Oregon Mother Released After Four Months in ICE Detention — Federal Judge Granted Second Habeas Corpus Petition

María Loya Medina, an Albany, Oregon resident, was released from ICE detention on May 8, 2026 after spending four months in custody, following a ruling by Magistrate Judge Grady L. Leupold who granted her second habeas corpus petition on May 7 and ordered her immediate release. OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) reported on the case. Loya Medina had been detained since early 2026 during the accelerated enforcement period; her first habeas petition had not succeeded. Her case reflects the broader pattern of long-term detentions under the Trump second term's mandatory detention policy, which the Second Circuit struck down on April 29 and the Eleventh Circuit struck down on May 6 — but which ICE continues to apply in districts where the courts have not yet issued rulings. The successive habeas corpus petitions filed by detained immigrants have become a primary legal avenue for challenging prolonged detention in the absence of bond hearings, with federal judges in multiple jurisdictions granting emergency releases for individuals held for months without individualized bond determinations.