Innovation Law Lab and Northwest Immigrants Rights Project filed a second habeas petition on behalf of Maria Loya Medina, a mother of two from Albany, Oregon who has been detained at the ICE detention center in Tacoma, Washington since January 10, 2026. 

Maria, 44, was shopping for socks for her son to wear at his upcoming soccer match at a sporting goods store in Albany on January 10 when agents swarmed her car, smashed her window, and arrested her. The federal agents were part of Operation Black Rose—a DHS operation in which ICE agents make unprovoked, destabilizing community sweeps throughout Oregon.

Maria has no criminal record. She works as a house cleaner and has lived in the Us for 21 years and in Oregon for nearly a decade. She is raising two children and is the primary caregiver for her husband who had a stroke in December 2025 and recently underwent heart surgery.

A federal court ruled her detention unlawful and that she be released or given a bond hearing on January 29. The family gathered letters of support from her pastor, her husband’s doctors, and community members. But Maria’s bond hearing lasted less than fifteen minutes. It was not recorded, no transcript exists. After the hearing, Maria’s lawyers received a form response from the judge who checked the box for “Flight Risk,” despite her deep family and community ties. During a subsequent deportation hearing members of the media were asked to leave. 

The habeas petition argues the government violated Maria’s right to Due Process from the Fifth Amendment, and violated the Immigration and Nationality Act. Her attorneys ask the court to order her immediate release or hear her case again.