A federal judge has ordered authorities to provide a prompt bond hearing for a Colombia national who was “plucked out of the community” five years after a misdemeanor conviction and has been incarcerated for nearly six months while awaiting action on an immigration case.
Southern District Judge Alvin Hellerstein (See Profile) said Jorge Araujo-Cortes’ continued confinement “offends the Constitution” and violates a statute providing for the mandatory detention of some potentially deportable convicts. He granted Araujo-Cortes’ habeas corpus petition in a 27-page opinion dated Aug. 5.
