Federal Judge Orders Release of Father and 9-Year-Old Child Held by Border Patrol

US District Judge Brian Morris ordered the government to release Adrián Espinoza De La Cruz and his 9-year-old child within 24 hours and barred their re-detention pending an immigration hearing, the Daily Montanan reported. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested the Billings father and child without a warrant on August 11 and held them at the Havre Border Patrol Station for roughly nine days. Morris called the case “particularly disturbing,” cited “the government’s lack of regard” for their constitutional rights, and wrote that the government has no “free-ranging ability to arrest and detain people, and figure out the reasons later.” The judge also noted the child’s special medical needs and the station’s lack of proper bedding and basic amenities.