UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN DIVISION

JOSE MARCOS VILLA GOMEZ,

Petitioner, Case No. 1:25-cv-810 v. JUDGE DOUGLAS R. COLE FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL OPERATIONS, DETROIT FIELD OFFICE, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, et al.,

Respondents. OPINION AND ORDER U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently detaining Petitioner Jose Marcos Villa Gomez pending removal proceedings. Villa Gomez filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Doc. 1), requesting this Court to order his release or, in the alternative, to order Respondents to provide him a bond hearing. Villa Gomez asserts that ICE is wrongly purporting to detain him under

(b)(2), which mandates detention, when instead

(a), which provides for discretionary detention, governs. (Doc. 1, #2–3). This Court recently addressed this precise question of statutory interpretation in Coronado v. Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, No. 1:25-cv-831,

(S.D. Ohio Dec. 15, 2025), and further explained its reasoning in Lucero v. Field Office Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, No. 1:25-cv-823,

(S.D. Ohio Dec. 23, 2025). Like the petitioners there, Villa Gomez acknowledges he is present in the country but was never admitted. (Doc. 1, #9–10). Thus, for the reasons more fully explained in Coronado and Lucero, the Court finds that Villa Gomez is an “applicant for admission” and falls under the purview of § 1225(b)(2), which in turn means he is subject to mandatory detention. Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE Villa Gomez’s Petition (Doc. 1).! Respondent Warden of Butler County Jail also filed a Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 14), arguing it is not a proper respondent for this habeas petition. Because the Court dismisses the Petition, the Court DENIES AS MOOT Respondent’s Motion (Doc. 14). The Court DIRECTS the Clerk to enter judgment and to TERMINATE this case on its docket. SO ORDERED.

December 30, 2025 DATE DOUGLAS R. COLE UNITED STATES DISTRICTUUDGE

1 The Court dismisses without prejudice in the event that Petitioner wishes to pursue relief as a potential class member in Bautista v. Santacruz, No. 5:25-cev-1873,

(C.D. Cal. Nov. 25, 2025).