The habeas defiance

Illegal aliens are seeing ever greater success in their habeas petitions filed in Minnesota federal cout.

Joe Biden-appointed Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan leads Minnesota-based federal district judges in defying an 8th Circuit court of appeals’ ruling on the detention of illegal aliens awaiting deportation.

Aliens have been filing habeas corpus cases in record numbers, seeking release from ICE detention at facilities around the state as part of a nation-wide trend. We are approaching 1,400 habeas cases filed, just in Minnesota, since the first of the year.

In late March, the 8th Circuit (which covers Minnesota) ruled in a case that the applicable federal law, “shall be detained,” means what it says. I’ve been tracking some 235 habeas cases filed in Minnesota since that ruling was published.

In the two weeks since I last looked at these now 232 most recent petitions, more cases have been decided. In the past two weeks, two (2) more petitions have been denied, bringing the post-March 25th total to 25. Fourteen (14) more aliens have been released outright, bringing the number released to 61.

A couple of dozen aliens have been granted bond hearings in immigration court, which may or may not go in favor of the alien. A few dozen more cases have been dismissed. Of the dismissals, it’s not clear which side prevails more often: in one case the petition was dismissed because the alien had already been released. In another case, the petition was dismissed because the alien had agreed to voluntary deportation.

More than 90 cases are still pending, which sounds bad for the alien as they remain in custody, but it also means that ICE cannot deport them in the meanwhile

Four cases have been pending for more than 90 days, with another 16 cases undecided after 60 days.

As for Judge Bryan, he has been assigned 22 cases since March 25, releasing 16 aliens and denying zero (0) petitions. Bryan has been assigned just under 10 percent of the most-recently-filed habeas petitions, and he alone has produced more than 26 percent of the outright releases. To have your habeas case assigned to Judge Bryan is to win the judicial lottery.

Other district judges fall along a spectrum, with some showing a higher share of releases, and others with a higher share of denials. However, Bryan stands out with his conference-leading 16-0 record.

We have our first three-peat customer of 2026, Oluwadamilola Ogooluwa Bamigboye of Nigeria. He is facing federal felony criminal charges in a “kidnapping” case involving an ICE agent late last year (File No. 25-cr-477).

He has filed two habeas cases so far in 2026: File Nos. 26-cv-2102 and -3321. His first habeas petition was denied by Judge Laura Provinzino, who is overseeing the criminal case. Bamigboye is appealing that habeas denial to the 8th Circuit.

This go around, his new habeas case was assigned to a different judge, so perhaps he’s caught a break.

Third time’s the charm?

[Note: an earlier version of this post appeared at Power Line.]