Habeas corpus petition freed a South Florida man after 8 months of ICE detention, federal judge ruled

A South Florida man is back with his wife after spending eight months in immigration detention, following a federal judge's order that he be immediately released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

Cellphone video captured the emotional moment 51-year-old Marlon Cervelo reunited with his wife, Judith Castellanos, for the first time in eight months.

"I feel so happy," Castellanos said.

Cervelo was detained in Florida but ultimately released in Texas. Castellanos traveled to Houston to meet her husband after learning he would be freed.

According to Castellanos, Cervelo had been scheduled for a hearing involving ICE on Sept. 21. But three days earlier, on Sept. 18, a federal judge granted Cervelo's petition for a writ of habeas corpus and ordered his release.

What is a habeas corpus petition?

Immigration attorney Morella Aguado, who is not involved in Cervelo's case, told CBS News Miami that a habeas corpus petition allows someone in immigration detention to challenge the legality of their detention in federal court.

"It is a petition in front of a federal judge requesting that the person be either granted a bond hearing or be immediately released," Aguado said.

Aguado said where the petition is filed is also important.

"Very important, the habeas corpus has to be filed in federal court where the person is detained," she said.

Federal district courts and immigration courts operate under different legal authorities. A person in immigration custody may ask a federal court to review whether continued detention complies with federal law and constitutional protections. In Cervelo's case, the federal judge ordered his immediate release.

Cervelo was among detainees transferred from the Krome detention facility to the Federal Detention Center in Miami over the summer amid wildfire evacuations.

Cervelo has a criminal record. He previously told CBS News Miami that he had served his sentence and was detained during a routine appointment with ICE.

In a statement to CBS News Miami, ICE said Cervelo, a Cuban national, was arrested by the agency on Jan. 14, 2025, and had a final order of removal.

According to ICE, the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Cervelo in October 2020 for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. ICE said he was convicted in January 2023 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.

ICE also said an immigration judge ordered Cervelo removed from the United States in August 2023.

Cervelo described his return home as emotional, saying in Spanish that while he was happy to be reunited with his family, the experience of spending months moving through detention facilities had taken a toll on him.

"I'm happy because I'm back with my family, but at the same time, every man who has been released after having been in several detention centers is traumatized," Cervelo said.

Castellanos said one of the most difficult parts of her husband's detention was trying to keep track of where he was being held as he was transferred between facilities.

"If you don't talk to your family, you don't know where they are," she said.

Castellanos said there were times when she could not locate her husband through the detention system and depended on him to tell her where he had been transferred.

Aguado said that in Cervelo's case, the federal court order specifically called for his immediate release.

"In this particular case, the order said 'immediately released,'" Aguado said.

Cervelo was released with an ankle monitor and will remain under immigration supervision until further notice.

His release from detention does not, by itself, erase the underlying immigration proceedings or his removal order. For Cervelo and his wife, however, the federal court's decision meant that after eight months apart, they were finally able to return home together.