11th Circuit Defines “Available Caregiver” for Compassionate Release – Update for February 23, 2026

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I’M AVAILABLE

One extraordinary and compelling reason for grant of compassionate release under 18 USC 3582(c)(1) is that the prisoner has a loved one – child, spouse, sibling, parent – who is incapacitated by illness or injury and needs a caregiver.  The catch is that (except in case of a spouse) the prisoner must be the “only available caregiver” for the family member under Guidelines 1B1.13(b)(3)(C).

No one has been quite sure what constitutes the “only available caregiver.” Last week, the 11^th Circuit became the first appellate court to weigh in on the question.

Rufino Robelo-Galo petitioned his sentencing court for compassionate release, arguing that he was the “only available caregiver” for his incapacitated father. The district court found that Rufino’s son, Elmer, was available to help the incapacitated dad, and, as a result, Rufe was not the only available caregiver. The court denied the compassionate release motion, and Rufino appealed.

Last week, the 11^th Circuit upheld denial of the compassionate release motion. To prove extraordinary and compelling reasons for grant of compassionate release under USSG 1B1.13(b)(3)(C) – the incapacitated family member provision – the Circuit ruled that an inmate must demonstrate that no other person is both qualified and free to provide the needed care.

“Whether an alternative caregiver is both qualified and free, the 11^th said, “will turn on the unique facts of a particular case, but we identify several factors that district courts should consider in making that assessment.” Those may include

• • whether legal barriers (such as immigration status or active duty military) prevent the potential caregiver from providing care;
  • whether physical or logistical barriers exist to caregiving, such as geographic distance (which“may render caregiving impracticable depending on the circumstances. A potential caregiver who lives across the country is less free to care for an incapacitated relative than a potential caregiver who lives in a neighboring town;”
  • whether knowledge or capability-based barriers (such as language or specialized skills) might affect the caregiver’s qualifications;
  • whether “familial dynamics or relationship history” – such estrangement or history of abuse – may bear on an alternative caregiver’s availability. The Circuit noted that “evidence that a family member or friend has previously cared for the incapacitated person supports a finding that the family member or friend is available;” and
  • whether economic, financial, or employment-related barriers would impact a caregiver’s availability.

In this case, Rufus argued that none of his five children was available to serve as the grandfather’s caregiver. One child was deceased; one’s whereabouts were unknown; two lived in the United States and could not relocate to Honduras; and the remaining child – Elmer – lived in Honduras but was four hours away. Elmer could not travel back and forth to care for his grandfather because he did not have a car, Elmer could not accommodate his grandfather in his own home because of space constraints, and that Elmer could not relocate to his grandfather’s home because he would not be able to find work and provide for his own children.

The district court, however, reasoned that because Elmer was “within hours of the incapacitated family member,” Rufus was not “the only available caregiver for his incapacitated father… [and] that “a finding of compassionate release cannot rest solely on avoiding such inconvenience for a convicted inmate’s family.”

Being the first Circuit case to address the meaning of “available caregiver” in detail, the 11^th’s decision will undoubtedly become the “go-to” ruling on the question across other circuits.  Anyone filing a compassionate release motion arguing an incapacitated family member should address the factors identified by Rufus’s court.

United States v. Robelo-Galo, Case No. 24-12128, 2026 U.S.App. LEXIS 4650 (11th Cir. February 17, 2026)

~ Thomas L. Root