A Cuban national convicted of hijacking an airplane to the United States in 2003 has been ordered released by a federal judge despite an active deportation order, sparking sharp criticism from Trump administration officials who call it judicial activism undermining border security.
Aircraft Pirate Walks Free After 22 Years
Maikel Guerra Morales and accomplices assaulted a flight crew and commandeered a Cuban commuter plane in 2003, forcing the aircraft to fly more than 100 miles north from Nuevo Gerona on Cuba’s Isle of Youth to Key West International Airport in Monroe County, Florida. United States Air Force jets scrambled from Homestead to intercept the hijacked aircraft. Morales was arrested that evening and subsequently served a 22-year federal sentence for aircraft piracy. After completing his prison term in 2025, immigration authorities transferred him to ICE custody pending deportation.
Judge John Steele, appointed by President Clinton, ruled last week in Fort Myers that Morales must be released from detention. The judge cited a Supreme Court precedent involving foreign nationals held indefinitely when no country will accept them for deportation. Steele determined that federal officials provided no evidence of a significant likelihood that Morales would be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future, despite stated intentions to deport him to Mexico. A federal immigration judge had issued a removal order against Morales in 2023.
Administration Blasts Judicial Overreach
DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis condemned the decision as another example of activist judges blocking President Trump’s mandate to remove criminal aliens. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security pledged to continue fighting for the detention and removal of criminal illegal aliens who have no right to remain in the country, according to Bis’s statement. The administration argues that releasing convicted hijackers contradicts public safety priorities and immigration enforcement objectives that voters overwhelmingly supported in the 2024 election.
Legal Precedent Drives Release Decision
The judge’s ruling relies on the Zadvydas case involving an ethnic Lithuanian lawful permanent resident born in a German displaced-persons camp who faced deportation in 1994 due to his criminal record but had no country willing to accept him. The Supreme Court established that indefinite detention without reasonable prospect of removal violates constitutional protections. Morales remains subject to supervision terms despite his release from physical custody. The 2003 hijacking occurred during heightened aviation security following the September 11 terrorist attacks, making the incident particularly alarming to federal authorities at the time.