Paraguayan immigrant arrested at court hearing, judge rules detention violated due process
Nov 1, 2025·Location: New York, NY
Country of origin: Paraguay

Carlos Guerra Leon, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate from Spring Valley, New York, was arrested without a warrant by federal officers on August 9, 2025, and transferred to Jackson Correctional Facility in Louisiana despite holding approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and deferred action status that protected him from deportation under the Biden administration. He came to the U.S. from Guatemala at age 10 after experiencing abandonment and neglect, and had built a stable life attending school and working legally in New York. The National Immigration Project, ACLU of Louisiana, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights filed a federal habeas petition challenging his detention. After nearly three months in custody over 1,000 miles from home, Federal Judge Terry Doughty issued a temporary restraining order on October 31 ruling Guerra Leon's detention unlawful and that his release "serves the public interest by ensuring that the Government adheres to its own laws." Despite the court order, ICE officials at the Louisiana facility initially refused to release him, claiming to have "no knowledge" of the ruling and forcing an emergency motion before he was finally released and returned home to New York.
Sources
- Documents reveal the true feelings of ICE officers at a NYC immigration facility
independent.co.uk·Jun 1, 2026·archived copy
- CourtListener
- CourtListener
- New York Immigration Courts Turn into Arrest Zones: The Case of Carlos López Benítez
news.rakwa.com·Aug 5, 2025·archived copy
- lawandcrime.com
- Young New York Immigrants at Risk After Trump Ends Protections
- 18-year-old New Yorker with special immigration status freed from Louisiana ICE facility after ICE defies court order
nipnlg.org·Nov 5, 2025·archived copy
- Habeas Petition Filed Seeking Release of 18-Year-Old with Special Immigration Status Unlawfully Detained in Louisiana ICE Facility
nipnlg.org·Oct 6, 2025·archived copy
- nipnlg.org
- New York Teen Returns Home After Judge Rules His ICE Detention Illegal
- kennedyhumanrights.org
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