ICE detainees have already filed more habeas petitions than in all of 2025

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Federal judges are scrutinizing ICE's methods in Minnesota, leading to the release of several detainees through legal petitions as the number of filings in U.S. District Court explodes during Operation Metro Surge.

‘Dizzying pace’ 

What we know:

Immigration attorneys say they are filing habeas corpus petitions to secure the release of detainees at a "dizzying pace."

The petitions are constitutionally protected challenges to the government’s arrest of an individual. However, the Trump Administration previously suggested suspending those rights.

In the context of immigration enforcement operations, the petitions ask federal judges to either release individuals from custody or grant them a bond hearing in immigration court.

By the numbers:

According to case data reviewed by the FOX 9 Investigators, 312 immigrant detainees had sought habeas relief through Jan. 21.

The number of petitions filed in the district court of Minnesota in the first three weeks of the year has already surpassed the 260 filed in the entirety of 2025.

Detained immigrants often granted relief 

What they're saying:

"This is one of the most difficult times we have had because so many people are being impacted all at once," explained local immigration attorney David Wilson.

Wilson said in a recent five-day stretch, his office filed 45 habeas petitions for detained clients.

"People disappear off the streets and then it can be three or four days before anyone hears from them," Wilson said.

As a result, immigration attorneys are rushing to court because detained individuals are often shipped out of Minnesota to other detention centers within hours of their arrest.

"If they get picked up today, there is a chance that they could be gone by dinner time," Wilson stated. "They do not even make it into the Fort Snelling (Whipple federal) building. If they are there, they are only there for an hour, then they are immediately on a plane to El Paso or somewhere else."

Wilson estimated that detained immigrants are receiving favorable outcomes from federal judges in more than 90% of the habeas filings, leading to their release or access to a bond hearing in immigration court. He says that means individuals are allowed to remain free from detention while they argue to remain in the United States.

Judges order immediate release 

Why you should care:

The surge in enforcement activity has led to an increase in emergency legal filings and raised questions about the legality of ICE's actions and the impact operations are having on families and communities.

In some cases, federal judges have ordered the immediate release of individuals detained by immigration enforcement officers.

Liberian citizen Garrison Gibson was detained without a warrant and later released after a federal judge granted his habeas petition.

Armed federal agents had used a battering ram to break into Gibson’s north Minneapolis home and arrest him in front of his family earlier this month.

A judge found ICE’s conduct violated Gibson’s fourth amendment rights.

"This isn't right, and they are terrorizing people — taking people, tearing families apart," Gibson said following his release.

In a separate case, U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim ordered the immediate release of a Venezuelan family of six, including a 12-year-old boy after armed agents entered their St. Paul home without a warrant.

They had been shipped off to detention facilities in Texas.

'Not the way we should do things'

The other side:

At a Tuesday news conference inside the Whipple Federal Building, Gregory Bovino, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commander, defended the ongoing mission, stating, "Our operations are lawful, they are targeted and they are focused on individuals who pose a serious threat to this community."

Last year, the Trump administration floated the idea of suspending habeas rights that are constitutionally protected unless in the case of invasion and rebellion. The last time it happened was during World War II.

"The constitution is clear – and that of course is the supreme law of the land that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion. So, it is an option we are actively looking at," Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff, said last May.

But in local immigration law offices, attorneys argue there is a much simpler solution to slowing the flood of habeas filings in federal court.

"I really would hope that at some point they (the government) would slow down just a little bit, maybe to read the files, ask some questions, and realize maybe they have the wrong person today, and let that person go. Not traumatize them, put them in a plane, shackle them," said Wilson.

 "I think that we just need to require a little more of our government in deciding who gets detained, who doesn't. And that they take the time to actually read, not just herd cattle into a certain, into a plane and ship them, then start asking questions. That is not the way we should do things."