A judge releases an airplane hijacker, sparking a new clash between DHS and the judiciary over Trump's immigration policy
A Cuban citizen convicted of forcibly seizing control of an aircraft and serving two decades in prison was released by order of a federal judge while awaiting deportation. The Department of Homeland Security denounced the decision as yet another example of "judicial activism" that, it argues, hinders ICE's efforts to deport foreign criminals.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent (File photo)
The dispute between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and part of the judiciary escalated again this week after a federal judge ordered the release of a Cuban citizen convicted of hijacking a commercial airplane in 2003, even though he remained in the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending his deportation.
The decision reignited the standoff between the administration of President Donald Trump and federal judges who have limited or reversed various immigration measures pushed by the executive branch—a conflict that DHS considers one of the main obstacles to carrying out deportations of immigrants with criminal records.
The central figure in the case is Miakel Guerra Morales, a Cuban citizen convicted of air piracy after participating in the hijacking of a plane flying from Nueva Gerona, Cuba, to Florida in March 2003.
According to court records, Guerra Morales assaulted crew members and forced the pilot to divert the aircraft to Key West, Florida. After being arrested by U.S. authorities, he was found guilty of air piracy and conspiracy to interfere with the crew of a flight, and was sentenced to 22 years in prison, of which he served approximately two decades.
Once his sentence was completed, ICE took him into custody in December 2025 with the aim of carrying out his removal from the country. However, after spending nearly seven months in detention while the immigration proceedings were underway, Federal Judge John E. Steele, nominated by former President Bill Clinton, ordered his release on July 8 under supervision, ruling that the period of detention had been unduly prolonged.
The ruling prompted an immediate response from DHS, which characterized the decision as yet another example of judges who, according to the agency, interfere with the enforcement of immigration laws.
The DHS's reaction
"This activist judge forced ICE to release an illegal immigrant with a criminal record who was sentenced to 22 years in prison for hijacking an airplane and who is now returning to American communities," the official stated in a statement cited by the New York Post.
Bis further argued that the ruling represents a new attempt to block the immigration policy promoted by the White House.
"This is yet another example of an activist judge attempting to thwart the mandate given by the American people to President Trump to remove illegal immigrants with criminal records from the country. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin's leadership, DHS will continue to fight to detain and deport those who have no right to remain in the United States," he added.
A new front in the battle between ICE and the courts
The Guerra Morales case joins a long series of legal disputes between the executive branch and federal courts on immigration matters.
Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, ICE has intensified detentions of foreign nationals with criminal records, prioritizing their continued detention until deportations are carried out. However, various court rulings have ordered the release of detainees when the courts determine that the government cannot carry out the removal within a reasonable timeframe or when they find that administrative detention extends beyond the limits established by case law.
For DHS, these rulings reduce the operational capacity of immigration agents and increase the risk that convicted criminals will remain on U.S. soil while deportation proceedings continue.
The agency maintains that keeping foreign criminals in custody is a key tool for ensuring their effective removal and preventing them from reintegrating into communities before immigration proceedings are concluded.
Politics
Court limits ICE's prolonged detentions of immigrants, requires bail to be offered after 90 days
Carlos Dominguez
The deportation process continues
Although Guerra Morales was released on supervised release, his immigration case remains open.
Court documents confirm that ICE continues to process his removal. Initially, authorities were considering deporting him to Mexico, although there is also the possibility that he may ultimately be sent to Cuba, depending on diplomatic agreements and the receiving country's acceptance.
In the meantime, the Cuban citizen will remain on supervised release, subject to monitoring by immigration authorities until his status is definitively resolved.
The case once again brings to the forefront of the debate the growing confrontation between the Trump administration and sectors of the judiciary over the scope of the executive branch's powers to detain and deport immigrants with criminal records—a dispute that continues to dominate much of the country's immigration agenda.
LATEST
