The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) strongly rebuked a Biden-appointed federal judge in Oregon this week after she ordered the release of a transgender Mexican national from a male-only Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility. The detainee, Odalis Jhonatan Martinez-Velasquez, is a biological male who identifies as a woman and entered the United States illegally in 2023.
According to DHS, Martinez-Velasquez was detained on June 2, 2025, under President Donald Trump’s standing executive order that mandates biological males be housed only in male detention centers. The policy, part of Trump’s “Executive Order of Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” aims to protect female detainees and uphold biological distinctions in federal policy.
Oregon District Judge Adrienne Nelson Baggio, appointed by President Biden, ruled in favor of Martinez-Velasquez’s release, overriding immigration enforcement procedures. DHS accused the court of yielding to pressure from left-wing immigration and gender ideology activists, stating that the decision undermines legal authority and public safety.
Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized the ruling, asserting that only an immigration judge—not a district judge—has the legal authority to determine the release of detained illegal aliens. “The activist judge is ignoring the biological reality of sex,” McLaughlin said, warning that the decision endangers the safety of women in ICE custody and ignores the American public’s demand for restored sanity in immigration enforcement.
DHS reiterated that under Trump’s executive order, no male detainee claiming a female identity will be transferred to women’s facilities, emphasizing: “Velasquez is no exception.” The agency has not yet disclosed how it will respond to the ruling or whether it will appeal.
