ICE ORDERED BY COURT TO RELEASE NIGERIAN DETAINED SINCE 2003 ILLEGAL ENTRY
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By: Fasasi Hammad
A U.S. district court in Minnesota has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to free Michael Opeoluwa Egbele from detention.
Egbele, a Nigerian national who entered the United States without proper documentation in 2003, was arrested in 2012 on a drug charge.
On Wednesday, Senior U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard ordered immigration authorities to release Egbele by February 20 and to submit a report confirming his release.
The judge found that ICE had no lawful basis to continue holding Egbele in custody given the unique circumstances of his case.
“The government shall immediately release the petitioner from custody subject to and in accordance with the conditions in his preexisting Order of Supervision,” the court ruling stated.
Additionally, the judge instructed, “No later than February 20, 2026, the government shall file a status report certifying compliance with this order.”
Egbele’s immigration difficulties began in 2012 when he was arrested on a drug charge and subsequently faced deportation proceedings.
At that time, he applied for asylum and asked the court to block his removal. However, an immigration judge denied his request and ordered his deportation in July 2012. Although the removal order was not enforced, Egbele also did not appeal the decision.
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