Powerline by Bill Glahn 6/6/2026
Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to dig into the secret case files of dozens of illegal alien habeas corpus cases filed in federal district court in Minnesota. The hidden files reveal a judicial system far more broken than you can imagine.
The habeas corpus petitions are filed as civil cases on behalf of illegal aliens who are being held in ICE custody in anticipation of their upcoming deportation. The number of cases filed skyrocketed during Operation Metro Surge earlier this year. The filing pace has dropped off (but not stopped) since the surge wound down.
So far in 2026, nearly 1,300 habeas cases have been filed in Minnesota. Most of these cases include noncitizens from Mexico and Central and South America. There are some from southeast Asia and more from Africa (both east and west). A tiny handful hail from eastern Europe.
From that number we’ve had a handful of repeat customers, whose original petitions were denied or who have been re-detained after being released.
Until late March, these petitions were nearly always successful in gaining the release of the detained alien. But then on March 25, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the applicable law reads “shall be detained” and that the law really does indeed apply.
As I’ve documented during the past two months, a few local judges have followed the law, but the majority of district court judges have invented ways to circumvent the 8th Circuit. In any event, the success rate has dropped considerably, but not down to zero.
More:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2026/06/exposing-the-hidden-habeas-files.php
