Republican Congressman Greg Steube from Florida filed an article of impeachment against Judge John E. Steele of the Middle District of Florida on July 16, 2026. The impeachment move alleges that Judge Steele committed "high crimes and misdemeanors" by ordering the release of Miakel Guerra Morales, a convicted Cuban plane hijacker, from ICE custody.

Morales, an illegal immigrant from Cuba, was released following Judge Steele's order dated July 8, 2026. Congressman Steube criticized the decision, stating, "Judge Steele had every legal justification to keep a convicted plane hijacker off our streets, and he chose to let him go instead. This is exactly the kind of activist judicial overreach the American people are sick of."

The judge's order included the reasoning that "The Government cannot lock individuals in a cell indefinitely as a workaround for a stalled deportation process."

In a related case, former Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan was convicted of felony obstruction for assisting an illegal migrant from Mexico, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, in evading ICE agents. Dugan was fined $5,000 but received no jail time, despite federal prosecutors seeking 15 to 21 months of imprisonment. Her attorney has indicated plans to appeal the conviction.

Additionally, a three-time deported illegal immigrant has been charged with killing a six-year-old girl in North Carolina after running a stop sign.

People in Havana, Cuba, experienced a blackout on July 6, 2026, as captured in photographs by Ramon Espinosa.

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