Overview

• U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson granted Antonia Aguilar Maldonado release on a $10,000 bond, rejecting the government’s automatic stay and deeming her detention unlawful.
• Nelson ruled ICE violated its own policies for nursing mothers and highlighted the “irreparable harm” of separating Maldonado from her 22-month-old child.
• Immigration Judge Kalin Ivany had set the bond on July 31, but the Department of Homeland Security appealed, keeping her in Kandiyohi County Jail until this week.
• Local church members and community supporters raised the bond funds, and Maldonado is expected to be freed once the payment is processed.
• Her case underscores a July Trump administration policy barring many asylum seekers from bond and has spurred a class-action lawsuit challenging that rule.