Guoying Chen v. William Joyce, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. ICE, New...

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ------------------------------------x GUOYING CHEN, Petitioner, ORDER 26-CV-560 (EK) -against- WILLIAM JOYCE, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. ICE, New York Field Office; CALEB VITELLO, Acting Director, U.S. ICE; and KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Respondents. ------------------------------------x ERIC KOMITEE, United States District Judge: Petitioner filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging his ongoing detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the South Texas Detention Facility in Pearsall, Texas. ECF No. 1. He seeks immediate release from custody. Id. As articulated in Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426 (2004), “[w]henever a § 2241 habeas petitioner seeks to challenge his present physical custody within the United States, he should name his warden as respondent and file the petition in the district of confinement.” 542 U.S. at 447. On the face of the Petition, venue is therefore proper in the Western District of Texas. Najera v. United States, No. 16-CV-459, 2016 WL 6877069, at *7 n.2 (E.D. Va. Nov. 22, 2016) (“ICE’s South Texas Detention Center is located in the Western District of Texas.” (citation omitted)).

The Clerk of Court is therefore directed to transfer this action to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). Rule 83.1 of the Local Rules of the Eastern District of New York, which requires a seven-day delay before the Clerk shall transfer a case from this district, is waived. The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to mail a copy of this order to the petitioner and to note the mailing on the docket.

SO ORDERED.

/s/ Eric Komitee ERIC KOMITEE United State s District Judge

D ated: February 2, 2026 Brooklyn, New Yo rk