A significant federal civil rights lawsuit has been initiated by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska, challenging the prolonged detention of an immigrant worker arrested during a major Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Omaha. This legal action highlights a contentious aspect of current immigration policy, where individuals remain incarcerated despite judicial orders for their release on bond, raising critical questions about due process and human rights within the immigration system.

At the heart of this legal battle is Maria Reynosa Jacinto, a single mother who was apprehended on June 10 during a worksite enforcement operation at Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha. Despite an Omaha-based immigration judge ruling on July 15 that she could be released on a $9,000 bond, Ms. Reynosa Jacinto remains held in a North Platte jail, her freedom seemingly stalled by an administrative process that defies a judicial decision.

ICE officials have not commented directly on the lawsuit but have consistently maintained that the focus of such raids should be on U.S. citizens who are allegedly victims of identity theft by undocumented immigrants working at plants like Glenn Valley. This stance underscores a divergence in priorities, with civil liberties advocates focusing on the rights of detainees, while immigration enforcement emphasizes national security and legal compliance.

The ACLU attributes this concerning delay in release to new “interim guidance” issued by the Trump administration on July 8. This directive controversially asserts that nearly all detained immigrants in removal proceedings are ineligible for release on bond, effectively imposing an automatic stay on bond orders. Critics argue this guidance bypasses judicial discretion and creates an environment of indefinite detention.

This no-bond practice is not an isolated incident but is central to a broader class-action lawsuit filed by the ACLU’s national organization alongside other immigrant rights advocates. These groups contend that the policy is a calculated tactic designed to prolong detention to the point where unauthorized immigrants, facing indefinite incarceration, choose self-deportation rather than continue their legal fight for residence in the United States, raising serious human rights concerns.

The legal community points to a previous, similar attempt by ICE to keep another Glenn Valley worker detained even after a judge granted him a $10,000 bond. In that instance, the individual was eventually released following ACLU intervention, an outcome reportedly achieved because an ICE official admitted to an “oversight” in failing to file the automatic stay paperwork. This prior case sets a precedent for the critical role of the ACLU in challenging procedural lapses.

Reynosa Jacinto’s lawsuit specifically seeks a court order for her immediate release on bond or demands that immigration authorities provide a lawful justification for her continued detention. This action underscores the persistent efforts to ensure accountability and adherence to legal principles within the complex immigration enforcement framework.

Beyond Ms. Reynosa Jacinto’s case, approximately 23 other individuals detained during the June 10 Glenn Valley raid remain in custody at the North Platte jail, out of over 70 workers apprehended in total. Mindy Rush Chipman, ACLU executive director, highlighted that this no-bond situation is broadly impacting ICE detainees not just in Nebraska, but across the nation, signaling a systemic issue that the ACLU is committed to fighting through further litigation. This widespread impact underscores the urgency of legal challenges against such detention policies.

In a poignant statement provided by the ACLU, Maria Reynosa Jacinto’s daughter shared that the period since her mother’s June 10 arrest marks the longest time they have ever been separated, vividly illustrating the profound human cost and family separation inherent in these aggressive immigration enforcement actions. The emotional toll on families caught in the crosshairs of immigration legal challenges is immense, emphasizing the human element behind the statistics.