A federal judge in Nashville ordered the release of two men held in ICE custody after ruling that federal officials had unlawfully denied them individualized bond hearings, and the agency has now responded by urging immigrants without legal status to self-deport using a government app. The two cases, decided days apart, found that the men had been denied due process, a right guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment, after they filed writs of habeas corpus challenging their detention.
According to WKRN News 2, U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger granted an emergency release for one of the men following a hearing on Oct. 9 regarding his habeas corpus petition. Court filings cited in the station's reporting show the man had been held unlawfully for about 22 days because federal officials never gave him an individualized bond hearing.
A Second Detainee Held for 17 Days
In a separate case, Trauger ordered the release of an Egyptian asylum-seeker described as a Christian refugee, finding the government had unlawfully jailed him without the bond hearing the law required. The station's report states the man was taken into custody on Sept. 18 and held unlawfully for about 17 days before the judge acted on Oct. 5.
The judge found that the government should have formally terminated the man's previous parole before re-detaining him and, separately, that officials failed to provide him with a bond hearing at all. ICE was ordered to release him from custody no later than 1 p.m. Central time on Oct. 6, per the same account, and the agency could not re-detain or transfer him out of state without first giving him an individualized bond hearing.
ICE Says It Complied, Pushes Self-Deport Option
ICE has said it complied with both court orders. An ICE spokesperson said all immigrants in the country illegally receive due process, but added that a pending application or work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States. The agency considers both men to be in the country illegally, even as the judge's rulings found they were denied the process they were due.
The spokesperson said the administration will not ignore the rule of law, and encouraged people living in the country without legal status to manage their departure through the CBP Home app. ICE is offering $3,000 and a free flight to those who self-deport, according to the agency, framing it as a way for people to leave while retaining a chance to return to the country legally. The spokesperson also warned that those who do not take the self-deport offer risk arrest and deportation without a future chance to return.
Bond Hearings Have Become a Flashpoint Nationally
The Nashville rulings arrive amid a broader fight over whether detained immigrants are entitled to argue for release before a judge. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Tennessee, has held that long-term noncitizens in the relevant removal proceedings must have a forum to argue for bond. In a related case, a Sixth Circuit panel ruled that long-term noncitizens detained during deportation proceedings must receive a chance to argue for their release, according to Bloomberg Law, a decision that involved 11 immigrants who had been detained and were later released after prevailing in federal court.
That tension traces back to ICE guidance issued in July 2025 stating that so-called applicants for admission are generally ineligible for a bond hearing before an immigration judge, according to the Immigration Policy Tracking Project. The policy has drawn legal challenges elsewhere, including a California TRO in July 2025.
What the Sixth Circuit Has Said About Prolonged Detention
A Sixth Circuit opinion addressing the issue states that when immigration detention becomes needlessly prolonged and no longer appears to serve the regulatory goals of civil detention, the Due Process Clause requires an individualized bond hearing to justify continued custody. That reasoning closely mirrors what happened in the two Nashville cases, where judges found the men had been held for weeks without the hearings the law demands.
Both Nashville men were ultimately ordered released immediately once the court determined due process had been denied. Beyond the agency's statement defending its compliance with the orders, it remains unclear how, if at all, the self-deport push connects to the broader pattern of bond-hearing litigation playing out in federal courts nationwide.
