In a significant ruling, federal judges in California have directed immigration authorities to immediately release two Indian nationals held in detention. The court’s decision underscores concerns over due process violations in the detention of asylum seekers without proper hearings.
This latest order comes amid heightened scrutiny of U.S. immigration enforcement under stringent policies. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have intensified checks on migrants residing in the country, leading to several high-profile legal challenges.
Just weeks earlier, the same court had mandated the release of three other Indian nationals in a related case. Eastern California’s U.S. District Court found that ICE failed to provide notice, hearings, or legal justification before detaining these individuals.
Chief U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley ordered the immediate release of Kirandeep, an Indian citizen who arrived in the U.S. in December 2021 and sought asylum. Court records show she had been living in California for over four years, regularly complying with ICE check-ins and cooperating with immigration services while residing with her partner.
Despite this clean record, Kirandeep was detained during a routine ICE check-in in September 2025 after missing one prior appointment due to a valid reason, which ICE had accepted at the time. Judge Nunley ruled that prolonged detention without a hearing infringes on constitutional protections, barring authorities from re-detaining her without notice.
In a separate but parallel decision, Judge Nunley also freed Rohit, another Indian asylum seeker whose claim remains pending. Rohit entered the U.S. without inspection in November 2021, citing fears of political persecution in India. Detained in June 2025, he endured over seven months in custody without a bond hearing.
The court highlighted Rohit’s community ties and the government’s failure to justify extended detention or schedule a hearing. Such actions, the judge noted, pose a grave risk of unjustly depriving individuals of their liberty. Both rulings affirm that release from custody grants migrants a protected right to freedom unless proper procedures are followed.
These decisions signal growing judicial pushback against opaque immigration detentions, potentially setting precedents for thousands of similar cases amid ongoing policy debates.