Immigration officials have been ordered by a Maine judge to release an Ecuadorian man detained last month.

The Portland Press Herald reports that 26-year-old carpenter Edgar Vicente Bermeo Sicha, who had been in the US since 2024, was on his way to a job site in Maine on the 28th of July when he was detained by border patrol. After being held in custody for around 2 weeks, he was transported with 9 other people to an ICE facility in Texas on August 15th.

His attorneys argued that Border Patrol agents didn’t tell him why he was being detained or give him the opportunity to challenge that decision, violating the 5th amendment.

U.S. District Judge Stacey Neumann agreed with his attorneys Friday and has ordered the federal government to release him within 48 hours of her decision. The government has until Sept. 3 to confirm that he’s been released.

This is the first time a federal judge in Maine has ordered ICE to release someone from detention.

To read the original Portland Press Herald article, click here.