Florida Federal Judge Dies Days After Controversial Immigration Ruling

Federal Judge John E. Steele has died at the age of 77, just days after issuing a controversial ruling that ordered the release of a convicted Cuban aircraft hijacker from immigration detention.

A legal source in Miami confirmed Steele’s death. No official cause or circumstances surrounding his passing have been publicly disclosed.

Steele had recently come under intense political scrutiny following his decision to release Maikel Guerra Morales from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody while deportation proceedings remained unresolved.

Guerra Morales was convicted after hijacking a Cuban domestic aircraft in 2003 and forcing the flight to land at Key West International Airport in Florida. He later served more than two decades in prison on convictions that included aircraft piracy and conspiracy to interfere with a flight crew.

After completing his criminal sentence, ICE detained Guerra Morales in December 2025 with the intention of removing him from the United States. However, after more than six months in immigration custody, Steele ruled that continued detention was no longer legally justified and ordered his release under government supervision while deportation efforts continued.

The decision sparked criticism from Republican lawmakers, who argued that releasing a convicted aircraft hijacker posed a risk to public safety.

Representative Greg Steube announced that he had introduced articles of impeachment against Steele, accusing the judge of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors” over the ruling.

Steube argued that the court had sufficient legal grounds to keep Guerra Morales in custody and described the decision as an example of judicial overreach.

In his written opinion, Steele relied on long-established Supreme Court precedent governing immigration detention. The ruling holds that the federal government generally cannot detain non-citizens indefinitely when there is no realistic prospect of removing them from the country in the foreseeable future.

The judge concluded that ICE had failed to demonstrate a significant likelihood that Guerra Morales could be deported within a reasonable period. According to the ruling, U.S. authorities had been unable to remove him to Cuba because of protections under international anti-torture obligations and had not shown evidence that Mexico had agreed to accept him.

Steele wrote that because the detention had exceeded six months without a realistic prospect of removal, continued confinement would violate established legal standards.

His order stated that the government could not keep individuals imprisoned indefinitely simply because deportation efforts had stalled.

Steele’s death comes before any congressional action could be taken on the proposed impeachment resolution. No further details have been released regarding funeral arrangements or the future status of the impeachment effort.