TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Judge Orders Release of Memphis Student Held by ICE

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 27, 2026
News Type: Legal News

A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of a Memphis high school student who had been held in immigration detention since February, finding his continued detention without bond violated his due process rights, the Daily Memphian reports. Yasser Jose Lopez Soza, a junior at Memphis Business Academy, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Feb. 20 while traveling to a school soccer game. In a ruling issued April 23, the court rejected the government’s argument that Lopez Soza could be held without bond as an “applicant for admission” who could be treated for constitutional purposes as if he had been stopped at the border. The judge said that argument was based on a recent ICE policy and not the “plain text” of the law. The judge also noted his lack of criminal history in ordering his release from the West Tennessee Detention Center. Lopez Soza's attorney had filed a habeas corpus petition in March challenging his detention.

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