Judge Davis calls the government's insistence on detaining Lizardo after admitting USCIS's mistake 'galling'
Michael J. DavisSenior U.S. District Judge for the District of Minnesota, in his order granting the habeas petition
Granting Lizardo's habeas petition, Davis writes that the government admitted USCIS made a big mistake but offered no relief, and that no facts or legal argument support its position that Lizardo must stay detained.
Responding to
William Lizardo's arrest and detention by ICE violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
“The hubris of admitting that USCIS made a big mistake, but not even offering any sort of relief is galling, although not surprising. There is no combination of facts or legal argument that can support this position.”
Original text
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Judge orders ICE to release a Minnesota dentist arrested at his green card interview; DHS says he overstayed
On November 1, 2026, U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis granted William Lizardo's petition for a writ of habeas corpus and ordered ICE to release him. Lizardo, a 32-year-old dentist from Mississauga, Ontario, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested by two ICE agents on October 23 at the end of an immigration interview in St. Paul, Minnesota, on a removal order entered after he missed a hearing. Davis found that USCIS's own files showed Lizardo no longer lived at the address where the hearing notice and removal order were sent, that his arrest and detention violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and that no facts or legal argument support keeping him detained after the government admitted the error. A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that a pending application does not confer legal status, that Lizardo chose to overstay, and called Davis a Clinton-appointed activist judge.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
Judge Michael J. Davis grants William Lizardo's habeas petition, finds that his arrest and detention violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, denies the government's motion to dismiss the case as moot, and orders his release on his own recognizance by 6 p.m. on November 1, 2026. The order bars ICE from re-detaining or removing him without first asking the court.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Newsweek reports Judge Davis's November 1 order and Lizardo's release that night. It quotes his attorney, Hassan Ahmad (added November 2), and a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson (added November 5).
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Davis writes that the government now admits the reason Lizardo was arrested and detained no longer applies, but still insists he must be held without the opportunity for release under 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2).
After the quotation
He adds that the facts are so appalling and so well supported that the court could write a long order about the abuses Lizardo suffered, but that the order sticks to the legal necessities so that he does not spend another night in the Sherburne County Jail.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is ICE's arrest and continued detention of William Lizardo. Davis finds the arrest and detention unconstitutional and calls the government's insistence on holding him galling, which condemns it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
More from this case
Read the full caseDHS says Lizardo chose to overstay 'in defiance of our nation's laws'
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
“Between September 2018 and December 2024, Lizardo lawfully entered the country multiple times on a temporary basis. He chose to overstay his welcome in defiance of our nation's laws.”Read statement
Lizardo's attorney says the government kept fighting to detain him after making a 'huge mistake'
“What should shock the conscience of every American is that this was a case where the government knew it made a huge mistake, sending a deportation notice to an address it knew was stale, but even after the case was reopened, they persisted in fighting to keep Dr. Lizardo detained”Read statement
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- Judge Davis calls the government's insistence on detaining Lizardo after admitting USCIS's mistake 'galling'
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The Dispute Index. "Judge Davis calls the government's insistence on detaining Lizardo after admitting USCIS's mistake 'galling'". First published: 2026-11-09. Last updated: 2026-11-09. https://disputeindex.com/events/8453-granting-lizardo-s-habeas-petition-davis-writes-that