Federal immigration officials pulled back a detainer on a Minnesota man convicted of sexually assaulting a child after learning he had cancer, shifting him to phone check-ins instead of taking him into ICE custody just days before his state release. The man, identified in reporting as Celso Manuel Cortez, pleaded guilty in 2022 to first-degree criminal sexual conduct, received a sentence of about 90 months and is now on supervised release in Dakota County. The move adds a big asterisk to the federal storyline that recent enforcement in the Twin Cities is squarely aimed at the “worst of the worst.”
According to the Star Tribune, ICE told state corrections officials on June 2 that it was withdrawing the detainer because Cortez has cancer and that he was being placed in an "alternatives to detention" program that relies on periodic check-ins through a smartphone app. The outlet reports the agency noted Cortez was issued a final order of removal on April 8, 2024, and said ICE will continue monitoring him and pursue removal when it is feasible to do so.
ICE’s Public Message vs. the Cortez Case
ICE has repeatedly described its Minnesota operation as a tightly targeted effort to remove violent offenders. In a June 22 news release, the agency stressed that "ICE protects the American public by removing as many dangerous and violent criminals as we possibly can, using every resource at our disposal," according to the agency’s publicly distributed statement. The handling of Cortez, a convicted sex offender with a final order of removal who is not in custody, sits awkwardly alongside that message.
Detainers, Discretion and the Numbers
Data tracking further complicates the tidy narrative. Analysis from the Deportation Data Project shows thousands of detainer requests in recent months and a strikingly low number of detainer withdrawals labeled as "prosecutorial discretion." Critics say that pattern suggests discretion is being used unevenly and raises uncomfortable questions about how ICE is actually prioritizing whom it holds and whom it releases.
State Officials Push Back
The Minnesota Department of Corrections has also challenged federal claims about local enforcement. The agency has released a fact sheet and documentation that it says show the Department of Homeland Security counting routine transfers from state prisons to federal custody as if they were new arrests in the community. The DOC says its review identified dozens of such transfers and that it has repeatedly asked DHS to correct the public record.
Legal and Local Implications
The Cortez case highlights a tangle of legal and practical issues. He has a final order of removal yet is being monitored remotely while receiving, or waiting for, medical care, and local officials and health providers are left sorting out who pays for treatment when someone is on supervised release instead of in federal detention. The Star Tribune also noted that the situation is unfolding as detention conditions face heightened scrutiny following a series of in-custody deaths that have triggered federal attention.
What to Watch Next
Advocates and local leaders say the Cortez example will be closely watched as legal battles over Operation Metro Surge, transparency and detention oversight continue. Local reporting and independent trackers indicate the surge has already generated lawsuits, policy pushback and simmering questions about whether public claims about who was arrested line up with operational records. Those themes are likely to resurface as oversight efforts and court challenges move forward. For ongoing coverage and data on enforcement activity in the state, see the MPR News Minnesota enforcement tracker.
