A U.S. District Court judge has ordered the immediate release of a Venezuelan man detained after a January traffic stop on the West Virginia Turnpike.
Judge Joseph Goodwin ruled Wednesday that Antony Segundo Larrazabal-Gonzalez was unlawfully detained, saying the federal government failed to justify holding him and violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights.
Larrazabal-Gonzalez, who lives in Atlanta and has immigration proceedings scheduled for October, was stopped on Interstate 77 and held by ICE without any criminal charges.
Goodwin said the government could not explain the detention, failed to provide evidence, and denied him timely access to counsel.
The judge ruled Larrazabal-Gonzalez must be released immediately and cannot be re-detained without a significant change in circumstances.