ICE Releases ACLU Client, Other Immigrants Remain Detained Despite Being Granted Release on Bond

LINCOLN, Neb. — An Omaha man is back home with his loved ones after enduring weeks in the custody of federal immigration authorities. Although the man posted bond on July 10, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) refused to approve his release until recently.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska had been seeking the man’s release in partnership with the man’s immigration attorney, Paul Forney.

ICE agents detained the man in June’s Omaha Glenn Valley Foods raid. He spent two days in the Department of Homeland Security office in Omaha before he was transferred to the Lincoln County Detention Center in North Platte. On July 9, an Omaha immigration court judge set a bond of $10,000 at his first hearing. The man posted bond on July 10 with assistance of the Prairielands Freedom Fund. His family drove to North Platte expecting to take him home but learned the jail would not release him based on objections from immigration authorities who claimed they had filed a notice of intent to appeal. There was no record of that notice, which Forney repeatedly raised with ICE and the Lincoln County Detention Center.

Officials seemingly denied the man freedom based on ICE’s new interim guidance that asserts most immigrants are ineligible for release on bond. The directive calls for nearly all immigrants to be detained for the entirety of their immigration proceedings, which can take years. As an example, the man’s next hearing is scheduled for April 2026.

Forney sought help from the ACLU of Nebraska as he worked to secure the man’s freedom. On Sunday, July 20, an ICE attorney acknowledged an “oversight,” and indicated the man would be released the following day. The man left custody on Monday, July 21, and he and his family were welcomed and supported by North Platte nonprofit HOPE-Esperanza before returning home to Omaha late that evening. He is now back with his partner and young children, able to work through his immigration proceedings and pursue an asylum claim while in the community.

Dozens of people who have been detained by ICE in Nebraska remain in custody even after having bond set by an immigration court judge, a determination that must consider whether someone is a danger or flight risk. And tens of thousands of dollars paid by families and the Prairielands Freedom Fund remain with the government. The ACLU of Nebraska believes this continued detention raises significant due process concerns.

Paul Forney, an Omaha-area immigration attorney, said:

“This administration’s immigration policies are harsh. It's apparent ICE has one goal: remove immigrants as swiftly as possible. In this case, ICE has demonstrated a blatant disregard for the rules, regulations and my client’s civil liberties”

Mindy Rush Chipman, executive director at the ACLU of Nebraska, said:

“ICE’s cruel new directive is already hurting Nebraska families who should be together instead of wondering when and if a parent is coming home. We are incredibly relieved one more family is reunited, but we know this is just the first step of a longer journey. Whatever our immigration status, all of us have certain rights. The federal government cannot legally disregard due process or hold people in custody just because of a new baseless determination that millions of community members are suddenly ineligible for release on bond. This is unacceptable, and it cannot become our country’s new normal.”

ICE’s June raid in Omaha marked Nebraska's largest known immigration enforcement action since 2018. Reporting confirmed that most of the people ICE detained in the Omaha raid had no records of any criminal charges.