Tumbaco Malave v. United States

U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota

Tumbaco Malave v. United States

Trial Court Opinion

                 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT                            
                     DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA                               


Juan Salcedo Tumbaco Malave,       Case No. 24-cv-2404 (SRN/DLM)         
               Petitioner,                                               

v.                                        REPORT AND                     
                                      RECOMMENDATION                     
United States of America,                                                
                     Respondent.                                         

    This matter is before the court on Petitioner Juan Salcedo Tumbaco Malave’s 
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 
28 U.S.C. § 2241
. (Doc. 1.) In his petition, Mr. 
Tumbaco  Malave  argues  that  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Prisons  (“BOP”)  has  arbitrarily 
extended his sentence by one year. (Id. at 1.) He contends that his release date should be 
March 16, 2025 (Doc. 1-1), and that by changing his release date to March 16, 2026, the 
BOP has violated his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment (Doc. 1 at 1). 
This petition comes before this Court for review under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing 
Section 2254 Cases in the United States  District Court.1 It has been referred  to the 
undersigned magistrate judge for a Report and Recommendation pursuant to 
28 U.S.C. § 636
 and District of Minnesota Local Rule 72.1. For the reasons stated below, the Court 
recommends that Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s petition be denied, and this action be dismissed 
with prejudice.                                                           

1 Although Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s petition was not filed under 
28 U.S.C. § 2254
, the Court 
may apply the rules governing that section per Rule 1(b).                 
                         BACKGROUND                                      
    Mr. Tumbaco Malave is a citizen of Ecuador without valid immigration status in the 
United States who is currently serving a 120-month term of imprisonment at the Federal 

Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota (“FMC-Rochester”). (Docs. 7 ¶ 3; 7-2 at 1.) He is 
serving this sentence based on his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to 
distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while on board a vessel subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States, in violation of 
46 U.S.C. §§ 70503
(a), 70506(a), 70506(b), 
and 
21 U.S.C. § 960
(b)(1)(B)(II), as well as aiding and abetting the same charge. (Doc. 7 

¶ 3.) See also USA v. Villa-Villon et al - Juan Salcedo Tumbaco-Malave, No. 8:17-cr-459(3) 
(SCB/AEP) (M.D. Fla. Sept. 21, 2017). On June 20, 2024, Mr. Tumbaco Malave filed this 
petition seeking judicial review of the length of his term of imprisonment. (See generally 
Doc. 1.)                                                                  
    Specifically, Mr. Tumbaco Malave alleges that, based on the credits he had earned 

under the First Step Act (“FSA”) while incarcerated, his projected release date should be 
March 16, 2025. (Id. at 1.) In fact, the BOP informed Mr. Tumbaco Malave that was his 
release date in a document dated April 2, 2024. (Doc. 1-1 at 1.) However, by the time Mr. 
Tumbaco Malave filed this petition a few months later, the BOP had changed course: 
instead of a release date of March 16, 2025, Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s release date had 

increased by one year to March 16, 2026. (Doc. 1 at 1.) He filed this petition because he 
“was not advised of this change,” which he asserts was a failure of “due process of law, as 
the 14th Amendment demands.” (Id.) He asks that he be permitted to proceed in forma 
pauperis in this habeas action based on his financial circumstances, and requests that the 
Court appoint him an attorney who can speak Spanish. (Id.)                
    The government responds that Mr. Tumbaco Malave is not eligible to apply his 

earned time credits under the FSA because he is an inadmissible alien detainee subject to a 
final order of removal under federal immigration law. (Doc. 6 at 3–4; see also Doc. 7-2 at 
1 (containing Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s final order of removal).) Respondent argues that 
although Mr. Tumbaco Malave earned time credits under the FSA while subject to a 
detainer for possible deportation based on his immigration status, once the government 

issued a final order of removal for Mr. Tumbaco Malave on April 17, 2024, he was no 
longer eligible to apply those earned time credits to early release according to the FSA. 
(Doc. 6 at 4.)                                                            
I.   MR.  TUMBACO   MALAVE   IS  SUBJECT  TO  A  FINAL  ORDER  OF         
    REMOVAL    AND   IS  THUS   INELIGIBLE   FOR   FSA   CREDIT          
    APPLICATION.                                                         

    Congress enacted the First Step Act in 2018 to reduce the federal prison population 
while also creating mechanisms for maintaining public safety by reducing recidivism risk. 
Congressional Research Service, The First Step Act of 2018: An Overview, 1 (2019), 
https://perma.cc/9JDZ-H6JH. Through the FSA, Congress created a system of incentives 
to  encourage  prisoner  participation  in  recidivism-reducing  programming.  
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d). Among these incentives are FSA “time credits” (“FTCs”) that allow people who 
successfully complete their assigned recidivism-reducing programming to earn FTCs. 
Id.
 
§ 3632(d)(4)(A). FTCs are “applied toward time in pre-release custody or supervised 
release.” Id. §§ 3632(d)(4)(c), 3624(g). This means that under the FSA, if a person’s 
sentence includes a period of supervised release, the BOP may transfer that person to begin 
their supervised release term up to 12 months before their sentence otherwise ends. Id. 
§ 3624(g)(3).                                                             

    The BOP applies earned FTCs toward pre-release custody or early transfer to 
supervised release under 
18 U.S.C. § 3624
(g) only if an eligible person has: (1) earned 
FTCs in an amount that is equal to the remainder of their imposed term of imprisonment; 
(2) shown a demonstrated recidivism risk reduction through periodic risk assessments or 
maintained a low or minimum recidivism risk; and (3) had the remainder of their term of 

imprisonment computed under applicable law. 
Id.
 § 3624(g)(A)–(C). However, the FSA 
provides for some express exceptions to this rule.                        
    Under the FSA, “[a] prisoner is ineligible to apply time credits . . . if the prisoner is 
the subject of a final order of removal under any provision of the immigration laws.” 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E)(i). Under current BOP policy, a prisoner can earn FTCs while they 

are subject to a detainer relating to an unresolved immigration status, so long as no final 
order of removal has been issued. Jenkins v. Segal, 23-cv-425 (WMW/DTS), 
2023 WL 7135216
, at *1 (D. Minn. Apr. 26, 2023), R. & R. adopted, 
2023 WL 7131024
 (D. Minn. 
Oct. 30, 2023), aff’d, 23-3550, 
2023 WL 11692933
 (8th Cir. Dec. 1, 2023). That said, once 
a final order of removal issues, the FSA unambiguously states that any FTCs earned can 

no longer be applied to early release. 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E).         
    Where, as here, a statute is unambiguous, courts take the text itself and presume 
Congress “says in the statute what it means and means in the statute what it says.” BedRoc 
Ltd.,  LLC  v.  United  States,  
541 U.S. 176, 183
  (2004). The  FSA  expressly  excludes 
individuals with a final order of removal from receiving the application of their earned 
FTCs to their early release. 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E). Mr. Tumbaco Malave does not 
dispute that a final order of removal has been issued against him, and the government has 

provided that final notice in its exhibits. (Doc. 7-2.) The Court therefore finds that the 
BOP’s adjustment to Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s projected release date is not arbitrary, and is 
in fact required by statute given his ineligibility to have his earned FTCs applied to the 
duration of his sentence of incarceration. 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E). Finding that the 
duration of his sentence is therefore proper, the Court recommends that Mr. Tumbaco 

Malave’s habeas petition be denied.                                       
II.  NEITHER THE BOP NOR THIS COURT HAVE AUTHORITY OVER A                 
    FINAL ORDER OF REMOVAL OR THE DUE PROCESS THAT SHOULD                
    BE AFFORDED TO A PRISONER SUBJECT TO SUCH AN ORDER.                  

    As to Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s due process claim,2 he does not explain what, if any, 
additional process he should have received from the BOP concerning the effect of his final 
notice of removal on his FTCs. Certainly, it is understandable that receiving a report of a 

2 The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that “[n]o State . . . shall 
. . .  deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” U.S. Const. 
amend. XIV, § 1. Yet Mr. Tumbaco Malave is in federal custody, and his petition does not 
allege that state actors deprived him of due process of law, but that the BOP suddenly 
imposed 12 additional months of incarceration on him without due process. Therefore, the 
Court construes his claim under the Fifth Amendment of the federal Constitution. Erickson 
v. Pardus, 
551 U.S. 89, 94
 (2007) (a document filed pro se is to be liberally construed). 
Due  process  applies  to  BOP  actions  through  the  Fifth  Amendment,  which  provides 
procedural  protection  against  arbitrary  actions  of  the  government  which  affect  an 
individual’s life, liberty or property interest.” Terry v. Fondren, No. 8-cv-1059 (PJS/SRN), 
2008 WL 5071077
, at *4 (D. Minn. Nov. 24, 2008) (citing U.S. Const. amend V). “The 
Fifth Amendment . . . protects [aliens and citizens alike] from deprivation of life, liberty, 
or property without due process of law.” Mathews v. Diaz, 
426 U.S. 67, 77
 (1976). 
12-month increase in one’s projected release date is concerning, particularly when a 
prisoner such as Mr. Tumbaco Malave had earned that reduction through recidivism-based 
programming. The FSA attempts to account for circumstances like this by requiring that 

the Attorney General ensure that an alien’s FTC-disqualifying status be determined “at a 
date  as  early  as  practicable  during  the  prisoner’s  incarceration.”  
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E)(ii).  It  is  hard  to  imagine  a  set  of  circumstances  where  making  this 
determination toward the final months of a person’s 10-year sentence (as was done here) 
is “as early as practicable.” That said, the BOP lacks the authority to decide immigration-

related matters, has no power to alter the timing of when a final notice of removal issues, 
and cannot change the effects of the final notice of removal on Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s 
FTCs. See United States v. Navarro, 
218 F.3d 895, 898
 (8th Cir. 2000) (“Congress has 
virtually plenary power over immigration matters, and it has the right to determine the 
conditions upon which noncitizens are allowed to remain in this country.”); Balleza v. King, 

No. 24-cv-160 (NEB/LIB), 
2024 WL 4394219
, at *3 (D. Minn. Aug. 9, 2024) (explaining 
that  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Immigration Appeals  (“BIA”)  has  jurisdiction  to  decide 
immigration-related matters under the authority given to them by Congress under the 
Immigration  and Naturalization Act of 1990, 
8 U.S.C. §§ 1101
, et seq.), R. & R. adopted, 
2024 WL 4392477
 (D. Minn. Oct. 3, 2024). The BOP’s role here was simply to determine 

Mr.  Tumbaco  Malave’s  eligibility  for  application  of  FTCs,  something  conclusively 
answered by statute once there was a final order of removal. It is regrettable that this 
application-determination  occurred  so  late  in  Mr.  Tumbaco  Malave’s  period  of 
incarceration, and after he had completed all the programming necessary to earn those 
credits.3 But there is no due process violation stemming from that determination. 
    As for the final order of removal itself, this Court is not the proper venue to consider 

its validity. See 
id.
 (“This Court, however, lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate Petitioner’s 
challenge  to  the  validity  of  the  final  order  of  removal”  because  “that  authority  lies 
exclusively with the appropriate court of appeals.”) (citing 
8 U.S.C. § 1252
(a)(5); Tostado 
v. Carlson, 
481 F.3d 1012, 1014
 (8th Cir. 2007); Cruz Quiceno v. Segal, No. 23-cv-358 
(NEB/DJF), 
2023 WL 3855295
, at *3 (D. Minn. Apr. 21, 2023), R. & R. adopted, 
2023 WL 3853433
 (D. Minn. June 6, 2023); Pina v. Martinez, No. 2:23-cv-1628 (KK), 
2023 WL 9423314
, at *2 (W.D. La. Dec. 11, 2023), R. & R. adopted, 
2024 WL 314263
 (W.D. La. 
Jan. 26, 2024); Anyanwu v. Bd. of Immigr. Appeals, No. 20-cv-2475 (NEB/HB), 
2021 WL 1609127
, at *2 (D. Minn. Apr. 26, 2021)).                                 
III.  NO EVIDENTIARY HEARING IS NECESSARY.                                

    Finally, an evidentiary hearing is appropriate only when material facts are in dispute. 
Ruiz v. Norris, 
71 F.3d 1404, 1406
 (8th Cir. 1995). An evidentiary hearing is not required 
when a conclusion can be reached on the issue with the undisputed facts. United States v. 
Winters, 
411 F.3d 967
, 973 (8th Cir. 2005). This matter can be resolved based on the record 
and therefore the Court finds no evidentiary hearing is necessary.        



3 As stated above, a prisoner may still earn FTCs when there is an unresolved immigration 
detainer, but cannot apply them (something that occurs toward the end of a person’s 
sentence, see 
18 U.S.C. § 3624
(g)(1)(A)), if there is final order of removal. Jenkins, 
2023 WL 7135216
, at *1–2; 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E)(i).                        
                      RECOMMENDATION                                     
Accordingly, based on all of the above, IT IS RECOMMENDED that:           
 1.  Petitioner Juan Salcedo Tumbaco Malave’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus 
    under 
28 U.S.C. §2241
 (Doc. 1) be DENIED; and                        

 2.  Petitioner’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 1) be DENIED AS MOOT; 

 3.  Petitioner’s request for the appointment of an attorney (Doc. 1) be DENIED AS 
    MOOT; and                                                            

 4.  This matter be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.                            

Date: November 7, 2024              s/Douglas L. Micko                   
                                   DOUGLAS L. MICKO                      
                                   United States Magistrate Judge        

                            NOTICE                                       
Filing Objections: This Report and Recommendation is not an order or judgment of the 
District Court and is therefore not appealable directly to the Eighth Circuit Court of 
Appeals.  Under  Local  Rule  72.2(b)(1),  “a  party  may  file  and  serve  specific  written 
objections to a magistrate judge’s proposed findings and recommendations within 14 days 
after being served with a copy” of the Report and Recommendation.         

A party may respond to those objections within 14 days after being served a copy of the 
objections. See Local Rule 72.2(b)(2). All objections and responses must comply with the 
word or line limits set forth in Local Rule 72.2(c).                      

Trial Court Opinion

                 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT                            
                     DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA                               


Juan Salcedo Tumbaco Malave,       Case No. 24-cv-2404 (SRN/DLM)         
               Petitioner,                                               

v.                                        REPORT AND                     
                                      RECOMMENDATION                     
United States of America,                                                
                     Respondent.                                         

    This matter is before the court on Petitioner Juan Salcedo Tumbaco Malave’s 
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 
28 U.S.C. § 2241
. (Doc. 1.) In his petition, Mr. 
Tumbaco  Malave  argues  that  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Prisons  (“BOP”)  has  arbitrarily 
extended his sentence by one year. (Id. at 1.) He contends that his release date should be 
March 16, 2025 (Doc. 1-1), and that by changing his release date to March 16, 2026, the 
BOP has violated his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment (Doc. 1 at 1). 
This petition comes before this Court for review under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing 
Section 2254 Cases in the United States  District Court.1 It has been referred  to the 
undersigned magistrate judge for a Report and Recommendation pursuant to 
28 U.S.C. § 636
 and District of Minnesota Local Rule 72.1. For the reasons stated below, the Court 
recommends that Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s petition be denied, and this action be dismissed 
with prejudice.                                                           

1 Although Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s petition was not filed under 
28 U.S.C. § 2254
, the Court 
may apply the rules governing that section per Rule 1(b).                 
                         BACKGROUND                                      
    Mr. Tumbaco Malave is a citizen of Ecuador without valid immigration status in the 
United States who is currently serving a 120-month term of imprisonment at the Federal 

Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota (“FMC-Rochester”). (Docs. 7 ¶ 3; 7-2 at 1.) He is 
serving this sentence based on his conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to 
distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine while on board a vessel subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States, in violation of 
46 U.S.C. §§ 70503
(a), 70506(a), 70506(b), 
and 
21 U.S.C. § 960
(b)(1)(B)(II), as well as aiding and abetting the same charge. (Doc. 7 

¶ 3.) See also USA v. Villa-Villon et al - Juan Salcedo Tumbaco-Malave, No. 8:17-cr-459(3) 
(SCB/AEP) (M.D. Fla. Sept. 21, 2017). On June 20, 2024, Mr. Tumbaco Malave filed this 
petition seeking judicial review of the length of his term of imprisonment. (See generally 
Doc. 1.)                                                                  
    Specifically, Mr. Tumbaco Malave alleges that, based on the credits he had earned 

under the First Step Act (“FSA”) while incarcerated, his projected release date should be 
March 16, 2025. (Id. at 1.) In fact, the BOP informed Mr. Tumbaco Malave that was his 
release date in a document dated April 2, 2024. (Doc. 1-1 at 1.) However, by the time Mr. 
Tumbaco Malave filed this petition a few months later, the BOP had changed course: 
instead of a release date of March 16, 2025, Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s release date had 

increased by one year to March 16, 2026. (Doc. 1 at 1.) He filed this petition because he 
“was not advised of this change,” which he asserts was a failure of “due process of law, as 
the 14th Amendment demands.” (Id.) He asks that he be permitted to proceed in forma 
pauperis in this habeas action based on his financial circumstances, and requests that the 
Court appoint him an attorney who can speak Spanish. (Id.)                
    The government responds that Mr. Tumbaco Malave is not eligible to apply his 

earned time credits under the FSA because he is an inadmissible alien detainee subject to a 
final order of removal under federal immigration law. (Doc. 6 at 3–4; see also Doc. 7-2 at 
1 (containing Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s final order of removal).) Respondent argues that 
although Mr. Tumbaco Malave earned time credits under the FSA while subject to a 
detainer for possible deportation based on his immigration status, once the government 

issued a final order of removal for Mr. Tumbaco Malave on April 17, 2024, he was no 
longer eligible to apply those earned time credits to early release according to the FSA. 
(Doc. 6 at 4.)                                                            
I.   MR.  TUMBACO   MALAVE   IS  SUBJECT  TO  A  FINAL  ORDER  OF         
    REMOVAL    AND   IS  THUS   INELIGIBLE   FOR   FSA   CREDIT          
    APPLICATION.                                                         

    Congress enacted the First Step Act in 2018 to reduce the federal prison population 
while also creating mechanisms for maintaining public safety by reducing recidivism risk. 
Congressional Research Service, The First Step Act of 2018: An Overview, 1 (2019), 
https://perma.cc/9JDZ-H6JH. Through the FSA, Congress created a system of incentives 
to  encourage  prisoner  participation  in  recidivism-reducing  programming.  
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d). Among these incentives are FSA “time credits” (“FTCs”) that allow people who 
successfully complete their assigned recidivism-reducing programming to earn FTCs. 
Id.
 
§ 3632(d)(4)(A). FTCs are “applied toward time in pre-release custody or supervised 
release.” Id. §§ 3632(d)(4)(c), 3624(g). This means that under the FSA, if a person’s 
sentence includes a period of supervised release, the BOP may transfer that person to begin 
their supervised release term up to 12 months before their sentence otherwise ends. Id. 
§ 3624(g)(3).                                                             

    The BOP applies earned FTCs toward pre-release custody or early transfer to 
supervised release under 
18 U.S.C. § 3624
(g) only if an eligible person has: (1) earned 
FTCs in an amount that is equal to the remainder of their imposed term of imprisonment; 
(2) shown a demonstrated recidivism risk reduction through periodic risk assessments or 
maintained a low or minimum recidivism risk; and (3) had the remainder of their term of 

imprisonment computed under applicable law. 
Id.
 § 3624(g)(A)–(C). However, the FSA 
provides for some express exceptions to this rule.                        
    Under the FSA, “[a] prisoner is ineligible to apply time credits . . . if the prisoner is 
the subject of a final order of removal under any provision of the immigration laws.” 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E)(i). Under current BOP policy, a prisoner can earn FTCs while they 

are subject to a detainer relating to an unresolved immigration status, so long as no final 
order of removal has been issued. Jenkins v. Segal, 23-cv-425 (WMW/DTS), 
2023 WL 7135216
, at *1 (D. Minn. Apr. 26, 2023), R. & R. adopted, 
2023 WL 7131024
 (D. Minn. 
Oct. 30, 2023), aff’d, 23-3550, 
2023 WL 11692933
 (8th Cir. Dec. 1, 2023). That said, once 
a final order of removal issues, the FSA unambiguously states that any FTCs earned can 

no longer be applied to early release. 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E).         
    Where, as here, a statute is unambiguous, courts take the text itself and presume 
Congress “says in the statute what it means and means in the statute what it says.” BedRoc 
Ltd.,  LLC  v.  United  States,  
541 U.S. 176, 183
  (2004). The  FSA  expressly  excludes 
individuals with a final order of removal from receiving the application of their earned 
FTCs to their early release. 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E). Mr. Tumbaco Malave does not 
dispute that a final order of removal has been issued against him, and the government has 

provided that final notice in its exhibits. (Doc. 7-2.) The Court therefore finds that the 
BOP’s adjustment to Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s projected release date is not arbitrary, and is 
in fact required by statute given his ineligibility to have his earned FTCs applied to the 
duration of his sentence of incarceration. 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E). Finding that the 
duration of his sentence is therefore proper, the Court recommends that Mr. Tumbaco 

Malave’s habeas petition be denied.                                       
II.  NEITHER THE BOP NOR THIS COURT HAVE AUTHORITY OVER A                 
    FINAL ORDER OF REMOVAL OR THE DUE PROCESS THAT SHOULD                
    BE AFFORDED TO A PRISONER SUBJECT TO SUCH AN ORDER.                  

    As to Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s due process claim,2 he does not explain what, if any, 
additional process he should have received from the BOP concerning the effect of his final 
notice of removal on his FTCs. Certainly, it is understandable that receiving a report of a 

2 The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that “[n]o State . . . shall 
. . .  deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” U.S. Const. 
amend. XIV, § 1. Yet Mr. Tumbaco Malave is in federal custody, and his petition does not 
allege that state actors deprived him of due process of law, but that the BOP suddenly 
imposed 12 additional months of incarceration on him without due process. Therefore, the 
Court construes his claim under the Fifth Amendment of the federal Constitution. Erickson 
v. Pardus, 
551 U.S. 89, 94
 (2007) (a document filed pro se is to be liberally construed). 
Due  process  applies  to  BOP  actions  through  the  Fifth  Amendment,  which  provides 
procedural  protection  against  arbitrary  actions  of  the  government  which  affect  an 
individual’s life, liberty or property interest.” Terry v. Fondren, No. 8-cv-1059 (PJS/SRN), 
2008 WL 5071077
, at *4 (D. Minn. Nov. 24, 2008) (citing U.S. Const. amend V). “The 
Fifth Amendment . . . protects [aliens and citizens alike] from deprivation of life, liberty, 
or property without due process of law.” Mathews v. Diaz, 
426 U.S. 67, 77
 (1976). 
12-month increase in one’s projected release date is concerning, particularly when a 
prisoner such as Mr. Tumbaco Malave had earned that reduction through recidivism-based 
programming. The FSA attempts to account for circumstances like this by requiring that 

the Attorney General ensure that an alien’s FTC-disqualifying status be determined “at a 
date  as  early  as  practicable  during  the  prisoner’s  incarceration.”  
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E)(ii).  It  is  hard  to  imagine  a  set  of  circumstances  where  making  this 
determination toward the final months of a person’s 10-year sentence (as was done here) 
is “as early as practicable.” That said, the BOP lacks the authority to decide immigration-

related matters, has no power to alter the timing of when a final notice of removal issues, 
and cannot change the effects of the final notice of removal on Mr. Tumbaco Malave’s 
FTCs. See United States v. Navarro, 
218 F.3d 895, 898
 (8th Cir. 2000) (“Congress has 
virtually plenary power over immigration matters, and it has the right to determine the 
conditions upon which noncitizens are allowed to remain in this country.”); Balleza v. King, 

No. 24-cv-160 (NEB/LIB), 
2024 WL 4394219
, at *3 (D. Minn. Aug. 9, 2024) (explaining 
that  the  Federal  Bureau  of  Immigration Appeals  (“BIA”)  has  jurisdiction  to  decide 
immigration-related matters under the authority given to them by Congress under the 
Immigration  and Naturalization Act of 1990, 
8 U.S.C. §§ 1101
, et seq.), R. & R. adopted, 
2024 WL 4392477
 (D. Minn. Oct. 3, 2024). The BOP’s role here was simply to determine 

Mr.  Tumbaco  Malave’s  eligibility  for  application  of  FTCs,  something  conclusively 
answered by statute once there was a final order of removal. It is regrettable that this 
application-determination  occurred  so  late  in  Mr.  Tumbaco  Malave’s  period  of 
incarceration, and after he had completed all the programming necessary to earn those 
credits.3 But there is no due process violation stemming from that determination. 
    As for the final order of removal itself, this Court is not the proper venue to consider 

its validity. See 
id.
 (“This Court, however, lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate Petitioner’s 
challenge  to  the  validity  of  the  final  order  of  removal”  because  “that  authority  lies 
exclusively with the appropriate court of appeals.”) (citing 
8 U.S.C. § 1252
(a)(5); Tostado 
v. Carlson, 
481 F.3d 1012, 1014
 (8th Cir. 2007); Cruz Quiceno v. Segal, No. 23-cv-358 
(NEB/DJF), 
2023 WL 3855295
, at *3 (D. Minn. Apr. 21, 2023), R. & R. adopted, 
2023 WL 3853433
 (D. Minn. June 6, 2023); Pina v. Martinez, No. 2:23-cv-1628 (KK), 
2023 WL 9423314
, at *2 (W.D. La. Dec. 11, 2023), R. & R. adopted, 
2024 WL 314263
 (W.D. La. 
Jan. 26, 2024); Anyanwu v. Bd. of Immigr. Appeals, No. 20-cv-2475 (NEB/HB), 
2021 WL 1609127
, at *2 (D. Minn. Apr. 26, 2021)).                                 
III.  NO EVIDENTIARY HEARING IS NECESSARY.                                

    Finally, an evidentiary hearing is appropriate only when material facts are in dispute. 
Ruiz v. Norris, 
71 F.3d 1404, 1406
 (8th Cir. 1995). An evidentiary hearing is not required 
when a conclusion can be reached on the issue with the undisputed facts. United States v. 
Winters, 
411 F.3d 967
, 973 (8th Cir. 2005). This matter can be resolved based on the record 
and therefore the Court finds no evidentiary hearing is necessary.        



3 As stated above, a prisoner may still earn FTCs when there is an unresolved immigration 
detainer, but cannot apply them (something that occurs toward the end of a person’s 
sentence, see 
18 U.S.C. § 3624
(g)(1)(A)), if there is final order of removal. Jenkins, 
2023 WL 7135216
, at *1–2; 
18 U.S.C. § 3632
(d)(4)(E)(i).                        
                      RECOMMENDATION                                     
Accordingly, based on all of the above, IT IS RECOMMENDED that:           
 1.  Petitioner Juan Salcedo Tumbaco Malave’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus 
    under 
28 U.S.C. §2241
 (Doc. 1) be DENIED; and                        

 2.  Petitioner’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 1) be DENIED AS MOOT; 

 3.  Petitioner’s request for the appointment of an attorney (Doc. 1) be DENIED AS 
    MOOT; and                                                            

 4.  This matter be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.                            

Date: November 7, 2024              s/Douglas L. Micko                   
                                   DOUGLAS L. MICKO                      
                                   United States Magistrate Judge        

                            NOTICE                                       
Filing Objections: This Report and Recommendation is not an order or judgment of the 
District Court and is therefore not appealable directly to the Eighth Circuit Court of 
Appeals.  Under  Local  Rule  72.2(b)(1),  “a  party  may  file  and  serve  specific  written 
objections to a magistrate judge’s proposed findings and recommendations within 14 days 
after being served with a copy” of the Report and Recommendation.         

A party may respond to those objections within 14 days after being served a copy of the 
objections. See Local Rule 72.2(b)(2). All objections and responses must comply with the 
word or line limits set forth in Local Rule 72.2(c).                      

Reference

Status
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