A Cuban national who served more than two decades in prison for hijacking a passenger plane from Cuba to Florida in 2003 has been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a federal judge ruled the government could not continue holding him while deportation efforts remained stalled.
Miakel Guerra Morales was detained by ICE in December 2025 after immigration authorities sought to remove him from the United States.
On July 8, U.S. District Judge John E. Steele ordered his release under supervision, finding that the government had not shown a “significant likelihood” that his removal could occur in the reasonably foreseeable future.
Steele, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, said ICE could detain Morales again if removal becomes likely at a later date.
Morales was among at least a dozen Cuban nationals who boarded a commuter aircraft in Nueva Gerona, Cuba, on March 19, 2003.
According to court records, the group used weapons and threats to take control of the aircraft, assaulted crew members, and forced the pilot to divert the flight to Key West, Florida.
Morales was later convicted of aircraft piracy and conspiracy to interfere with a flight crew and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. He served roughly 20 years before entering immigration proceedings, according to the New York Post.
After completing his prison sentence, Morales was placed into removal proceedings.
An immigration judge ordered him removed but granted protection under the Convention Against Torture, delaying his return to Cuba.
ICE later placed him under supervision before taking him back into custody in December 2025 after determining it intended to pursue removal to Mexico.
In his ruling, Judge Steele said the government had more than three years since Morales received a removal order and more than six months since his latest detention to develop a specific plan for deportation.
The judge wrote that officials had not demonstrated they had secured travel documents or obtained confirmation that another country would accept him.
Steele concluded that federal immigration authorities could not hold someone indefinitely because deportation efforts had not progressed, according to Newsweek.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) criticized the ruling, arguing that the decision forced ICE to release a person convicted of a serious violent crime.
DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said the case was an example of what she described as judicial interference with the Trump administration’s efforts to remove criminal illegal aliens from the United States.
DHS said it would continue pursuing the detention and removal of individuals with criminal convictions who are subject to deportation.
Supporters of the court’s decision have argued that immigration detention must follow legal requirements and that the government cannot hold individuals indefinitely when removal is uncertain.
The judge’s order allows ICE to continue monitoring Morales while removal efforts proceed and does not prevent future detention if deportation becomes reasonably likely.
The case highlights a longstanding challenge involving some Cuban nationals ordered removed from the United States but difficult to deport because of disputes over Cuba’s acceptance of certain deportees.
While the two countries have resumed some deportation cooperation, the process remains dependent on diplomatic agreements and individual circumstances.
Morales is believed to be living in the Miami area as immigration authorities continue efforts to resolve his removal status.
