WASHINGTON – Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio recently ordered the release of Odalis Jhonatan Martinez-Velasquez, a male illegal alien from Mexico, after caving to pressure from immigration and transgender activists—ignoring the rule of law and promoting gender ideology fanaticism.
Velasquez illegally entered the country in 2023 and released under the Biden administration. He was lawfully detained on June 2, 2025, and processed for expedited removal. Velasquez was placed into ICE’s male detention center in accordance with the President’s Executive Order and for the safety of women in ICE custody.
“Velasquez — a biological male — was placed in a men’s facility in alignment with the President’s Executive Order and for the safety of women in ICE custody. The President made it clear on Day One: DHS will not buy into radical gender ideology when detaining illegal aliens,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Odalis Jhonatan Martinez-Velasquez should be released or detained. The activist judge is ignoring the biological reality of sex, undermining ICE’s commitment to promoting safe, secure, and humane environments for women in custody, and subverting the American people’s mandate to restore commonsense to our immigration system and reject extreme gender fanaticism.”
On January 20, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order of Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, prohibiting DHS from detaining males in women’s detention centers. Velasquez is no exception.
It appears that the Trump Administration will appeal this decision.