Otero v. Kaiser (Release from ICE detention)
On August 3rd, 2025, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of Ismael, a 20 year old asylum seeker from Colombia, through his mother. Ismael fled Colombia in November 2023 to seek asylum in the U.S. and was initially allowed to remain free while his asylum case moved through immigration court. He complied fully with the legal process, attended all his hearings and has no criminal record. He is also pursuing Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), a protection designed for vulnerable young immigrants who cannot safely return home.
However on August 1, 2025, during a routine immigration hearing in San Francisco, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abruptly arrested Ismael without warning outside the courtroom, a cruel tactic increasingly used by the Trump Administration to trap immigrants who show up to court and follow the law. ICE locked Ismael in the notorious detention facility at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco, a place known for its dangerously overcrowded and inhumane conditions. The facility is not meant for long-term detention, yet he remained confined there cut off from his family and legal rights.
At the same hearing, the government made a sudden, oral motion to dismiss Ismael’s asylum case, a deceptive maneuver to force him into expedited removal, a fast-track deportation process that would deny him the chance to apply for SIJS. The immigration judge gave our client time to respond and did not rule on the motion to dismiss, but ICE brazenly arrested Ismael anyway. In response, we filed a habeas petition and emergency motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) demanding Ismael’s immediate release. The next morning, Ismael was finally freed from ICE custody. Due to swift legal action, Ismael is now out of detention and can continue his fight for asylum and SIJS.