ICE Says a Judge's Release Order Let a Honduran Man Return to Minnesota, Where He Is Now Charged With Raping a Woman in Her Home
ICE blames a federal judge in Texas who granted his habeas petition on due-process grounds while his deportation appeal was pending. The man faces a felony charge and remains in custody. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement says a federal judge's release order let a Honduran man go back to Minnesota, where he is now charged with raping a woman in her home, according to an exclusive from Fox News. Everything below is the agency's account and the criminal charge. Nothing has been proven in court.
The charge. ICE told Fox that Marcotulio Melendez Diaz, 42, was working as a handyman on Oct. 11 when he allegedly overpowered and repeatedly raped the resident of a home in Mounds View. Officials said her indoor surveillance camera recorded the assault. He is charged with felony first-degree criminal sexual penetration involving coercion, remains in custody, and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
The timeline, per ICE sources. Melendez Diaz was first apprehended and released at the southern border by the Biden administration in April 2024. He was arrested in Minnesota in January 2026 during Operation Metro Surge and moved to ICE detention in Texas. An immigration judge ordered him deported on March 30, and he appealed. While the appeal was pending, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the Western District of Texas granted his habeas petition on due-process grounds, finding his detention unlawful or unreasonably prolonged, and ordered him released in August. That let him return to Minnesota. The Board of Immigration Appeals rejected his appeal on Oct. 9 and issued a deportation order. Two days after that order became final, he was charged.
ICE's argument. In a statement, the agency said: "This is what happens when activist judges side with criminal illegal aliens over Americans," and that the crime "could have been PREVENTED" had he stayed in custody. It stressed that Garcia was appointed by President Clinton.
The other side. Fox's report does not include a response from Judge Garcia or from Melendez Diaz's lawyers. Habeas rulings turn on whether a detention was lawful, and we have not read the judge's order. Whether the release caused the later events is the agency's claim, not a finding.