Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry v. Pamela Bondi

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA MUHAMMAD ZAHID CHAUDHRY, CASE NO. 2:25-cv-02339-DGE- Petitioner, MLP 12 v. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE 13 PAMELA BONDI, REGARDING PROPER RESPONDENT 14 Respondent.

16 This matter comes before the Court on its own review of the record. Petitioner has moved this Court for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) seeking his release from Northwest ICE Detention Facility (“NWIPC”). Individuals seeking habeas relief must name their current custodian as respondent. See Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 439 (2004); Doe v. Garland, 109 F.4th 1188, 1196–1197 (9th Cir. 2024); see also Rivera-Trigueros v. Becerra, 720 F. Supp. 21 3d 808, 811–813 (N.D. Cal. 2024). Petitioner named only Attorney General Pam Bondi as a respondent and the Attorney General is not his current custodian.

1 Accordingly, while Respondent did not challenge Petitioner’s TRO on the basis the petition failed to name the proper respondent(s), the Court does not believe the petition in its current form can be reviewed at present time.

4 The Court ORDERS Petitioner to show cause why his current petition should not be dismissed without prejudice for failing to name a proper respondent or, in the alternative, grants Petitioner leave to amend his petition to name and serve the proper respondent(s). The Court will not take any further action on Petitioner’s motion for a TRO until either a response to this Order is filed or a properly amended petition is filed and served on the proper respondent(s).

9 In the event a properly amended petition is filed, the Court will deny the current motion for TRO as it will be based on a non-operative petition. This means Petitioner will need to refile his motion for TRO after or in conjunction with the amended petition.

12 The Court will provide Petitioner until December 12, 2025 to respond to this Order, though Petitioner can certainly respond sooner. If no response is received by such date, the Court will dismiss the petition without prejudice. Respondent is directed to transmit a copy of this Order to the Warden of NWIPC so that the Warden can provide a copy of it to Petitioner in a timely fashion. Respondent shall file confirmation that a copy of this Order was transmitted to the Warden with directions to provide a copy of it to Petitioner.

18 The Clerk is directed to calendar this event.

19 Dated this 25th day of November, 2025. a David G. Estudillo 22 United States District Judge