OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
2:14 PM – Friday, May 1, 2026
U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose ordered the release this week of Bryan Rafael Gomez, a national of the Dominican Republic who is residing illegally in the United States and is wanted for murder in his home country.
Judge DuBose, who was appointed by former Democrat President Joe Biden, granted a writ of habeas corpus for Gomez, ruling that his arrest and detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was illegal.
The court further ruled that ICE was holding Gomez “under a legal authority meant for migrants apprehended at the border,” which did not apply since he was arrested by local police “within the interior of the United States.”
Gomez’s lengthy criminal history shockingly includes a warrant for homicide issued on January 24, 2023, by the Coordination of the Courts of Instruction of the National District of Santo Domingo. After entering the U.S. illegally in 2022, he was most recently arrested on April 4th by the Worcester Police Department in Massachusetts for assault and battery.
Following his release on $500 bail for the local charge, ICE Boston arrested him on an immigration detainer.
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since criticized the ruling, a subsequent statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island later attempted to clarify that Judge DuBose was “not informed” of the Dominican Republic murder warrant at the time she made her decision.
“Bryan Rafael Gomez is a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with an international warrant for homicide,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a DHS news release. “An activist judge appointed by Joe Biden released this wanted murderer back into American communities.
“This is yet another example of an activist judge trying to thwart President [Donald] Trump’s mandate from the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens from our communities. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to fight for the removal of criminal illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country.”
The judge reportedly ordered a show-cause hearing to be held on Monday for attorneys to explain why Gomez’s criminal background, outlined in the DHS release on Thursday, was not provided to the court.
Dubose did not specify if this criticism was aimed at Gomez and his legal team or the attorneys representing ICE and the DHS.
“Failing to provide this Court with relevant and material facts threatens public safety and erodes trust in the rule of law. Based on new information available to this Court as described in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) April 30, 2026 press release, the Respondents are ordered to show cause why they should not be held in contempt for failure to notify the Court of facts relevant to Petitioner’s dangerousness and/or criminal history,” Dubose said in her order, issued Thursday night.
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