ICE Detainee Was Freed, Re-Arrested, Then Re-Freed

A Liberian man living in Minnesota was released from immigration custody Friday for the second time in less than a week after a routine check-in with authorities briefly landed him back in detention.

Garrison Gibson, 37, was first arrested last weekend when heavily armed immigration agents forced their way into his Minneapolis home using a battering ram. The arrest, which was captured on video, drew widespread attention. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest unlawful and ordered Gibson’s release, citing violations of his Fourth Amendment rights.

However, Gibson was detained again Friday when he appeared for a scheduled visit at an immigration office. His attorney, Marc Prokosch, said Gibson was released a few hours later after officials acknowledged an error. “Someone at ICE told him they messed up,” Prokosch said, according to the Associated Press.

In his ruling, Judge Bryan said immigration agents entered Gibson’s home without consent and without a judicial warrant, making the arrest unconstitutional. He also found that officials failed to follow their own regulations after revoking Gibson’s order of supervision without proper notice or explanation and without offering him a prompt interview following his detention.

Prokosch, who filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of the arrest, called the judge’s decision a “blatant constitutional violation.” He said Gibson’s wife, who was home with their 9-year-old child during the raid, was deeply shaken by the incident.

Gibson fled Liberia as a child during the country’s civil war. Although he had been ordered removed from the United States, he was allowed to remain under an order of supervision that required regular check-ins with immigration authorities. The removal order was reportedly tied to a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed.

After his initial arrest, Gibson was held at an immigration detention center in Albert Lea, Minnesota, following a transfer from a large temporary detention site at Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas.

The Department of Homeland Security has recently increased immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota, describing the operation as its largest in the state. DHS says more than 2,500 people have been arrested since late November.

Judge Bryan noted that Gibson had complied with all supervision requirements and had checked in with immigration authorities just days before his arrest—at the same building where recent enforcement actions have been staged.

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