Judge Keith Ellison granted the release of Stephanie Kenny-Velasquez in a decision that came less than 48 hours before her next scheduled hearing that could have resulted in a removal order to send Kenny-Velasquez to Ecuador instead of her native country.

“Out of everything that’s ever happened in my life, I think this is the most … excitement that I’ve ever had,” said U.S. Army reservist Christopher Busby, Kenny-Velasquez’s husband, after the 20-minute hearing. “This is insane.”

Kenny-Velasquez was detained after a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities in December. She first entered the United States in 2021, sought asylum and had been attending her hearings and annual check-ins as required.

After her arrest in December 2025, she was denied bond by an immigration judge. But attorney Javier Rivera successfully argued Monday that Kenny-Velasquez should not have been detained after she was released in 2021 pending her asylum claim because the government agreed she wasn’t a danger to the community.

“The government has provided no explanation on why she was re-detained. There’s no individualized assessment done … or explanation of any sort of why she was re-detained,” he told Ellison.

The government’s attorney argued Kenny-Velasquez was already afforded due process during her bond hearing.

The judge ordered Kenny-Velasquez released within 48 hours. Rivera said his client could be released as early as Tuesday.

Kenny-Velasquez will now be placed in the government’s “non-detained” category as officials consider her applications for legal status. That includes a request for the Military Parole in Place program, which allows certain immigrants who are relatives or spouses of service members to remain in the country under specific conditions. 

Rivera said the federal government could appeal the decision but it’s not likely.

“If they lose, then it sets up circuit (court)-wide precedent,” he said. “I think most of the time, the government will take some satisfaction just eating one loss versus possibly open the entire circuit up to losses identical to this one.”

As Rivera spoke, Busby was frantically calling the Houston detention center where Kenny-Velasquez is being held. He said that despite the wave of relief Monday, he’s not going to fully exhale until he sees his wife.

“I am not celebrating until Stephanie is here,” he said.