Two men are cleared of murder after serving 20 years in jail — but instead of walking free, authorities turned them over to ICE

Two men served nearly two decades of their life sentences before their murder charges were dropped on Thursday.

But instead of walking free, Gabriel Solache, 43, and Arturo Reyes, 45, were promptly turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Both Solache and Arturo claim they were beaten by Chicago police Detective Reynaldo Guevara until they confessed to murdering a couple and kidnapping their two young children in 1998.

Prosecutors at the time said they were driven to help Adriana Mejia, who planned the attack because she wanted to steal the couple’s two-month-old daughter.

Mejia, who is reportedly Reyes’ relative and Solache’s friend, is serving a life sentence.

While prosecutors said they still believe Solache and Arturo are guilty, they told a judge on Thursday that they had no choice but to drop the charges after their confessions were thrown out.

Judge James Obbish delivered a scathing speech last week, blasting Guevara’s “selfish choices” for preventing the truth of what happened from emerging.

The decision ultimately cleared the way for Solache and Reyes to be released from custody after nearly 20 years.

Instead, they were taken into custody by ICE, where they remain in custody “pending disposition of their immigration cases,” an ICE spokesperson told Buzzfeed.

Solache and Arturo, who are Mexican citizens, could now face deportation.

With With News Wire Services