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A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered immigration authorities to immediately release a Colombia-bound detainee, ruling that officials violated his constitutional rights by holding him past a court-mandated departure date and then using that delay to justify keeping him in custody.
U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled on July 21, 2026, in favor of Marlon Andres Torres Gomez, who was being held at the Delaney Hall Detention Center.
Immigration records show that on May 12, 2026, an immigration judge gave Torres Gomez until June 11 to voluntarily depart the United States. Leading up to that deadline, his attorney made multiple inquiries to federal authorities to coordinate his departure and submitted proof of a one-way ticket to Colombia scheduled for June 10.
Despite those efforts, Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not allow Torres Gomez to leave prior to June 11.
Government attorneys then argued that because the deadline passed without his departure, his voluntary status expired and converted into a final order of removal. Under that theory, the government claimed Torres Gomez became subject to mandatory detention under federal immigration law.
Judge Farbiarz rejected that reasoning, finding that the government’s continued detention of Torres Gomez lacked meaningful procedural safeguards and violated the Due Process Clause of the Constitution.
The court dismissed three post-deadline explanations offered by government attorneys. The government claimed that federal court injunctions had blocked his departure, but the judge noted those court orders had been closed before June 11 and applied only to federal officials, not to Torres Gomez’s own attempts to leave. The government also noted an offer to extend the departure deadline, but the judge pointed out that the offer was made on June 12, after the original deadline had already passed.
Finally, federal attorneys suggested Torres Gomez was kept in custody to protect his right to appeal the immigration judge’s order. Judge Farbiarz rejected that claim, citing statements from Torres Gomez to an ICE official on June 5 confirming he did not intend to appeal, along with the lack of any formal appeal filings.
The court stated that overstaying a voluntary departure period requires an action by the individual, not a scenario where federal authorities actively prevent someone from leaving and then cite their presence in the country to mandate continued detention.
Judge Farbiarz ordered that Torres Gomez be released promptly from federal custody. The ruling noted that previous court records found Torres Gomez posed no danger to the community, and the court indicated it expected him to take immediate steps to voluntarily leave the country upon his release.
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New Jersey Federal Judge Orders Release Of Detained Immigrant Prevented From Leaving U.S.
