A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Liliana Navarrete, a Chicago mother who had been detained with her 18-year-old son during an immigration appointment in March, according to a May 20 statement. Her son, Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete, remains in detention, said Kelli Fennell, an attorney for the family.
Navarrete and her son were taken into custody after arriving at a federal immigration office in Downtown Chicago for what they believed was a routine asylum check on March 16. The two were separated shortly after their arrival and transferred to different detention centers across the country, according to Kristy Morrow, a family friend.
The family moved from Colombia to Chicago in 2022. Hernandez-Navarrete played soccer at Mather High School and iProSkills Academy and had accepted a scholarship to play soccer at Truman College. His brother Steven Navarrete said he dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. Community members from Mather High School and iProSkills Academy have supported the family since their detention.
Steven Navarrete expressed hope that his brother would also be released soon following Tuesday’s decision. “I feel hopeful that if my mother was released, my brother will soon be too,” he said in Spanish. He added that upon his mother’s return home he plans to embrace her: “I have so many feelings. I’ll jump, kiss, hug her, and show her how much I’ve missed her,” he said in Spanish.
Liliana Navarrete’s release followed attorneys submitting a habeas corpus petition challenging her detention. U.S. District Judge David Hale ordered not only Navarrete’s release but also that of sixteen others from immigration detention facilities, stating that “the petitioners’ detention without a bond hearing violates due process.”
Hale is among hundreds of judges nationwide reaffirming immigrants’ rights to bond hearings while detained in the United States—a point highlighted by recent court rulings cited by El Pais and Bloomberg News as well as analysis by POLITICO regarding past detentions under previous administration policies.
