DHS blasts judge for ordering release of Cuban hijacker despite deportation order

A federal judge in Florida ordered the release of a Cuban national convicted of hijacking an aircraft after he completed a lengthy federal prison sentence, prompting sharp criticism from the Department of Homeland Security, which said the ruling forced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release a dangerous criminal back into an American community.

In its statement, DHS accused the court of undermining the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. "This activist judge forced ICE to release a criminal illegal alien who was convicted and sentenced to 22 years for hijacking a plane back into American communities," said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis.

Bis continued, "This is yet another example of an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump's mandate from the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens from our country. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to fight for the detention and removal of criminal illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country."

Clinton-appointed US District Judge John E. Steele of the Middle District of Florida ordered on July 8 that Maikel Guerra Morales be released from ICE custody. The agency said it complied with the court's order and released Morales into Florida while continuing efforts to remove him from the United States.

Morales was one of the Cuban nationals who hijacked a commuter aircraft departing Nueva Gerona, Cuba, on March 19, 2003, according to court records and media reports. Prosecutors said he assaulted members of the flight crew and forced the pilot to divert the aircraft to Key West, Florida, where he was arrested by the US Marshals Service. He was later convicted of aircraft piracy and conspiracy to interfere with a flight crew, receiving a 22-year federal prison sentence.

After completing his prison term, ICE took Morales into immigration custody in December 2025 to carry out a final order of removal that had been issued by a Department of Justice immigration judge on March 1, 2023, according to DHS.

Judge Steele's order granted Morales' petition for habeas corpus, concluding that ICE could not continue to hold him under the circumstances presented and directing the agency to release him within 24 hours. The order also required officials to allow Morales to contact his attorney and family so they could arrange transportation from the detention facility.

According to court filings, ICE had planned to remove Morales from the United States, with reports indicating Mexico was one potential destination if Cuba would not accept him. However, the court determined that continued detention was not justified, resulting in his supervised release while removal proceedings continue.