Judge Tunheim Finds ICE Kept Released Petitioners' Property 'Without Any Lawful Basis,' Orders Fee-Free EAD Replacement and 30-Day Payment of Claims

confirmed Importance 7/10 ~1 min read 1 source

Date is the order’s signing date (2026-03-06, hearing held 2026-03-05 per the docket text).

In a consolidated memorandum opinion covering J.B.C.O. v. Bondi (0:26-cv-00424) and at least four other habeas petitions (26-639, 26-778, 26-832, 26-1429), U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim found ICE kept released petitioners’ property “without any lawful basis.” He held that contempt against respondents or their counsel was “not the appropriate action yet,” but ordered the government to compensate petitioners’ FTCA claims within 30 days, to facilitate fee-free replacement of petitioners’ EADs within 5 business days of a request, and set an April 6, 2026 hearing at which U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, an acting civil-division chief and an ICE representative were directed to appear, with civil contempt and daily fines if claims remained unsatisfied. The outcome of the April 6 hearing was not read.

The order is the Minnesota decision cited at para. 149 of Gonzalez v. DHS (2026-10-13–gonzalez-v-dhs-class-action-ice-keeps-ids-eads-property-after-release). Context: 2026-03-03–judge-bryan-contempt-hearing-ice-property-us-attorney-rosen, 2026-03-05–second-minnesota-judge-threatens-contempt-ice-property.

Sources & Citations

[1] J.B.C.O. v. Bondi, 0:26-cv-00424 (D. Minn.), Doc. 32 Memorandum Opinion and Order, 2026-03-06 Tier 1

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Cite this entry

The Cascade Ledger. “Judge Tunheim Finds ICE Kept Released Petitioners' Property 'Without Any Lawful Basis,' Orders Fee-Free EAD Replacement and 30-Day Payment of Claims.” The Capture Cascade Timeline, March 6, 2026. https://capturecascade.org/event/2026-03-06--tunheim-orders-ice-replace-eads-free-and-pay-ftca-claims-jbco-v-bondi/