Judge orders release of Lewiston, Maine, resident from ICE custodyLEWISTON, Maine —A federal judge in Maine has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release a Lewiston resident from its custody.Eduardo Jose Alves was arrested by ICE agents on Saturday, June 20, and transported to the ICE Field Office in Scarborough. According to background information shared in a court document, Alves entered the United States on a valid tourist visa in July 2024 and subsequently filed an affirmative asylum application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.On the day he was arrested by ICE, Alves filed a verified petition for a writ of habeas corpus ordering his immediate release and a motion for a temporary restraining order. Immediately after Alves filed the petition at 1:55 p.m. Saturday, the court issued an emergency order preventing Alves from being transferred from Maine for 72 hours. But at 3 p.m. Saturday, ICE transferred Alves to the Plymouth County Correctional Center (PCCC) in Plymouth, Massachusetts, despite the court's order.According to court records, the government's counsel claims they did not see the email notification of Alves' petition and the court's order until about 5:20 p.m. Saturday. Once they received the filings, counsel contacted ICE, at which point the agency informed them that Alves had been transferred to Massachusetts more than 2 hours earlier.The government filed a motion on Sunday to amend the court's emergency order in an effort to authorize Alves' continued detention in Massachusetts.In response to the government's motion, Alves argued that his detention in Massachusetts imposed an undue hardship, deprived him of meaningful access to counsel and violated his constitutional rights. Alves also argued that since ICE violated a court order, he should either be transferred back to Maine or be released from custody.On Monday, the court issued a show-cause order requiring the government to explain why Alves' detention is lawful. The government supplied a copy of an I-200 administrative warrant authorizing Alves' arrest, which was dated June 20, 2026, but did not specify a time of issuance. In addition, the government provided a notice of custody determination wherein the Department of Homeland Security determined Alves should be detained pending a final administrative determination in his removal case, but it did not state the basis for that determination. Court records state Alves' bond hearing before an immigration judge is scheduled for Monday, June 29.The government also asserted that it did not willfully violate the emergency order and that Alves' argument about his placement in Massachusetts cannot be raised in a civil immigration habeas petition.On Tuesday, the court heard arguments on Alves' petition and on the government's motion to amend the court's emergency order.In her order granting Alves' release, U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann said the government's violation of the court's emergency order to keep Alves in Maine for 72 hours was not willful, but she would not allow it to serve as an all-purpose excuse."The government bears an unwavering obligation to ensure compliance with court orders, and its failure to do so has real consequences for a real person," Neumann said. "Mr. Alves now sits detained out of district in violation of a court order, without his glasses, receiving paperwork in English — his second language — with a bond hearing approaching. These are not abstract procedural concerns. They are the direct and foreseeable result of the government’s failure to comply with this court’s order."Neumann also said that the issue was compounded by the fact that ICE has no appropriate facilities in Maine where Alves could be reasonably returned, as the government acknowledged there are no beds or showers at the Scarborough facility and there are no other appropriate facilities for housing in Maine."The government’s actions — even if inadvertent — leave Mr. Alves, and therefore the court, to choose between two constitutionally untenable situations: he can remain at PCCC, out of district and in violation of a court order, or he can be returned to Maine and placed in a facility without basic amenities. Neither option is acceptable," the judge said. "Detention at PCCC will also deprive Mr. Alves of meaningful access to counsel at a critical juncture. ... a bond hearing is imminent and Mr. Alves’s Maine-based counsel cannot reasonably prepare while he remains in Massachusetts."In addition, Neumann said the lawfulness of Alves' arrest is also in question because the record contained no evidence that an arrest warrant was issued before Alves was taken into custody, and no evidence that ICE made any determination that he was likely to flee. Neumann noted, however, that she did not need to resolve the arrest warrant question because the government's violation of the court's emergency order and a lack of an adequate detention facility in Maine were sufficient to have Alves released.Under Neumann's order, the government cannot deny Alves a bond hearing or re-detain him while his bond hearing is pending. The government was also ordered to file a status report within 30 days of the June 29 bond hearing detailing whether or not Alves has been granted bond and the amount of that bond, if it is granted, or the reasons his bond was denied.Neumann also denied the government's motion to amend the court's emergency order.