A federal judge in Kentucky has given immigration officials seven days to provide a new bond hearing for Beata Siemionkowicz, a lawful permanent resident from Round Lake, Illinois. At that hearing, the government must show by clear and convincing evidence why it needs to keep her in custody, U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell wrote in a November 3 order.
Siemionkowicz has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, according to the ACLU of Illinois, which represents her. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested her in August 2025. Later that month, an immigration judge denied bond on the ground that she posed a flight risk. By the time Caldwell heard the challenge to her detention, Siemionkowicz had spent more than a year in custody.
The two proceedings answer different questions. Siemionkowicz has appealed an immigration judge’s order removing her to Poland. The bond hearing concerns where she can live while that case proceeds. Caldwell found that continuing to hold her without a new hearing violated due process. The immigration judge hearing the bond request will decide whether she can go home.
Caldwell also set a deadline for the government to report back. By November 17, it must tell the court when the hearing took place and whether the immigration judge granted bond. If the judge denies it, the government must give the reasons.
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