A Big Island coffee farm worker who thought he was one step closer to a green card is instead spending months in a Honolulu federal lockup, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaiʻi is now asking a judge to set him free.
The group filed a habeas petition Tuesday seeking the release of Juan Jose Estrada Lopez, who has been in federal custody since August. Attorneys say Estrada Lopez was taken into custody during a green card interview and remains at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu while his immigration case moves forward.
In a press release, the ACLU of Hawaiʻi said it filed the petition Jan. 13 on behalf of Estrada Lopez, who came from Nicaragua in 2022, moved to Hawaiʻi to work on a coffee farm and married a U.S. citizen. The organization says he has no criminal history and that he was detained without charges or bond after showing up for his immigration interview.
“Juan’s unexpected detention at our green card interview has turned our lives completely upside down,” Estrada’s wife, Emily, said in the ACLU of Hawaiʻi statement. ACLU attorney Leilani Stacy added, “The executive branch is locking people up in violation of Congress’s laws and federal court orders,” and said the petition asks a judge to free Estrada Lopez while he pursues lawful status.
How His Case Fits a Bigger Fight
The petition casts Estrada Lopez as part of a broader group affected by a July 2025 Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice directive that bars bond hearings for people who entered the United States without inspection. A federal court in California issued a final judgment in December 2025 clarifying that the government’s “no-bond” policy is unlawful, a decision the ACLU says should clear the way for bond hearings for class members.
What the Petition Asks
The habeas petition asks a U.S. district judge to release Estrada Lopez while his green card case proceeds and to declare his detention unlawful. Hawaii News Now reports the ACLU named federal officials including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi as respondents in the filing.
Court Date and Next Steps
Local filings indicate a status conference tied to the petition is scheduled for March 10 at 9 a.m., according to court notices cited by Big Island Now. The ACLU’s press release did not list a hearing date, and attorneys say they expect litigation to proceed as similar challenges make their way through federal courts.
Where He Is Being Held
Estrada Lopez is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu, the federal facility that houses people awaiting court proceedings. The facility’s address is listed as 351 Elliott St. on ICE and Bureau of Prisons pages. The center handles detainees pending federal proceedings and sets rules for visitation and legal access.
Why It Matters Locally
Immigrant-rights advocates say the case highlights how the new detention policy has chilled trust between residents and the agencies that administer immigration benefits. “If that person does not have a visa, then that will trigger, most probably, an ICE detention,” Neribel Chardon of The Legal Clinic told Hawaii News Now, reflecting wider fear among families navigating green card steps.
What To Watch
The key question for courts is whether judges will follow the December ruling that found the government’s no-bond policy unlawful and order individual bond hearings. National ACLU lawyers say this case could be a test of whether the government will comply with that judgment when faced with individual habeas petitions, according to the ACLU.
