Man who sought refuge in US must be freed from ICE detention, Maine judge rules
An Ecuadorian man who sought refuge in the U.S. and surrendered to the government was living in Massachusetts on conditional parole until Border Patrol agents arrested him a month before his immigration court date, according to a Maine federal judge, who has ordered his release.
Edgar Vicente Bermeo Sicha was detained on July 28 while on his way to a job in Maine, then was flown to Texas, where he was later transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Before his arrest, he had been working as a carpenter in Massachusetts.
Two weeks after Bermeo Sicha challenged his detention, U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann granted his petition for writ of habeas corpus, finding in an Aug. 29 order that he was denied due process when he was arrested before he had a chance to be heard in court.
In ordering the government to release Bermeo Sicha from an ICE center in southeast Texas, Neumann found that Bermeo Sicha’s detention by Border Patrol and ICE violated his constitutional rights.
“Since the government suddenly arrested him, Mr. Bermeo Sicha has been detained in at least four different facilities over the course of a month,” the order says. “At one of those facilities, he slept ‘on a cot on the floor in a small cell with six other men.’”
The judge gave the government’s respondents, including U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney S. Scott, 48 hours to release him from ICE’s Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Los Fresnos, Texas.
The government filed a Sept. 1 status report to confirm Bermeo Sicha was released from ICE detention.
Attorney Matthew Morgan, who represents Bermeo Sicha, told the Portland Press Herald, “Judge Neumann’s Order stops the Government’s illegal detention and upholds the right to due process in the District of Maine.”
Bermeo Sicha is the first person ordered to be released from immigration detention by a federal judge in Maine, the newspaper reported.
A DHS official said in an emailed statement to McClatchy News on Sept. 3 that “any allegations his due process rights were violated are FALSE.”
“He has been released from ICE custody while his immigration proceedings continue,” the official added. “He is required to check-in with ICE regularly.”
Allowed to seek refuge in the US
Bermeo Sicha entered the U.S. through the southern border in March 2024, when he surrendered to DHS and was allowed to seek refuge, according to court documents.
He explained to Border Patrol agents he feared political persecution in Ecuador, where he was involved in the Pachakutik Movement, “a political party geared toward indigenous interests in Ecuador,” Neumann’s order says.
Due to his political affiliations, Bermeo Sicha and his family faced threats from gangs, according to the order, which says his father “was shot in the leg” in Ecuador.
After seeking refuge, he was released on his own recognizance by DHS and was given an immigration court date, which was set for Aug. 27, the order says.
On July 28, Bermeo Sicha was in a car with two co-workers, including one who was driving them to a worksite in Maine, according to the order.
They were pulled over by Border Patrol agents who, according to the order, “asked the driver for his papers.”
“The driver said he had none, at which point Border Patrol arrested the driver and Mr. Bermeo Sicha,” the order says.
The DHS official told McClatchy News that Bermeo Sicha was arrested by CBP on July 29 “after driving erratically in Livermore, Maine” and then was “placed in immigration proceedings.”
According to the judge’s order, the government argued Bermeo Sicha was taken into custody because he started living in Massachusetts without telling the government that was his state of residency, according to the order.
His legal counsel, however, said Bermeo Sicha understood he was arrested “only because the driver of the car he was in did not have ‘papers.’”
Bermeo Sicha maintains he was given no reason for his arrest.
“The fact that there is a significant factual discrepancy as to the basis for Mr. Bermeo Sicha’s detention highlights the risk of erroneous deprivation without a hearing before an (immigration judge),” the order says.
In siding with Bermeo Sicha, Neumann wrote, “Although mired in complicated statutory and constitutional issues, ultimately this case presents a straightforward question: Whether due process required the government to give Mr. Bermeo Sicha notice and an opportunity to be heard before it revoked his original release determination and detained him.” p
“For the following reasons, I conclude the Fifth Amendment required as much in Mr. Bermeo Sicha’s case,” the order continues.
It is unclear if Bermeo Sicha is still in Texas as of Sept. 3. His attorney did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment.
The DHS official told McClatchy News that the agency is encouraging individuals who are in the U.S. illegally to “self-deport” to “reserve the chance to come back,” adding that the government is offering “$1,000 and a free flight” to do so.
The official warned that those who do not “will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
A recent YouGov poll found that most Americans, based on those surveyed, believe immigration enforcement efforts under the Trump administration have become too harsh, McClatchy News reported. The survey was carried outJuly 16-18 and included 2,156 adults.
This story was originally published September 3, 2025 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Man who sought refuge in US must be freed from ICE detention, Maine judge rules."
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