As federal immigration authorities draw Operation Metro Surge down to the usual enforcement levels, the filing of habeas corpus petitions has dropped dramatically.
Over this past weekend (February 21-22), only four new habeas petitions were filed, down from the more recent 40 to 50. Only two have been filed so far this Monday. A total of 973 habeas cases have been filed so far in 2026.
But the march of Minnesota Men goes on.
Juan Karlos Guerrero-Ruiz is a Venezuelan who crossed the U.S.-Mexican border back in December 2023. He skipped any formal border crossing, but was soon apprehended by border patrol, according to court records.
Having crossed the border during the Biden administration, he wasn’t sent back but instead was given a “Notice to Appear” in federal immigration court in Minnesota.
Guerrero skipped his court date and was sentenced in September 2025 to be deported, in absentia. The next month, he was located in Hibbing.
In late October, a federal magistrate judge signed a judicial order for Guerrero’s arrest. You are always being told that merely crossing the border without authorization isn’t a criminal act, but a mere “civil” offense.
False. Guerrero has been criminally charged with illegal entry, a misdemeanor for first-time offenders.
He was taken into federal custody in mid-December, arrested in Ashland, Wisconsin. Court filings in January showed that Guerrero intends to plead guilty. He is scheduled to appear in federal court Duluth this afternoon to enter a guilty plea and be sentenced under the district’s Fast Track program.
Vaya con Dios.
