Federal judges in Vermont issued orders on Thursday blocking immigration authorities from moving three immigrants detained during a South Burlington ICE raid to locations out of state.
Attorneys for the three people — a Honduran man and two Ecuadorian sisters — have filed court petitions for their release on the grounds that their detentions were unlawful.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents removed the immigrants from a Dorset Street home Wednesday in an operation that saw intense confrontation between police and activists trying to impede the raid. ICE agents were searching for a different man who they believed was hiding in the residence. They obtained a search warrant, pushed through a line of activists who blockaded the stoop and broke down the front door. But the man named in the warrant, Deyvi Daniel Corona-Sanchez, was not there, federal authorities later confirmed.
ICE agents instead apprehended 31-year-old Jisella Johana Patin Patin, 20-year-old Daysi Camila Patin Patin and 31-year-old Christian Humberto Jerez Andrade.
The Patin Patin sisters, both from Ecuador, had pending asylum claims at the time of their arrest, according to their attorneys. Jerez Andrade has lived in the U.S. for a decade or so and has a child who is an American citizen, his attorney, Nathan Virag, said. Virag said it was “unclear” whether Jerez Andrade had ever applied for asylum. He moved to the Burlington area in November, Virag said.
In a court filing, attorney Kristen Connors said Jisella Johana Patin Patin was unlawfully detained. Her name was not listed on the search warrant for the home, the attorney noted. She has a hearing in her asylum case scheduled for 2027, children in the South Burlington School District, and a job, according to court records. She has lived in the United States since 2023, her attorney said.
The petition states that Jisella Johana Patin Patin was taken to Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington and later released into ICE custody, which her attorney suggested was warning of her “imminent” transfer out of state.
The Department of Homeland Security has previously relocated detainees to far-off jurisdictions in what critics have said is a cynical legal maneuver.
Similar petitions were filed for the other two immigrants.
By Thursday afternoon, three different federal judges in Vermont had issued restraining orders blocking any planned transfers out of state.
In her order for Daysi Camila Patin Patin’s case, Chief Judge Christina Reiss noted that the woman was arrested in her home without a warrant.
“The basis for her detention is not clear but it appears she is entitled to a prompt bail hearing,” Reiss wrote.
The judge said the woman would not be able to effectively consult with her attorney if taken out of state without notice.
A hearing in Jerez Andrade’s case is scheduled for March 19. Hearings for the others had not been scheduled as of Friday morning.
The emergency orders were issued without formal notice to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the office has not filed responses. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday morning.
The detentions have sparked questions and condemnation from activists. The advocacy group Migrant Justice is planning a rally at Burlington City Hall Friday evening to protest the raid, urging people to "march for our neighbors detained by ICE."
