A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of a Canadian-born dentist from US immigration custody, ruling that his constitutional rights were violated when he was arrested at a green card interview in Minneapolis.

William Lizardo, 32, walked free on Sunday evening, nine days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him despite a court having already reopened his deportation case over a notice sent to an old address.

Hearing Notice to Old Address at Heart of Case

The Canadian dentist ICE detention case turned on a hearing notice sent to an address he had long since left.

Lizardo arrived in the United States in 2019 on an F-1 student visa to study at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, according to court documents. His family said a notice to appear was mailed in February to a Virginia address the couple had left more than two years earlier.

Lizardo never saw it, and his lack of response led to a deportation order in March. The family said he learned of the order only when he was arrested.

CBS News previously reported that an immigration court had already reopened the case, having found he had provided sufficient evidence that he never received the notice.

ICE detained Lizardo in Minneapolis on 23 October 2026, during a green card interview. ICE says he overstayed his lawful entry. His lawyer disputes that.

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Judge Rules Constitutional Rights Were Breached

District Judge Michael J. Davis granted a writ of habeas corpus on Sunday, concluding that Lizardo was not a flight risk and that his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights were being violated while he was held in Sherburne County. Davis wrote: 'It strains credulity to think that such a petitioner would flee.'

He noted that Lizardo had attended every hearing for which he received notice, had never been arrested in the United States and had kept US Citizenship and Immigration Services informed of his address changes.

The judge wrote that USCIS had 'no probable cause to believe' Lizardo was in the country illegally, pointing to its own files showing he no longer lived where the notices were sent. He described the facts as 'appalling'.

Davis also cited the free dental services Lizardo has provided to Minnesota residents and more than a dozen letters of support. Lizardo has spent a year volunteering at a clinic in Burnsville and hopes to open a practice in rural Minnesota with his wife, whom he met at dental school.

Release Delayed Despite Court Order

Lizardo's lawyer, Hassan Ahmad, told Newsweek that Sherburne County Jail said it would not release his client immediately after receiving the court order because it had to wait for ICE. Newsweek reported that Lizardo was released at about 9pm.

Ahmad told CBC News that the judge's order prevents ICE from detaining Lizardo again while his green card application is pending without first obtaining the court's permission. He also said the removal proceedings were flawed from the start.

Lizardo is now at home in Minnesota. Ahmad said the next step is securing approval of his green card application. ICE declined to comment on the release and referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security. Ahmad told CBC News he hopes the agency will not pursue the matter further.

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