A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to follow due process and provide bond hearings for two individuals being detained in Iowa county jails by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Both people have sought asylum in the United States, claiming they are fleeing persecution in their home country.

In recent months, hundreds of people alleged to have entered the country illegally have been jailed by Homeland Security. Immigration judges, citing a new Trump administration interpretation of a longstanding federal law, have then denied those detainees hearings at which they could have argued for their release on bond while their deportation case was pending.

That has resulted in dozens of detainees suing the federal government, as well as the county jails where they’re held, in U.S. District Court, arguing their due process rights are being violated.

In the vast majority of those cases, district court judges have sided with the detainees, ordering immigration judges to schedule bond hearings for the detainees.

Two such cases were recently decided by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher of the Southern District of Iowa.

Iowa woman cites Mexican drug cartels

One of the two cases involves Maria Enriquez Reyes, who entered the United States from Mexico near Sasabe, Arizona, on Sept. 23, 2023, with her son, now 10 years old, and her husband. At the time, the family claimed they were fleeing persecution. They were detained briefly by the U.S. Border Patrol before being released on their own recognizance.

Reyes and her family subsequently filed formal applications for asylum to escape what they called persecution by Mexican drug cartels that are now recognized as terrorists by the U.S. government.

On Sept. 2, 2025, with that application still pending, the Reyes family went to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Cedar Rapids for a prescheduled “check in” appointment. According to court records, ICE agents accosted Reyes at the office and then sent her to the Muscatine County Jail to be detained at least until a hearing that is scheduled for Dec. 19, 2025.

An immigration judge then denied her request for a bond hearing, citing the Trump administration’s new interpretation of laws related to the detention of individuals for possible deportation.

Reyes took the matter to U.S. District Court, suing Muscatine County Jail Administrator Matt McCleary, as well as DHS, ICE, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and DHS Director Kristi Noem.

On Nov. 3, 2025, Locher ruled in favor of Reyes, noting that the overwhelming majority of courts around the nation have rejected the Trump administration’s interpretation of the law as somehow requiring mandatory detention without the opportunity to argue for bond.

Locher noted that Reyes has lived in the United States with her family for two years and has no record of any criminal activity or dangerous conduct.

In ordering the immigration court to provide Reyes with a hearing on her request for pretrial release on bond, Locher noted he “would not be ordering any particular outcome on bond or detention. Rather, (Reyes) simply would be entitled to her statutory and due process right to a hearing.

“This means the immigration judge will have the authority — as immigration judges have for years — to evaluate (Reyes’) history and circumstances and make an individualized decision. If public safety or some other appropriate factor warrants detention, she will remain in custody. If not, she will be released on bond. Either way, there is no meaningful harm to the government from having to follow principles of due process.”

Des Moines man ‘fleeing persecution’ in Colombia

In a separate case, Locher sided with Saider Santiago Helbrum, 26, who came to the United States in May 2024, alleging he was fleeing persecution in Colombia. After entering the country, he was detained briefly by U.S. Border Patrol and then released on his own recognizance, eventually settling in Des Moines.

In January 2025, he filed an application for asylum. In July 2025, with that application still pending, he was arrested and jailed on a simple-misdemeanor charge of fifth degree theft after being accused of stealing groceries at a WalMart store. Santiago Helbrum argued his store receipt, as well as bank records tied to the card he claimed was used to pay for the groceries, show the items were paid for.

Within three weeks, the theft charge was dropped, with the Polk County Attorney’s Office stating that “after examining the records, talking to the witnesses, and taking all other factors into consideration,” it was declining to prosecute the case in the interest of justice.

In the meantime, however, Homeland Security had taken custody of Santiago Helbrum and, after the theft charge was dropped, DHS continued to have him held at the Polk County Jail under a detention order. An immigration judge then denied Santiago Helbrum’s request for a bond hearing.

After Santiago Helbrum took DHS and Polk County Jail Administrator Cory Williams to federal court, he explained to a judge the effect that three months of detention had on him.

“My time in jail has been physically and mentally exhausting,” he wrote in an affidavit filed with the court. “When I first arrived, I felt ill and experienced nosebleeds and a burst blood vessel in my eye. It has been difficult to stay healthy or hopeful without seeking my family or feeling fresh air. I miss my wife very much. It pains me and worries me that I have not been able to support or care for her and our family for the past few months.”