A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered the Trump administration to release a Colombian man who was trying to self-deport but was unable to do so because immigration agents kept him detained.

The six-page opinion and order comes amid a long line of court cases challenging efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to institute a mandatory detention regime in the country.

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In its analysis, the court noted that the petitioner had already filed two prior habeas petitions — in March 2026 and then again in May. The court ultimately granted the requested relief on the third attempt.

Roughly one week after the second habeas petition was filed, an immigration judge ruled that Torres Gomez “be allowed to voluntarily depart from the United States,” the court notes. In line with this decision, the petitioner was told to depart by June 11, 2026.

But that would-be self-deportation did not happen.

And it was entirely the Trump administration’s fault, according to the judge.

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“ICE did not permit [Torres Gomez] to depart on or before June 11,” Farbiarz explains. “Instead, the Petitioner was kept in custody, and the voluntary departure deadline came and went.”

On his third habeas go-round, the Colombian man argued “among other things,” that his detention violates the due process clause of the U.S. Constitution, the opinion and order notes.

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The greater part of the court’s ire, however, is directed at the government’s argument that Torres Gomez was kept behind bars for his own good, specifically so he could “pursue an appeal from the immigration judge’s order to depart.”

“This is at odds with common sense,” the court says. “It is described by the United States Attorney’s Office in only the most generic way. It runs against the extensive (though general) evidence that the Petitioner was actively seeking to timely depart from the United States. And it runs against the more specific information put forward by the Petitioner — about his statement on a particular date (June 5) to a particular, named ICE official that he did not want to appeal.”

The judge then summed up the case.

“The Petitioner had been ordered to leave and was ready to leave,” the order goes on. “But in the absence of a structured process, what happened here was not surprising…the Petitioner was kept in custody after June 11. Due process requires more, and plainly so.”

In the end, Farbiarz ordered the government to release Torres Gomez and barred the government from detaining him.

“The Court assumes that, upon release, the Petitioner will take prompt action to voluntarily remove himself from the United States,” the order reads.