Alejandro Badia Martinez, a Cuban citizen who entered the U.S. in 2022 seeking asylum, was detained without bond after a traffic stop in January 2026. Martinez had been living in the U.S. under an order of release on recognizance since April 2022, reporting as required to ICE and immigration court with no criminal charges or convictions. He was pulled over for driving without headlights and has been held at the Denver Contract Detention Facility since January 13, 2026.
U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter found that Martinez is entitled to a bond hearing under Section 1226(a) rather than being subject to mandatory detention under Section 1225(b)(2). 'The Court joins its colleagues in this District and those courts across the country that have concluded Respondents' interpretation of ยง 1225(b)(2)(A) is contrary to the INA's plain text,' Neureiter wrote, rejecting the government's statutory interpretation that has been repeatedly rejected by Colorado federal judges.
The case is one of numerous similar habeas challenges in the District of Colorado and nationwide seeking relief for immigrants detained under the government's new interpretation of immigration detention statutes. Respondents conceded that 'until the Tenth Circuit rules on this issue, this Court's prior ruling on this issue would lead the Court to reach the same result here,' acknowledging the consistent pattern of district court rulings against their position.
The court ordered the government to provide Martinez with a bond hearing within seven days, with the burden on the government to prove by clear and convincing evidence that continued detention is justified. If no hearing is provided, Martinez must be immediately released. The ruling adds to a growing body of district court decisions rejecting the administration's expanded detention authority, setting up a likely circuit court appeal on the statutory interpretation issue.