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A federal judge in Chicago has determined that the detention of Ruben Torres Maldonado, a 40-year-old father whose 16-year-old daughter is undergoing treatment for advanced cancer, is illegal. While the ruling stops short of granting his immediate release, it underscores serious concerns about the way U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carries out arrests, particularly when family circumstances and humanitarian considerations are at stake.
Torres, a painter and home renovator, was detained on October 18 at a suburban Home Depot store. His daughter, Ofelia Torres, was diagnosed in December with a rare and aggressive soft-tissue cancer known as metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. She has been undergoing intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment, a process that has required constant support from her family. According to court documents, Torres and his partner, Sandibell Hidalgo, also care for a four-year-old son, making their family unit entirely composed of U.S. citizens—except for Torres himself.
The legal challenge was brought by Torres’s attorneys, who argued that his detention violates due process rights under U.S. law. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Daniel agreed, issuing an order stating that ICE’s continued detention of Torres is illegal. The judge, however, clarified that while he recognized the difficult circumstances facing Torres and his family, he could not order an immediate release. Instead, he mandated that Torres be given a bond hearing no later than October 31.
“While sympathetic to the plight the petitioner’s daughter faces due to her health concerns, the court must act within the constraints of the relevant statutes, rules, and precedents,” Judge Daniel wrote in his order.
Torres’s attorney, Kalman Resnick, interpreted the ruling as a partial victory and said the legal battle will continue in immigration court. “We’re pleased that the judge ruled in our favor in determining that ICE is illegally detaining Ruben. We will now turn the fight to immigration court so we can secure Ruben’s release on bond while he applies for permanent residence status,” Resnick said in a statement.
The family’s situation highlights the human consequences of U.S. immigration enforcement policies. Torres’s daughter, Ofelia, shared her perspective in a video posted on a GoFundMe page set up for the family: “My dad, like many other fathers, is a hard-working person who wakes up early in the morning and goes to work without complaining, thinking about his family. I find it so unfair that hardworking immigrant families are being targeted just because they were not born here.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that Torres has been living in the U.S. illegally for years and has a history of driving offenses, including driving without a valid license, driving without insurance, and speeding. Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin characterized the family’s legal challenge as an attempt to shield a “criminal illegal alien” from deportation. “This is nothing more than a desperate Hail Mary attempt to keep a criminal illegal alien in our country,” McLaughlin said. “The Trump administration is fighting for the rule of law and the American people.”
During a hearing last Thursday, Ofelia attended in a wheelchair, illustrating the family’s ongoing struggle to balance her medical care with the legal turmoil surrounding her father’s detention. Attorneys noted that Ofelia had been released from the hospital just one day before her father’s arrest so she could spend time with family and friends, but that her treatment had been disrupted and made significantly more stressful due to the circumstances.
Federal prosecutor Craig Oswald told the court that Torres’s release was opposed because he had not cooperated during his arrest. Nevertheless, the judge’s ruling signals that ICE must provide Torres with a bond hearing, giving him an opportunity to argue for conditional release while his deportation case proceeds.
The case has drawn attention not just for its legal significance but also for the human impact of immigration enforcement policies in Chicago. Several local elected officials held a news conference protesting Torres’s arrest, highlighting concerns about the broader immigration crackdown in the region. Chicago has been a focal point for “Operation Midway Blitz,” a series of ICE raids that began in early September, targeting undocumented immigrants across the area. Critics have argued that such operations are overly aggressive, often disregarding the humanitarian circumstances of those affected.
Torres entered the United States in 2003, and over nearly two decades, he has built a life in Chicago with his partner and children. His case highlights a recurring tension in U.S. immigration enforcement: balancing the enforcement of immigration laws with the protection of family unity, due process, and humanitarian considerations. While ICE has wide authority to detain individuals without immediate release, judges increasingly face cases where detention clashes with compelling family circumstances, medical emergencies, or potential violations of constitutional rights.
The Torres case may also set a precedent for other families in similar situations. By ruling that Torres’s detention is illegal, the court acknowledges that ICE actions must meet legal and procedural standards, even when targeting individuals with prior offenses or those considered priority cases for deportation. Immigration advocates say this is a critical step in safeguarding the rights of immigrants who face extraordinary personal challenges, from serious medical conditions to the well-being of U.S.-born children.
As the bond hearing approaches, Torres and his legal team are preparing to argue for his temporary release, emphasizing both his deep ties to the community and the urgent medical needs of his daughter. The outcome could have significant implications for the administration’s broader immigration enforcement policies and the treatment of families caught in the crosshairs of ICE operations.
