A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of a 24-year-old Mexican woman, identified in court documents as O-J-M, who was arrested by immigration officials outside a courtroom in Portland after a judge and attorney assured her that the government would not seek her deportation.
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio issued the ruling on Monday, determining that the arrest of O-J-M following her asylum hearing on June 2 was unlawful. O-J-M had been waiting to learn whether she could remain in the United States amid claims of persecution in Mexico due to her gender identity and sexuality.
O-J-M, a transgender woman, was apprehended by four masked agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Edith Green–Wendell Wyatt Federal Building after her hearing. The agents did not present any charges at the time of the arrest and ignored efforts by O-J-M’s attorney to engage with them.
Since her arrest, O-J-M has spent over 40 days in solitary confinement at a detention center in Washington. Judge Baggio found that it appeared the Department of Homeland Security had manipulated the circumstances of O-J-M’s court hearing to expedite her deportation right after the judge and attorney made promises of protection against it.
“The government here failed to follow its own rules,” Judge Baggio stated. “They arrested first and sought to justify later. There is a right way to do this and a wrong way to do this, and the government unquestionably went about the arrest and detention of O-J-M on June 2, 2025, in the wrong way.”
Following her arrest, O-J-M was taken to the men’s facility at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. For her safety, she requested to be placed in solitary confinement.
O-J-M’s attorney, Jordan Cunnings from the Innovation Law Lab, a nonprofit law firm providing free legal representation to asylum seekers, expressed gratitude for the judge’s decision, emphasizing the harsh realities O-J-M faced during her time in isolation. Cunnings highlighted the brutality of the situation, given that O-J-M had previously suffered horrific sexual violence in Mexico, which led her to seek asylum in the U.S.
During the June 2 hearing, O-J-M represented herself without a lawyer and was told by an immigration judge that the Department of Homeland Security would not pursue her deportation if she agreed to dismiss her asylum case. This tactic has been employed by the U.S. Justice Department under President Donald Trump to coerce asylum seekers to abandon their claims.
“They won’t be seeking to deport you if you agree to this dismissal,” the judge informed O-J-M, while confirming the information with the government attorney.
After agreeing to the dismissal, O-J-M was subsequently arrested by ICE agents immediately outside the courtroom, creating a distressing situation for her. Ariana Garousi, representing the U.S. Department of Justice, suggested that the government attorney was aware that ICE agents were prepared to arrest O-J-M despite assurances made just moments before.
Judge Baggio noted that the immigration judge’s statement assuring O-J-M she would not be deported has remained a prominent memory for her.
Shortly after her arrest, attorneys from the Innovation Law Lab filed a petition on O-J-M’s behalf, arguing that her arrest violated her constitutional rights to due process.
While in detention, O-J-M was also pressured to sign documents in English without access to her legal representation, which her attorneys claimed was done in spite of her illiteracy and limited English proficiency. Judge Baggio stated these actions “smack of more unfairness,” raising significant concerns regarding due process in O-J-M’s case.
O-J-M is one of five asylum seekers who have been detained by ICE agents outside Portland’s federal immigration court since early June. She is the last remaining detainee from this group, all of whom are represented by the Innovation Law Lab.
The ordered release comes as part of widespread scrutiny over the treatment of asylum seekers and the practices surrounding their legal proceedings. O-J-M’s case has garnered attention for highlighting alleged misconduct by government officials in handling immigration matters.
As the U.S. grapples with complex immigration issues, the case of O-J-M serves as a reminder of the vulnerabilities faced by asylum seekers and the critical need for legal protections and adherence to due process.
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image source from：salemreporter
