Eriberto G.G. v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security; Todd Lyons,...

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA WESTERN DIVISION ERIBERTO G.G., 5:26-CV-05024-RAL Plaintiff, ORDER DISMISSING PETITION vs. .

KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY; TODD LYONS, ACTING DIRECTOR OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT; AND SAMUEL J. OLSON, FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR; Defendants.

On March 10, 2026, Petitioner Eriberto G.G. filed a Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Doc. 1. Petitioner Eriberto G.G. also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order under Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b). Doc. 2. On March 11, 2026, this Court granted that motion and issued a temporary restraining order under Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b) enjoining Respondents for fourteen days from moving Eriberto G.G. outside of South Dakota.

On March 18, 2026, Respondents answered the Petition and informed this Court that on March 13, 2026, Eriberto G.G. was charged by complaint for assaulting a federal officer under 18 U.S.C. § 111(a). Doc. 7 at 1 (citing United States v. Gonzales-Ginez, 5:26-mj-00065-CCT).

Respondents further informed this Court that Eriberto G.G. is currently in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pursuant to an Order for Temporary Detention issued by Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann on March 16, 2026. Id. Therefore, Respondents assert, as Eriberto G.G. is no longer in immigration custody, his Petition is prudentially moot, and his pending criminal charges independently mandate his detention without bond under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)(1)(E). Id. at 2.

Counsel for Eriberto G.G. agrees that Eriberto G.G. is no longer in Respondents’ custody, and argues that as the case is moot, stating “the court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate defendants’ argument that the pending criminal charges mandate detention without bond.” Doc. 9.

“When . . . the issues presented in a case lose their life because of the passage of time or a change in circumstances . . . and a federal court can no longer grant effective relief, the case is considered moot.” Ali v. Cangemi, 419 F.3d 722, 723 (8th Cir. 2005) (cleaned up and citation omitted). Eriberto G.G. is no longer in the custody of Respondents. Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that the Petition is dismissed without prejudice as moot.

DATED this 25th day of March, 2026.

BY THE COURT: CHIEF JUDGE