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U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
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Substantive rulingFiled Mar. 4, 2026

Thao v. Noem

Full caption

Chou Thao v. Kristi Noem, in her official capacity as Secretary of Homeland Security; Todd Lyons, in his official capacity as Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; David Easterwood, in his official capacity as Field Office Director, St. Paul Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Judge
Elizabeth Cowan Wright
Docket
0:26-cv-01432
Court
U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
Pages
2
ImmigrationHabeasCivil RightsCivil Procedure
In one sentence

In Chou Thao v. Kristi Noem, the court (judge's name not fully legible in the signature) ordered the release of immigration detainee Chou Thao from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, granting his petition for a court order requiring the government to free him, and prohibiting re-detention unless the government first follows required federal procedures.

Who this affects

Chou Thao, an immigration detainee held by ICE, who is ordered released. Also affects ICE and Department of Homeland Security officials, who are prohibited from re-detaining Thao without following specific federal regulatory procedures. May be of interest to others in immigration detention challenging the lawfulness of their custody in the District of Minnesota.

What happened

In Chou Thao v. Kristi Noem, Chou Thao, a person held in immigration detention, filed a petition asking the federal court to order his release. The petition, known as a writ of habeas corpus (a legal request challenging the lawfulness of a person's detention), was reviewed by Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright, who issued a Report and Recommendation on February 20, 2026, recommending that the petition be granted. Neither Thao nor the government officials named as respondents — Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, ICE Director Todd Lyons, and St. Paul Field Office Director David Easterwood — objected to that recommendation.

Because no party objected, the district court reviewed the recommendation only for obvious legal error, found none, and adopted it in full. The court's order requires that if Thao is being held in Minnesota, he must be released within 24 hours; if he is being held outside Minnesota, he must be transported back to Minnesota and released within 48 hours. Given cold weather conditions in Minnesota, the government must coordinate with Thao's lawyer to ensure he is not left outside in dangerous temperatures upon release, and it is preferable to release him directly to his attorney.

The court further ordered that Thao must be released with all his personal belongings, including his driver's license, passports, and immigration documents, without those documents being damaged or altered. The court, without providing the judge's full legible name in the opinion's signature, also prohibited the government from placing any new conditions on Thao beyond those already in his existing supervision order, and barred the government from re-detaining him unless it first completes all steps required under a specific federal regulation (8 C.F.R. § 241.13) governing detention reviews. Thao is also permitted to seek reimbursement of his attorney's fees and legal costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act within 30 days of final judgment.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case: Chou Thao v. Kristi Noem et al., No. 0:26-cv-01432-SHL-ECW (D. Minn. Mar. 4, 2026). The presiding district judge's full name is not clearly legible in the signature block; the case number indicates the initials 'SHL.'

Background

Petitioner Chou Thao filed a Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF 1) challenging his detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Respondents are Kristi Noem (Secretary of Homeland Security), Todd Lyons (Director of ICE), and David Easterwood (Field Office Director, St. Paul Field Office, ICE), all sued in their official capacities.

Magistrate Judge Recommendation

Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a Report and Recommendation (ECF 12, though the Order also references ECF 8 as the R&R being adopted — a slight internal inconsistency) on February 20, 2026, recommending that the habeas petition be granted. Neither party filed objections.

Standard of Review

Because no objections were filed, the district court reviewed the Report and Recommendation for clear error only, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b) and Grinder v. Gammon, 73 F.3d 793, 795 (8th Cir. 1996). The court found no clear error and adopted the recommendation.

Relief Granted:

  1. The habeas petition is GRANTED.
  2. If Thao is detained outside Minnesota, Respondents must transport him to Minnesota and release him within 48 hours of the order.
  3. If detained in Minnesota, Respondents must release him within 24 hours.
  4. Due to dangerous cold weather, Respondents must coordinate with Thao's counsel to ensure he is not left outside upon release; release to counsel is preferred.
  5. Respondents must return all personal effects, including driver's license, passports, and immigration documents, without clipping, defacing, or otherwise altering them.
  6. Respondents are enjoined (prohibited by court order) from imposing any release conditions beyond those in Thao's preexisting Order of Supervision.
  7. Respondents are enjoined from re-detaining Thao unless and until they comply with all requirements of 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(l)(3) (federal regulations governing prolonged detention review procedures). If they believe they are prepared to comply, they must contact Thao's counsel to schedule the required interview, and Thao must attend.
  8. If Thao is re-detained after completing the required regulatory process, Respondents must file a court update within 24 hours of re-detention, identifying the approximate (not exact) time of any removal flight.
  9. Thao may file a separate motion within 30 days of final judgment to recover attorney's fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), which allows prevailing parties in civil actions against the federal government to recover such fees if the government's position was not substantially justified.
  10. The parties must confirm within three days that Thao has been released as ordered.

Note on ECF Citation Discrepancy

The order states that ECF 12 is the Report and Recommendation, but paragraph 1 of the order adopts 'ECF No. 8.' This internal inconsistency is noted but does not affect the substance of the ruling.

Reviewer note from the AI+
1. The district judge's signature is described as 'Affe' followed by a line in the opinion text — the full name is not legible or provided. The case number contains initials 'SHL' which likely correspond to the judge, but the full name cannot be confirmed from the opinion text alone. Per the rules, the judge is referred to by the court/initials only. A reviewer should verify the judge's full name from the docket. 2. The order internally refers to the Report and Recommendation as both ECF 12 (in the introductory paragraph) and ECF No. 8 (in operative paragraph 1). This discrepancy is flagged but may simply reflect a docketing issue; it does not appear to affect the substance. 3. The regulation cited in paragraph 8 of the order is written as '8 C.FR. § 241.13)(3)' and '8 C.F.R. § 241.13(1)(3)' — the formatting in the original appears inconsistent; it is likely 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(l)(3) (the letter 'l' not the number '1'). Reviewer should confirm.
The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

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