November 3, 2025 – The National Immigration Project, ACLU of Louisiana, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights today announced the release of 18-year-old Carlos Guerra Leon after his unlawful, months-long detention in a Louisiana ICE facility. Guerra Leon was released on October 31 after a federal judge from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) on October 30 calling for his immediate release. Defying the order, ICE officials refused to release Guerra Leon when his attorneys arrived at the detention facility that same day – forcing his legal team to file an emergency motion.

Within minutes of receiving the TRO, Guerra Leon’s attorneys drove more than five hours to Jackson Correctional Facility in northern Louisiana to bring Guerra Leon home. When they arrived, facility staff refused to release him despite being shown the federal order. ICE officials claimed to have “no knowledge” of the ruling and took no action to comply. Instead, the facility called the local sheriff on the attorneys.

“Carlos is an 18-year-old who wanted to go home to his mom,” said Bridget Pranzatelli, staff attorney at the National Immigration Project. “There was no basis for him to be detained in the first place. Even with a team of attorneys and a federal court order requiring his immediate release, Carlos was forced to spend another night in jail. This is just another example of how immigration enforcement that targets everyone without regard to legal limits and failure to immediately act on court orders is harming our community members in irreparable ways.”

Ordering the government to respect Guerra Leon’s valid immigration protections – deferred action status and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) – Judge Terry Doughty wrote that Guerra Leon’s release, “…serves the public interest by ensuring that the Government adheres to its own laws and by preventing the public interest from being undermined through unnecessary detention.”

“The fact that Carlos sat unlawfully locked up for yet another night–beyond the already nearly three months of unlawful detention–packed into a room with over 100 grown men is abhorrent,” said Nora Ahmed, legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana.“One would have hoped that an administration so focused on law and order would uphold that very same law and order when it came knocking. That it was not upheld, calls into question the administration’s respect for the very foundation of our democracy and our three co-equal branches of government.”  

“As a young person with special humanitarian protections, Carlos should’ve never been detained in the first place,” said Sarah Gillman, Director of Strategic U.S. Litigation at RFK Human Rights. “But like so many others, he was snatched from his community and disappeared to Louisiana – a move we’ve seen time and time again as the government continues to weaponize immigration detention. We applaud the court for upholding Carlos’ fundamental rights and we applaud Carlos, who demonstrated amazing resilience and heart in an unimaginable situation. We remain committed to fighting for the many others like him who have been wrongfully subjected to this administration’s cruelty.”

Guerra Leon is a recent high school graduate from Spring Valley, New York. He came to the United States from Guatemala when he was ten and was later granted deferred action status and SIJS, a humanitarian immigration program designed to protect children who have survived parental abuse, abandonment, and neglect. His status allowed him to attend school, work legally, and build a stable life in the U.S. But on August 9, Guerra Leon was stopped by federal officers and arrested without a warrant. He was sent to Jackson Parish Correctional Center, a Louisiana ICE facility a thousand miles from his home. 

Guerra Leon has now been released and reunited with his family in New York.

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The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who believe that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow the National Immigration Project on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @NIPNLG.

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that has worked to realize Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world since 1968. In partnership with local activists, we advocate for key human rights issues—championing change makers and pursuing strategic litigation at home and around the world. And to ensure change that lasts, we foster a social-good approach to business and investment and educate students about human rights and social justice.

The ACLU of Louisiana leads the charge to protect the civil rights and liberties of Louisianians, especially those most marginalized and historically harmed. True to our founding during the Civil Rights Movement, we are fearless in the face of intimidation and fight tirelessly to protect and empower Louisiana’s Black, Brown, Immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. We are part of a nationwide network of affiliates working in courts, legislatures, and communities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.