A federal judge on Monday ordered the immediate release of a 24-year-old transgender woman from Mexico who was detained by U.S. immigration officials outside a Portland courthouse, ruling that the Trump administration violated her constitutional rights by unlawfully detaining her without due process.
U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio sharply criticized the Department of Homeland Security during a hearing in Portland, describing the arrest and detention of the woman—identified in court records as “O-J-M”—as a “clear deprivation of liberty” and a “failure to follow the rule of law.”
“The problem here is despite the legal authority the government unquestionably has, the government here failed to follow its own rules,” Baggio said from the bench, according to the Oregon Capital Insider. “They arrested first and sought to justify later. Then they changed the alleged basis for the alleged detention. There is a right way to do this and a wrong way to do this, and the government unquestionably went about the arrest and detention of O-J-M on June 2, 2025, in the wrong way.”
In a two-paragraph written order, Baggio granted O-J-M’s petition for habeas corpus and ordered her immediate release “subject to the conditions that applied to her at the time of her arrest.”
Detained After Court Appearance
According to court documents, O-J-M fled Mexico after facing persecution and violent threats from cartel members due to her gender identity. She appeared in court on June 2 regarding her asylum application, which the government dismissed. She was then arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents waiting outside the courthouse.
Baggio said that DHS officials had reportedly communicated with the immigration judge handling O-J-M’s case prior to her hearing. During that hearing, the judge allegedly told her that if she voluntarily dismissed her case, the government “won’t be seeking to remove you back to your home country.” Believing that assurance, O-J-M agreed to the dismissal—without legal representation—and was immediately detained.
“The immigration judge’s claim just wasn’t true,” Baggio said in court, referencing DHS’ decision to arrest O-J-M immediately after the dismissal. The judge described the situation as “deeply troubling” and accused the government of misleading the petitioner.
Violation of Rights
Baggio further criticized the Trump administration for its “oscillating legal positions,” noting that the justification for O-J-M’s detention changed multiple times. At one point, government agents allegedly tried to get her to sign documents waiving her rights—without her attorney present.
“This is a very concerning example of due process violations,” Baggio said, adding that her ruling was based on “a series of government actions that deprived [O-J-M] of liberty without procedural due process.”
‘Extremely Relieved’
Jordan Cunnings, an attorney for O-J-M, said her client’s experience in detention had been especially traumatic.
“As a transgender woman being held by a government that denies the existence of transgender people, she’s been in solitary for, I believe, over 40 days,” Cunnings told Capital Insider. “So we’re extremely relieved. She suffered horrific sexual violence in Mexico. That’s why she fled and sought asylum here. And so her arrest was really re-traumatizing for her.”
The ruling is a rebuke to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, which has faced repeated criticism for its handling of asylum seekers and alleged targeting of vulnerable communities.
As of Monday, O-J-M remained under the original conditions imposed before her arrest, but was no longer in DHS custody. The Department of Justice has not indicated whether it will appeal the ruling.
