Hunter
01/28/26
A federal judge Monday criticized the actions of ICE agents in Iowa, specifically ruling that they illegally detained an Iowa City man at the Muscatine County Jail then tried to cover their tracks through misleading legal filings.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the case involves 28-year-old Jorge Gonzalez Ochoa, who came to the United States from Colombia in 2024, seeking asylum and alleging he was fleeing persecution.
In October, while still seeking permission to remain in the United States legally, Gonzalez Ochoa was charged by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with unlawful use of a Social Security number and immigration documents. Prosecutors allege he worked under a false name, using a fraudulent Social Security card and permanent resident card to obtain a job at The Bread Garden Market.
A subsequent hearing for pretrial release put an ICE agent on the stand, but he was unable to answer many questions about the case. A federal judge ordered Gonzalez Ochoa’s release on December 23rd while the case proceeded to trial. That day, ICE officials sent the jail an arrest warrant and an order to detain, which Gonzalez Ochoa’s attorney said by law should have been accompanied by a notice to appear. No notice was provided, but ICE did eventually send the notice to Gonzales Ochoa by mail.
US District Judge Stephen Locher issued a ruling critical of ICE’s actions in the case, saying that they knew they didn’t have the notice to appear but still issued the arrest warrant and order to detain, in an attempt to cover its tracks. Locher concluded that ICE violated federal law and the court’s order to release Gonzales Ochoa.
His trial is scheduled for March 2nd.