ORLANDO, Fla. – In two separate habeas corpus hearings Tuesday, federal judges ordered the release of two immigrant detainees from the Orange County Jail, ruling that those detainees had been unlawfully held.
One judge compared the actions of the U.S. attorney’s office to those of a “third-world entity.”
News 6’s Mike Valente was the only one in the federal courtroom for two habeas corpus hearings Tuesday.
In a habeas corpus case, the government must show that it has the legal right to detain someone. It’s a concept that is enshrined in Article I of the U.S. Constitution.
Attorney Phillip Arroyo brought the two cases before the federal court on Tuesday on behalf of people being detained by the federal government on accusations that they are in the country illegally.
“Today the constitution prevailed,” said Phillip Arroyo, who represents both of the men released Tuesday.
Judge criticizes ICE re-booking practice
In the first case Tuesday, Judge Paul Byron ruled Yoey Lleo Rodriguez should be immediately released and should not be detained on an immigration hold for at least 10 days.
If law enforcement were to detain him after that period, Judge Byron said, Rodriguez must have a bond hearing within 72 hours of that detainment.
Byron also admonished Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Ragler, who represented the respondents named in the petition: Orange County Corrections Chief Louis Quinones, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE).
“You’re the lawyer for the government,” Judge Byron said at one point, addressing Ragler. “You should know what the law is.”
Byron was inquiring about the legality of the process in which ICE agents assume custody of a detainee who is on an immigration hold and then re-book them into the Orange County Jail.
“We don’t just round people up and detain them in perpetuity,” Byron said.
[WATCH: Immigrant advocates rally at Orange County Jail as ICE holds surge]
Orange County spokespeople have acknowledged the veracity of the re-booking practice.
Arroyo told News 6 that his clients in court on Tuesday are two of many who have been booked and re-booked into the jail.
According to an agreement Orange County has with the federal government, an inmate who has an immigration hold but no local criminal charges can be held in jail for up to 48 hours.
Byron’s frustration appeared to grow over Ragler’s inability to tell the court who was responsible for the re-booking practice that has come under scrutiny.
Byron at one point compared the actions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to those of a “third-world entity.”
Byron told Ragler that he wanted the U.S. Attorney’s Office to produce within 72 hours the name of the person responsible for the re-booking practice.
Byron suggested that he would hold that individual in criminal contempt of court due to Byron’s previous temporary restraining order that prevented Rodriguez from being moved from the Orange County Jail.
News 6 reached out to Orange County spokespeople to ask if they knew who was responsible for that practice. A spokesperson responded, “The jail operates in accordance with the terms of its agreement with ICE.”
That same spokesperson told News 6 that as of Tuesday morning, 134 inmates had an ICE hold and no local charges. 191 inmates with an ICE hold did have local charges.
U.S. attorney: ‘I want to do the right thing’
Arroyo said that Johnny Rodriguez, who has a brain tumor, has been re-booked several times since his initial detainment nearly a month ago.
“What we are seeing is massive detentions and arrests, which are illegal, unconstitutional, and quite frankly immoral,” Arroyo said.
Just minutes after the first habeas corpus hearing ended Tuesday, Arroyo took the elevator to the sixth floor, where Johnny Rodriguez was seated waiting, handcuffed and shackled.
In that case, Judge John Antoon ordered Rodriguez’s immediate release and ordered that he not be detained again until at least Feb. 14.
[WATCH: Orange County details costs for housing ICE inmates amid illegal immigration crackdown]
If Rodriguez is detained after that date, Antoon said, he must be granted a bond hearing before an immigration judge.
Antoon also ruled that ICE “shall immediately deliver to Petitioner all of Petitioner’s property in its possession upon Petitioner’s request.”
During the hearing, Arroyo claimed that ICE agents have re-detained people who arrive to collect their belongings from the agency’s facility on Delegates Drive.
“ICE is PROHIBITED from re-detaining Petitioner if he personally appears at the Delegates Drive facility to retrieve his personal property within ten days from the date of this Order,” Antoon wrote in his written order Tuesday afternoon.
Unlike Byron’s approach with Ragler, Judge Antoon did not admonish Assistant U.S. Attorney Yohance Pettis, saying at one point that Pettis “took the wind out of my sails” by how Pettis opened the hearing.
At the outset of the hearing, Pettis approached the lectern and told Antoon that he filed a motion to withdraw a response, claiming that the respondents’ response to the petition for a writ of habeas corpus was inaccurate.
“I stand before this court to do what is right by Mr. Rodriguez,” Pettis said. “I want to do the right thing.”
Pettis made no argument objecting to Johnny Rodriguez’s release.
“I think it’s very courageous of him,” Arroyo said after the hearing, describing Pettis’ concession. “I think this may cause many U.S. Attorneys within the U.S. Attorney’s Office to take a stand regardless of potential repercussions. And that’s the essence of being an attorney.”
News 6 emailed Pettis after the hearing to ask about what unfolded inside Antoon’s courtroom. A public affairs specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida responded, writing that they did not wish to make any comment.
Habeas corpus cases skyrocketing
The number of habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of immigrant detainees has skyrocketed since the Trump administration took over.
According to federal court records, there were 423 habeas corpus petitions filed for “alien detainees” nationwide in 2024.
In 2025, thousands were filed. In fact, the court records system only allowed us to see the first 5,400 cases.
In the Middle District of Florida, the federal court district that handles the Orlando area, three habeas corpus petitions were filed in 2024.
In 2026 alone, 224 habeas corpus petitions have been filed in the same district so far.