Ukachukwu v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Office Director

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE MUNACHISO UKACHUKWU, CASE NO. 2:24-cv-00006-LK Petitioner, ORDER DISMISSING CASE AS 12 v. MOOT 13 IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT FIELD OFFICE 14 DIRECTOR, 15 Respondent.

17 This matter comes before the Court on the Government’s Notice of Change in Custody Status. Dkt. No. 26. For the following reasons, the Court dismisses Mr. Ukachukwu’s federal habeas petition as moot.

20 In January 2024, Mr. Ukachukwu filed the instant federal habeas petition. Dkt. No. 3.

21 While the case was still pending before the Court, an immigration judge terminated Mr. Ukachukwu’s removal proceedings on August 21, 2024. Dkt. No. 26-1 at 2; Dkt. No. 28-1 at 2.

23 He was released from ICE custody on the same day. Dkt. No. 26-1 at 2. The Government notified the Court of Mr. Ukachukwu’s release on August 26, 2024, and argued that “this case is moot” because Mr. Ukachukwu “is no longer in immigration custody[.]” Dkt. No. 26 at 1. The Court subsequently ordered Mr. Ukachukwu to show cause why his federal habeas petition should not be dismissed as moot. Dkt. No. 27.

4 Mr. Ukachukwu filed a timely response on September 10, 2024, agreeing that the case would be moot if the Government did not appeal the immigration judge’s termination of his removal proceedings. Dkt. No. 28 at 2. The September 20, 2024 deadline for any appeal has now passed. Dkt. No. 28-1 at 2. Because the only way Mr. Ukachukwu could be redetained by ICE would be through “changed circumstances, such as reinvolvement with the criminal justice system,” Panosyan v. Mayorkas, 854 F. App'x 787, 788 (9th Cir. 2021) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted), Mr. Ukachukwu’s federal habeas petition is moot, see United States v. Sanchez-Gomez, 584 U.S. 381, 385 (2018).

12 For the foregoing reasons, the Court DISCHARGES its Order to Show Cause, Dkt. No. 27, and DISMISSES AS MOOT Mr. Ukachukwu’s petition for habeas corpus, Dkt. No. 3. The Clerk is DIRECTED to close this case.

15 Dated this 24th day of September, 2024.

16 A 17 Lauren King United States District Judge