Federal judge keeps Mexican TV host in Florida immigration detention
Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz ruled that Inés Gómez Mont must seek a bond hearing rather than a direct release order, leaving her at the Broward Transitional Center.
By Layla Richardson ·
Inés Gómez Mont will remain in U.S. immigration custody after a federal judge in Florida rejected her legal team's bid for immediate release. On November 5, Judge Jeffrey T. Kuntz of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied the habeas corpus petition filed by her attorneys. The judge determined that the petition was not the correct legal mechanism to secure her freedom at this stage. Instead, he directed her defense to request a hearing to review the conditions of her detention and explore the possibility of release through a bond payment.
Gómez Mont is currently held at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Florida. She was taken into custody by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, on October 30 in Miami. According to court records cited by N+ Univision, the detention is based on two specific violations of U.S. immigration law. The first charge falls under Section 1182(a)(6)(A)(i), which applies to individuals who enter or stay in the country without being admitted or inspected by immigration authorities. The second charge, under Section 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I), cites a failure to present required entry documents.
The judicial file states that Gómez Mont entered the United States in July 2021 without undergoing a formal immigration inspection. It further notes that she has remained in the country since that date. The judge's decision does not resolve the separate legal challenges she may face in Mexico. It also does not permanently end her chances of leaving the detention center, as the ruling specifically addresses her immigration status in the United States rather than the underlying facts of her case.
The next step in the process is for her legal team to file a motion for a bond hearing. This hearing will allow the court to examine whether she meets the criteria for release on bail while her immigration case proceeds. Until that hearing is scheduled and held, she will remain at the Broward Transitional Center. The ruling clarifies the procedural path forward without dismissing the underlying allegations of her unauthorized entry.
