Judge Bryan Rules a Step Outside Whipple Followed by Immediate Re-Arrest Is Not "Release," Orders Pablo F. Freed Unconditionally

In Pablo F. v. Blanche, No. 26-cv-3889 (D. Minn.), Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan granted the unopposed habeas petition on September 9, 2026. The same day, according to the court’s recital of the record, ICE let the petitioner out of the Whipple building and four officers handcuffed him as soon as he stepped outside, then returned him to a holding cell. He alleges officers dislocated his shoulder; respondents did not address that, and the court did not decide it.

On September 24 the court granted the petitioner’s motion to enforce. It found that respondents cited no legal authority for treating that step outside as “release,” and ordered release without conditions by 4:00 p.m. on September 25, with a letter and a sworn declaration due September 27 stating when and where he was released. The court limited its holding: it did not conclude that a release order bars all later arrests, only that on this record, where respondents argued nothing about what release means, he was not released. A declaration from an ICE deportation officer with release documents was filed September 26 (Doc. 29); it is not in RECAP, so the actual release is not confirmed from the docket.

This is the primary-document anchor for the September 9 case in the October 2 MPR/Sahan Journal reporting on instant re-arrests at Whipple.