A U.S. District Court judge issued a temporary restraining order against immigration officials this week after they initially misreported that a man they had arrested had been moved out of Maine.
In court records filed Monday, a federal judge reiterated that immigration authorities can’t remove Cristian Yair de la Cruz Guillermo from the state. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maine had told the court last week that he was in Massachusetts — only to correct the information later that day to say he was in Fort Fairfield.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lizotte said Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had misinformed his office of Guillermo’s location, and that his staff immediately updated the court when they learned of the error.
Guillermo was one of nine construction workers arrested by Border Patrol agents at a jobsite on Jan. 15, days before federal immigration agencies launched an operation in Maine. His attorney filed a habeas petition on Thursday, arguing her client was unlawfully arrested without a warrant. She asked the judge to release Guillermo from federal custody and hold a bond hearing.
But federal judges only have the authority to rule on cases if the petitioner is in their state at the time of the filing. So when the U.S. Attorney’s Office said he was no longer in Maine, Judge John Woodcock wasn’t able to intervene.
Woodcock said Guillermo’s attorney was about to withdraw their petition in Maine and refile it in Massachusetts.
After the U.S. Attorney’s Office corrected the error, Woodcock issued the temporary restraining order on Monday against officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, ICE and the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, saying that he wanted to “rectify the complications” caused by ICE.
Woodcock also said in his ruling that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had not objected to Guillermo’s claims during a meeting on Friday.
Guillermo’s attorney declined to speak about his case.
Guillermo’s petition is one of almost 50 filed by immigrant detainees in Maine over the last year. At least three other people detained in Bethel with Guillermo have also filed paperwork in Maine seeking their release and alleging that their due process rights have been violated.
A search of court records shows that no immigration habeas cases were filed in 2024. A habeas petition is filed any time someone being held by the government wants a U.S. District Court judge to rule on the constitutionality of their detention.
Several attorneys told the Press Herald they’ve had to file more habeas petitions for immigrants as the DOJ, under the Trump administration, denies bond hearings to immigrants in federal custody.
Attorneys have said the habeas process can be onerous and complicated, as detainees are shuffled between states and facilities, where they have limited access to their lawyers and family.
Lizotte said in email Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office informs ICE and Border Patrol of any petitions and accompanying judicial orders as soon as the office is notified of their filings. Lizotte said his office also works with immigration lawyers to ensure “as quickly as possible” that they can communicate with their clients.”
“Our office continues to diligently address each new matter received, and to do so as expeditiously as possible, often briefing matters in less a day,” Lizotte wrote.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office told Woodcock last week that it had also misreported the whereabouts of a Brazilian woman, whom ICE removed from the Cumberland County Jail on Thursday, and that her transfer was in violation of Woodcock’s order that she remain in Maine.
Federal attorneys had asked Woodcock for permission to move Abigail Lima Da Silva O’Leary to Massachusetts late Thursday night, two hours after O’Leary had already been moved. When the U.S. Attorney’s Office told Woodcock the following day that it was not informed of O’Leary’s transfer until later, Woodcock ordered her immediate release.
This story was updated on Jan. 28 to include comments from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maine.
