Cabral v. Decker
Opinion of the Court
This case, a petition for habeas corpus under
The petitioner, Dalbido Antonio Gil Cabral - a lawful permanent resident of this country - has been imprisoned without a bond hearing for over seven months. His next hearing is scheduled for mid-November, at which time he will have been detained for over nine months. He now brings this petition for a writ of habeas corpus against the respondents: Thomas Decker,
For the following reasons, the petition for a writ of habeas corpus is granted . The respondents are ordered to provide a bond hearing or release the petitioner with in seven days of this Order.
I.
Dalbido Antonio Gil Cabral is a 26-year-old lawful permanent resident of the United States. (Pet. ¶ 1.) He is from the Dominican Republic, but has lived in the United States since he was fourteen years old. (Id. ¶ 1.)His mother (a lawful permanent resident), sister (a United States citizen), brother (a lawful permanent resident), grandfather, and partner all live here as well. (See
On January 22, 2018, the respondents transferred the petitioner to civil immigration detention. (Pet. ¶ 2.) He was sent to the Bergen County Jail in New Jersey, and removal proceedings were initiated against him at the Executive Office for Immigration Review. (Id. ¶ 26; Pet. Ex. B.) The respondents charged the petitioner as removable under
On March 23, 2018, the petitioner filed a motion to terminate the immigration proceedings. (Pet. ¶ 29.) He argued that a conviction for turnstile jumping was not a crime involving moral turpitude. (Id. ¶ 29; Pet. Ex. F.)The Department of Homeland Security ("DHS")later filed a written opposition, (Pet. ¶ 30), and the immigration judge adjourned the case until May 1, 2018, to consider the motion. (Id. ) On April 13, 2018, DHS amended the petitioner's notice to appear to add an allegation that the petitioner was convicted of petit larceny - a misdemeanor. (Id. ¶ 31.)
At the May 1 hearing, the immigration judge declared that she would not make a formal ruling on the petitioner's motion to terminate because DHS had amended the notice to appear to include another purported crime of moral turpitude: the conviction for petit larceny. (Id. ¶ 32.) That same day, the immigration judge held a Matter of Joseph hearing
*258The immigration judge disagreed, holding the petitioner had not met his burden. (Id. ) The judge then adjourned the case until May 31, 2018. (Id. )
On May 31, 2018, the immigration judge denied the petitioner's Amended Motion to Terminate Removal Proceedings. (Id. ¶ 34.) The immigration judge stated that she believed she was bound to conclude that a New York petit larceny conviction is a crime involving moral turpitude. (Id. ) The judge then scheduled a merits hearing for adjudication of the petitioner's applications for relief from removal. (Id. ) The judge set the hearing for August 7, 2018. (Id. )
At the August 7 merits hearing, the petitioner was allowed to present only one witness. (Aug. 8, 2018, Z. Jones Letter to the Court, at 1, Dkt. No. 16.) The immigration court then continued the hearing to a date more than three months in the future: November 14, 2018. (Id. )At the November 14 hearing, the petitioner will have spent over nine months in custody without a bond hearing.
On September 14, 2018, the petitioner submitted a letter to notify the Court about a recently issued opinion from the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"), Matter of J. M. Acosta,
II.
Congress has authorized federal district courts "to grant a writ of habeas corpus whenever a petitioner is 'in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.' " Wang v. Ashcroft,
Federal immigration law authorizes DHS to arrest and initially detain an alien who has entered the United States and is believed to be removable.
*259However, "there must be some procedural safeguard in place for immigrants detained for months without a hearing." Lora,
III.
The petitioner offers three arguments in support of his request for a bond hearing: first, that § 1226(c) does not apply to him because he has contested his deportability; second, that § 1226(c) is unconstitutional if read to apply to aliens who have contested their removability; and third, that he has been detained for an unreasonably long period of time without a bond hearing in violation of his Fifth Amendment Due Process rights. Only the third argument is meritorious, but each is addressed below.
A.
The petitioner first argues
First, the plain text of § 1226 authorizes the government to detain an alien "pending a decision on whether the alien is to be removed from the United States."
Second, in Jennings the Supreme Court noted that § 1226(c) provides for detention of an alien "until 'a decision on whether the alien is to be removed' is made." Jennings,
Finally, the petitioner's interpretation of § 1226(c) would drain the statute of any and all meaning. If an alien does not challenge his removal, then there is no basis for removal proceedings under § 1226(c) ; the alien would simply be ordered removed under a different statute. See
Thus, the petitioner's challenge to his removability does not exempt him from § 1226(c).
B.
The petitioner also argues that § 1226(c)"raises serious constitutional concerns" as applied to aliens who challenge their removability. (Pet. ¶ 64.) This argument is also unavailing. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that detention *260during removal proceedings is constitutional. Demore,
Thus, § 1226(c) is not facially unconstitutional when applied to aliens who have challenged their removability.
C.
Finally, the petitioner argues that the length of his detention without a bond hearing, which will exceed nine months by his next court date, violates his right to due process. (Pet. ¶¶ 68-74.) He asserts two bases for this argument. First, he claims that any detention over six months pursuant to § 1226(c) is per se unconstitutional. (Id. ¶¶ 68-70.)Second, he asserts that even if the Court cannot draw a hard-and-fast due-process line at six months, the individual facts in this case show that his detention has violated his Fifth Amendment right to Due Process. (Id. ¶¶ 71-74.)
1.
The Court cannot adopt the six-month rule proposed by the petitioner. The Supreme Court rejected a six-month rule as a matter of statutory construction in Jennings,
2.
The Jennings decision left open the possibility that individual detentions without bond hearings might be so lengthy as to violate due process. In the wake of Jennings, courts in this District have applied the case-by-case approach to petitions for bail hearings. See Sajous v. Decker, No. 18cv2447,
*261(holding, pre- Jennings, that detention violated the petitioner's Fifth Amendment rights without relying solely on a six-month cutoff); Gordon v. Shanahan, No. 15cv261,
Under the case-by-case approach, courts examine each individual's detention circumstances to determine whether it has become "unreasonable or unjustified." Demore,
A number of factors bear on whether a detention has become unreasonable or unjustified. These factors include:(1) the length of time the petitioner has been detained; (2) the party responsible for the delay; (3) whether the petitioner has asserted defenses to removal; (4) whether the detention will exceed the time the petitioner spent in prison for the crime that made him removable; (5) whether the detention facility is meaningfully different from a penal institution for criminal detention; (6) the nature of the crimes committed by the petitioner; and (7) whether the petitioner's detention is near conclusion. See, e.g., Sajous v. Decker, No. 18cv2447,
First, the length of detention. The petitioner has already been detained for over seven months without a bond hearing. By his next hearing he will have been in detention for over nine months without any assurance that it will end at that time. (Aug. 8, 2018, Z. Jones Letter to the Court, at 1, Dkt. No. 16.) This length of time is within the range that this Court has found sufficient to show a due process violation. See Gordon,
Second, the party responsible for the delay. It does not appear that the petitioner has unreasonably delayed the proceedings. During the course of his detention, the petitioner has attended four calendar hearings. (Respondents' Mem. at 22.)He has filed a motion to terminate, an application for relief from removal, and a supplemental motion to terminate.(See id. at 22-23; Pet. ¶¶ 11-17.) But it does not appear that he ever requested a continuance or an adjournment. (See Respondents' Mem. at 22-23; Pet. ¶¶ 11-17.)
The most recent adjournment of the hearing from August 7, 2018, to November 14, 2018 - over three months - was occasioned because the immigration judge did not have sufficient time to hear all of the evidence on August 7. The respondents claim that the petitioner's continued detention is "the natural and foreseeable consequence of his own decision to avail himself of further process." (Respondents' Mem. at 23.) But the petitioner should not be penalized for using procedural remedies available to him. At the argument of this motion, both parties agreed that there has been no showing of dilatory conduct by either party. This factor weighs in favor of the petitioner.
Third, whether the petitioner has asserted defenses. The petitioner here has asserted *262several defenses to his removal, including asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. He also asserts that § 1226(c) does not apply because he has not committed crimes of moral turpitude. This factor weighs in the petitioner's favor.
Fourth, the time of detention as compared to the potential jail time for the underlying offense. The petitioner will have been in detention for over nine months at his next hearing date. (Aug. 8, 2018, Z. Jones Letter to the Court, at 1, Dkt. No. 16.) The underlying offenses here are attempted robbery in the second degree and petit larceny. For these crimes, the petitioner received a nine-month sentence for the attempted robbery and "time served" - for an unspecified length of time - for the petit larceny. The length of time that the respondent was incarcerated for the underlying crimes is not so long that it suggests that it is clear that the defendant is a danger to the community or a risk of flight so that a bond hearing would be futile.
Fifth, the penal nature of the detention facility. The petitioner has in fact been detained by the immigration authorities in a criminal detention facility. (Pet. ¶ 35("Respondents have held Mr. Gil at the Bergen County Jail, in conditions identical to those of county jail inmates serving criminal sentences ....").) This factor favors the petitioner.
Sixth, the nature of the crimes the petitioner committed. The underlying offenses for detention here are attempted robbery and petit larceny. The petitioner has also been convicted of turnstile jumping, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal trespass, intent to obtain transportation without paying, criminal possession of a weapon, and disorderly conduct. (Respondents' Mem. at 2-3.) Based on his multiple convictions, this factor weighs in favor of the respondents.
Seventh, whether the petitioner's detention is near conclusion. The petitioner's next hearing is rescheduled for November 14, 2018. (Aug. 8, 2018, Z. Jones Letter to the Court, at 1, Dkt. No. 16.)There is no assurance that the hearing will be concluded at that time. This factor weighs in the petitioner's favor.
Based upon all of these factors, the petitioner's continuing detention without a bond hearing is unreasonable. Therefore, due process requires the petitioner's release or a bond hearing to determine if the petitioner is a danger to the community or a risk of flight.
*263Zadvydas,
CONCLUSION
The Court has considered all of the arguments raised by the parties. To the extent not specifically addressed, the arguments are either moot or without merit.
SO ORDERED.
Field Office Director, New York City Field Office, United States Immigration & Customs Enforcement.
Secretary, United States Department of Homeland Security.
Attorney General, United States Department of Justice.
At a Matter of Joseph hearing, a "detainee may avoid mandatory detention by demonstrating that he is not an alien, was not convicted of the predicate crime, or that the INS is otherwise substantially unlikely to establish that he is in fact subject to mandatory detention." Demore v. Kim,
Under § 1226(c), "[t]he Attorney General shall take into custody any alien who ...is deportable by reason of having committed any offense covered in section 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), (A)(iii), (B), (C), or (D) of this title." Under § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), "[a]ny alien who at any time after admission is convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude, not arising out of a single scheme of criminal misconduct," is deportable.
The petitioner argues that at the bond hearing the government should have the burden of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that the petitioner is a danger to the community or risk of flight. The Supreme Court recently held that § 1226 itself does not require the government to carry the clear and convincing evidence burden. See Jennings,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Dalbido Antonio Gil CABRAL v. Thomas DECKER
- Cited By
- 77 cases
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- Published