Jamal A. v. Whitaker
Jamal A. v. Whitaker
Opinion of the Court
Petitioner Jamal A. is an inadmissible alien who has been held in custody by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") for over 19 months. Jamal filed this habeas action pursuant to
I. BACKGROUND
Jamal is a citizen of Somalia who fled to the United States in 2001. ECF No. 1 at 5; ECF No. 8-1 at 2-3. Jamal was granted asylum and then later was granted status as a lawful permanent resident ("LPR"). ECF No. 8-1 at 3. In 2015, Jamal was convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to eight months in prison. ECF No. 11 at 2. After being released from prison, Jamal fled to Canada, ECF No. 1 at 9; ECF No. 11 at 2, but Canada forced him to return to *857the United States, ECF No. 8-1 at 2. When Jamal tried to reenter the United States on June 6, 2017, ICE detained him and initiated removal proceedings. See ECF No. 8-1 at 1-4.
As a general matter, an LPR who leaves the United States and then tries to reenter the country-like an American citizen who leaves the country and then returns-is "not ... regarded as seeking an admission into the United States."
Jamal now asks this Court to order his release. His habeas petition includes claims under § 1225(b), the Fourth Amendment, and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The Court dismisses the statutory and Fourth Amendment claims,
II. MERITS
The parties agree that the Due Process Clause places some limitation on detention under § 1225(b)(2)(a), see ECF No. 14 at 4, but the parties disagree about the scope of that limitation. Much of the parties' briefing focuses on whether arriving aliens detained under § 1225(b)(2)(A) are entitled to less protection under the Due Process Clause than criminal aliens detained under § 1226(c). The government argues that aliens detained under § 1225(b)(2)(A) should receive less protection because they are treated as though they are being detained outside the United States by virtue of the "entry fiction."
The Court is inclined to agree with the government that arriving aliens detained under § 1225(b)(2)(A) receive less robust due-process protection than criminal aliens detained under § 1226(c). "The distinction between an alien who has effected an entry into the United States and one who has never entered runs throughout immigration law." Zadvydas v. Davis ,
That said, it is not clear what, if anything, turns on this dispute, at least as a practical matter. In theory, if aliens detained under § 1225(b)(2)(A) receive less protection under the Due Process Clause than aliens detained under § 1226(c), then the former can be detained somewhat longer than the latter. Cf. id. at *4 (arriving aliens detained at the border have "no right of entry into this country" and thus "may be held for a greater length of time before [their] continued detention raises Due Process concerns"). But everyone seems to agree that, under the Due Process Clause, neither group of aliens can be detained indefinitely (at least without some kind of showing that they are likely to flee or harm the community). And in deciding whether an alien's continued detention would violate the Due Process Clause, most courts seem to apply pretty much the same factors-regardless of whether the court agrees that aliens detained under § 1225(b)(2)(A) receive less protection than aliens detained under other provisions. See, e.g. , Brissett v. Decker ,
Turning to those factors: The undersigned recently identified and explained the factors that most courts consider when weighing the lawfulness of the continued detention of an alien under the Due Process Clause. See Muse v. Sessions , No. 18-CV-0054 (PJS/LIB),
Most of these factors weigh in favor of granting relief to Jamal:
First , courts consider the length of detention. How long detention has lasted "is critical to the due-process inquiry." Id. at *4. It is important to bear in mind the context: The detention that is being examined here is the detention of a human being who has never been found to pose a danger to the community or to be likely to flee if released.
Jamal has been in ICE custody over 19 months. See ECF No. 8 at 1-2. This is a very long time, even for an alien who may be entitled to less protection under the Due Process Clause than an alien detained under § 1226(c) or another provision of the immigration laws. See, e.g. , Salazar v. Rodriguez , No. 17-CV-1099,
Second , courts consider how long the detention will likely continue in the absence of judicial relief. Courts examine the "anticipated duration of all removal proceedings"-including administrative and judicial appeals-when estimating how long detention will last. Muse ,
This factor also strongly supports granting relief to Jamal. In November 2017, an IJ granted Jamal deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT") on the basis of his clan affiliation. ECF No. 8-4 at 2, 8-13. The Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") reversed the IJ's decision in June 2018, finding that Jamal was not entitled to CAT relief on the basis of his clan affiliation, but remanding the case to the IJ to determine whether Jamal was entitled to relief on another basis. ECF No. 8-5 at 1 (notice of appeal); ECF No. 10-1 at 2-5 (BIA ruling). Jamal was scheduled to have a follow-up hearing before an IJ in September 2018. The Court has not been informed whether that hearing took place, but, if the IJ denies relief, Jamal will almost surely appeal the IJ's decision to the BIA. ECF No. 13 at 1.
Notably, immigration courts have been struggling to keep pace with the high volume of removal proceedings-and that was before many of those courts were shuttered by the ongoing government shutdown. See East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump ,
*860Third , courts consider the conditions of the alien's detention. Whether "the facility for the civil immigration detention is meaningfully different from a penal institution for criminal detention" factors into the reasonableness of Jamal's detention. Sajous v. Decker , No. 18-CV-2447,
This factor favors Jamal because ICE is housing him at the Sherburne County Jail-a facility that houses not only federal detainees, but also inmates who are serving state prison sentences. ECF No. 9 at 1 n.1. Jamal's confinement at the Sherburne County Jail is "indistinguishable from penal confinement." Muse ,
Fourth , courts consider the nature and extent of any delays in the removal proceedings caused by the alien. Courts should be "sensitive to the possibility that dilatory tactics by the removable alien may serve not only to put off the final day of deportation, but also to compel a determination that the alien must be released because of the length of his incarceration." Ly v. Hansen ,
Fifth , courts consider the nature and extent of any delays in the removal proceedings caused by the government. See Sajous ,
Finally , courts consider the likelihood that the proceedings will culminate in a final removal order. "The more likely that the alien will be removed, the longer the detention that will be deemed reasonable." Muse ,
In sum, four of these six factors weigh (two strongly) in favor granting relief, one weighs against granting relief, and one is neutral. Accordingly, the Court holds that continuing to detain Jamal without giving him a bond hearing would violate his rights under the Due Process Clause. The Court will order that an IJ conduct a bond hearing at which "the parties must be allowed to present evidence and argument about whether [Jamal] is a danger to the community and whether [Jamal] is likely to flee if he is not detained." Id. at *6.
ORDER
Based on the foregoing, and on all of the files, records, and proceedings herein, the Court SUSTAINS Jamal's objection [ECF No. 12] and DECLINES TO ADOPT the R & R [ECF No. 11]. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1. Jamal's application for a writ of habeas corpus under28 U.S.C. § 2241 *861[ECF No. 1] is GRANTED IN PART with respect to Count III (the Due Process claim).
2. No later than February 22, 2019, an immigration judge must provide Jamal with a bond hearing. At this hearing, the immigration judge must make an individualized determination regarding whether detention is necessary to protect the community or to prevent Jamal from fleeing.
3. Count I of the petition is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, and Count II of the petition is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY.
Although ICE claimed to have detained Jamal under
Jamal does not dispute that he committed a crime of moral turpitude. See ECF No. 1 at 10; ECF No. 11 at 6 n.3.
Jamal claims that
Under the "entry fiction," "although aliens seeking admission into the United States may physically be allowed within its borders pending a determination of admissibility, such aliens are legally considered to be detained at the border and hence as never having effected entry into this country." Napoles v. I.N.S. ,
Nothing in this order is intended to suggest what standard of proof (preponderance of the evidence, clear and convincing evidence, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, or something else) will apply at the bond hearing. And nothing in this order is intended to suggest whether it is Jamal or the government who must meet that burden. Those matters are left for the IJ to determine in the first instance.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JAMAL A. v. Matthew WHITAKER, Acting Attorney General Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security Ronald Vitiello, Acting Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Peter Berg, Director, St. Paul Field Office Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Joel Brott, Sherburne County Sheriff
- Cited By
- 39 cases
- Status
- Published