U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has released a Michigan resident from its custody after a federal judge ordered the agency to either release him or schedule a bond hearing in which he could argue for his release while his case proceeds.
Jose Contreras-Cervantes is a longtime resident of Michigan. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said he and 10 other immigrant detainees were released or given bond hearings as a result an ACLU lawsuit.
Miriam Aukerman, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, said that's part of a pattern of legal wins over a Trump administration policy that limits access to bond hearings. "Court after court is saying that what the Trump administration is doing is illegal. Yet, ICE hasn’t stopped," she said in a statement. "Well, if ICE isn’t stopping, we’re not stopping either."
Aukerman said Contreras-Cervantes came to the United States when he was 14, and has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, though he does not have legal status. He and his wife, Lupita, have three children together.
Aukerman said that the family has already experienced heartbreak. In 2024, Contreras-Cervantes was diagnosed with a rare form of life-threatening leukemia. And on August 5, 2025, he was pulled over by a Macomb County sheriff deputy for a traffic stop.
While the rest of his family are U.S. citizens, Contreras-Cervantes is not. The traffic stop led to contact with immigration enforcement, and Contreras-Cervantes was taken into custody by ICE. Aukerman said he has no criminal record besides minor traffic offenses.
“What we’re talking about here is ripping families apart for absolutely no reason,” Aukerman said. She argued for Contreras-Cervantes to be released while his immigration case plays out.
While being detained, Aukerman said Contreras-Cervantes had only sporadic access to treatment for his leukemia. She added that he spent a period of several weeks without any medication for his cancer at all.
“This is unfortunately all too common when people are put into immigration custody,” Aukerman said. “Facilities are not necessarily equipped to treat them.”
During his detention, Contreras-Cervantes did not receive a bond hearing. Aukerman said it’s because of a new ICE policy, which allows the denial of bond hearings for any individuals accused of entering the country illegally, including those without criminal records.
Aukerman said the policy is without precedent. Immigrants without documents have been given bond hearings for decades, she said. It allows them to return to their families while fighting their immigration case.
Aukerman said in one of her previous cases, the court ruled the new policy is illegal. “That’s in line with court rulings across the country,” she said. “But none of this has stopped ICE.”
Aukerman alleged that ICE’s position is to lock up immigrants without due process. “Cruelty is the point of this policy,” Aukerman said. She added that it’s important for people to understand their rights so they can stand up for themselves.
On its website, ICE said its mission is to preserve America’s national security and public safety through the enforcement of immigration laws and through criminal investigations. In announcing its policy restricting bond hearings in July, a Homeland Security Department spokesperson said officers were beginning to enforce the “law as it was actually written to keep America safe.”
In Contreras-Cervantes' case, Ackerman said the result — ICE's release of her client and his reunification with his family — was a “victory."
“It was just the most heartwarming moment to see. The joy that this family is experiencing to be back together again,” she said.
Aukerman said she received a text from Contreras-Cervantes' wife, Lupita, the morning after she was reunited with her husband. Lupita described their 16-month-old daughter’s reaction, Aukerman said: “She slept with her little arms around his neck. He woke up sore, but said it was the best sleep ever.”
Aukerman said it’s unknown how much more time the Contreras-Cervantes family has together, as Jose’s immigration case is still ongoing. But federal immigration authorities "really underestimated how hard a dad with cancer is going to fight to come home to his kids,” Aukerman said.
