Martin Benito Gonzalez Urdaneta, a Venezuelan citizen who was paroled into the U.S. in April 2023 for one year, challenged his detention at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan. ICE arrested Gonzalez Urdaneta on February 27, 2026, after issuing a Notice to Appear charging him with inadmissibility for lacking valid immigration documents. He was scheduled for a master calendar hearing on April 3, 2026, in Detroit Immigration Court.
Judge Jonker concluded that Gonzalez Urdaneta should be detained under the discretionary provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than the mandatory detention framework of § 1225(b)(2)(A), finding that 'his current detention under the mandatory detention framework set forth in § 1225(b)(2)(A) violates Petitioner's Fifth Amendment due process rights.' The judge relied on his constitutional analysis from four similar cases decided in December 2025, rejecting the government's argument that the petitioner met all elements for mandatory detention.
The court directed ICE to show cause why the writ should not be granted in a March 26 order. Respondents filed their response on March 30, arguing that Gonzalez Urdaneta had received proper notice, access to counsel, and had been detained for only a relatively short period. The petitioner filed his reply on April 2.
The ruling continues a pattern by Judge Jonker of granting similar habeas petitions from Venezuelan parolees, despite recent contrary decisions from the Fifth and Eighth Circuits. The court retained the ICE Detroit Field Office Director and DHS Secretary as respondents while dismissing the Attorney General, and ordered a status report within six business days certifying compliance with the bond hearing requirement.