Santos Romualdo Chan Sontay, a Guatemalan citizen who entered the United States without inspection approximately 20 years ago, has been held in immigration custody at the Houston Contract Detention Facility since December 16, 2025. Chan Sontay challenged his detention through a habeas corpus petition, arguing that his prolonged confinement without an individualized bond determination violated his constitutional rights.
U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison found that while Chan Sontay is subject to mandatory detention under federal immigration law, his continued confinement violates the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The court concluded that the "detention [did] not 'bear a reasonable relation to the purpose for which she was committed,'" citing precedent that the government cannot "detain any noncitizen, no matter how long they have actually lived in the United States, for any length of time, without any individualized justification."
The ruling follows a similar decision by Judge Ellison in March in Salvador Rodriguez v. Frink, where the court ordered release under nearly identical circumstances. Chan Sontay filed his habeas petition challenging his detention, and the government responded with a motion to dismiss, which the court denied while granting the petition in part.
The court ordered Chan Sontay's release within 48 hours and established strict procedural requirements for any future detention, including a pre-detention hearing where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a flight risk or danger to the community. The decision adds to a growing body of federal court rulings challenging prolonged immigration detention without individualized review.