Judge: DOJ claims are ‘hard to take seriously’ in Iowa deportation case

Court records show Nyamuoch Thomas Duoth, a citizen of South Sudan, was detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the first six months of 2026. During that time, federal officials said they were trying, without success, to send her to a third country, Ethiopia.

According to federal records in the case, Duoth was born in a refugee camp in Ethiopia, and, in 1994, arrived in the United States as a refugee at the age of 4.

In August 1995, her status in the United States was adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident. From 2008 to 2017, she was convicted of multiple criminal offenses, including resisting arrest and shoplifting, as well assault on an officer, for which she was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two to four years.

In September 2020, an immigration judge ordered her removed to South Sudan or, in the alternative, Ethiopia. In May 2022, she was released from custody on an order of supervision after it was determined there was no “significant likelihood” the government could send her to either country.

In March 2025, ICE detained Duoth again, announcing it intended to send her back to South Sudan or Ethiopia, and asserting she would remain in custody due to the “significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.”

An immigration judge’s order for removal in the case became final on Dec. 26, 2025.

After several months in custody, Duoth sought relief in the federal courts, suing ICE, Homeland Security and Pottawattamie County where she was being held. The lawsuit sought her immediate release since there appeared to be no chance of her being deported anytime soon.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher recently ruled in Duoth’s favor without taking the matter to a full hearing. Locher noted Duoth had been released from ICE custody in May 2022 due to there being no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future. Despite that, Locher said, ICE detained her again in March 2025, and in July 2026 — more than six months since her most recent order of removal became final – she remained in ICE custody and still had not been deported.

While the federal government told the court it was “actively working with the Department of States and the Department of Homeland Security on removal to a third county,” Locher said the government provided no details on specific actions taken or explained what “actively working” meant in Duoth’s case.

“In short,” Locher wrote in his decision, the government offered “no meaningful evidence or information as to the likelihood of Ethiopia accepting (Duoth) and providing the required travel documents.” The government, he said, had failed to show any progress made toward removal since detention proceedings began.

While the government suggested Duoth’s criminal history warranted her ongoing detention, Locher said in his decision that “this argument is hard to take seriously” given that Duoth’s criminal history dated back to 2017 and earlier and she had been “on release in the community without incident for most of the years since then.” As a result, Locher concluded, Duoth had “already shown” she could safely be released.

On July 16, Locher ordered ICE to immediately release Duoth from custody, or, if she was not in Iowa, to return her to Iowa within 24 hours and then immediately release her from custody with all of her personal effects.

Duoth’s attorneys are now asking the court to order the federal government to reimburse Duoth’s attorneys for their fees and expenses.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE