without change, millions of people who have been waiting for their day in court remain at risk of being jailed indefinitely over civil immigration violations.
Class Action on Bond Hearings, Orellana v. Moriz, et. al.:
Late on Monday, we joined other advocates to file a class action lawsuit to challenge the widespread denial of bond hearings to people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The lawsuit outlines how denying bond hearings violates federal law and the constitutional rights of those affected. It also upends decades of settled law and established practice in immigration proceedings.
The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by the ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, ACLU of Maine, ACLU of New Hampshire, law firm Araujo and Fisher, law firm Foley Hoag, and the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic.
Denying Bond Hearings Violates Due Process, Federal Law:
Similar to our initial case, Petitioner v. Stamper et. al., the class action lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently and abruptly began to misclassify people arrested by ICE inside the United States, allowing immigration authorities to deny people’s right to a bond hearing as guaranteed by federal law.
Federal law contains three statutes that clearly outline when people may be entitled to a bond hearing:
- 8 U.S.C. § 1225: A statute that applies to people stopped at the border or ports of entry. They may be held without bond hearings.
- 8 U.S.C. § 1226: A statute that applies to people arrested inside the U.S. while their immigration cases proceed. These individuals are entitled to bond hearings before an immigration judge, unless they are deemed a threat to public safety or a flight risk.
- 8 U.S.C. § 1231: A statute that applies after someone has a final order of removal, allowing detention during the 90-day “removal period” and, in limited circumstances, beyond.
Since Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act in 1996, immigrants arrested within the United States have been covered by § 1226, which grants the right to a bond hearing unless subject to certain criminal and national security considerations.
However, in late 2022, the Immigration Court in Tacoma, Washington, began misclassifying § 1226 detainees arrested inside the United States as mandatory detainees under § 1225, solely because they initially entered the country without permission. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that this practice was likely illegal in April 2025 and ordered a bond hearing for a wrongfully detained litigant.
Despite 30 years of precedent, DHS adopted the Tacoma Immigration Court’s unlawful practice nationwide and began to ask immigration judges to deny bond hearings in July 2025. On September 5, 2025, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a precedential decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado, which systemically misclassifies immigrants as if they are § 1225 border detainees, stripping them of their right to bond hearings.
This statute has never been applied to people arrested in the interior of the United States and placed in removal proceedings, and this practice blatantly goes against its plain language. However, CBP and ICE have begun indefinitely jailing people who are undergoing civil immigration proceedings that can take months or years. This is a clear violation of the due process rights of immigrants as outlined by federal law. Several other federal courts have found this new policy violates federal law, including district courts in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York, and we look forward to protecting these rights here in Maine.
