Federal Judge Rebukes ICE for Untenable and Illegal Year-Long Detention of Belarusian Asylum Seeker in Iowa

Federal Judge Ebinger blasts ICE for the illegal year-long detention of a Belarusian man in Muscatine County, ordering his immediate release from custody.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 21, 2026, 5:55 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Bleeding Heartland

A Judicial Mandate Against Federal Intransigence

In a scathing March 11 ruling, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger condemned federal immigration authorities for what she characterized as a deliberate refusal to follow established law. The case centers on Andrei Bankevich, a Belarusian asylum seeker who remained incarcerated in Muscatine County despite federal statutes limiting detention for those with final deportation orders to six months. According to Judge Ebinger, the government’s insistence on a court order before complying with clear legal obligations is an untenable position that undermines the fundamental principles of the American justice system.

The Perilous Path from Belarus to Muscatine

The legal odyssey of Andrei Bankevich began in 2021 when he fled political persecution under the authoritarian regime in Belarus. Although he was eventually granted relief from deportation back to his home country under the Convention Against Torture, his legal status remained in limbo as he awaited relocation to a third country. The situation escalated in early 2025 following a drunken driving arrest in Minnesota, which triggered his transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As federal detention centers reached capacity during Operation Metro Surge, Bankevich was moved to the Muscatine County Jail in December 2025, where he remained until the court’s intervention.

Constitutional Protections and the Six Month Limit

Alexander Smith, the Des Moines attorney representing Bankevich, argued successfully that his client’s prolonged incarceration constituted a severe violation of due process rights. Federal law typically prohibits the detention of individuals subject to deportation for more than half a year if their removal is not imminent. Smith highlighted that without judicial relief, his client faced the prospect of indefinite imprisonment, potentially stretching into years. The court echoed these concerns, noting that the government failed to provide any specific documentation or evidence that a third-country removal was actually being finalized.