Ali Abu Salim v. Warden

District Court, E.D. California·Decided May 15, 2026·No. 1:26-cv-01121·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ALI ABU SALIM, A-070-085-253, No. 1:26-cv-1121 DAD AC 12 Petitioner, 13 v. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 WARDEN, 15 Respondent. 16 17 Petitioner, an immigration detainee proceeding through appointed counsel, has filed a 18 petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. 19 I. Factual and Procedural Background 20 Petitioner was born in Gaza, State of Palestine, and came to the United States in 1992 on a 21 B2 visitor visa. ECF No. 1 at 2; ECF No. 11 at 1; ECF No. 12 at 5. Respondents state that 22 petitioner is a resident of Israel, which is where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 23 intends to remove him. ECF No. 11 at 1. Petitioner was ordered removed on February 1, 2006, 24 and at some point thereafter he was released from DHS custody on an order of supervision.1 ECF 25

26 1 Petitioner states that he was likely detained for approximately two months after he was ordered removed, but that he does not currently have documentation of that detention. ECF No. 12 at 11. 27 Respondents do not offer any information regarding when petitioner was released on supervision but concede that he “has been in custody longer than six months if his prior term of detention is 28 counted.” ECF No. 11 at 3. 1 No. 11 at 1; ECF No. 12 at 5. Petitioner’s record shows that after his release he was convicted of 2 numerous crimes over the years, with the most recent conviction occurring on August 8, 2019, 3 and resulting in a two-year sentence. ECF No. 11-1 at 3-4. On November 25, 2024, petitioner 4 was arrested by the Fresno Police Department for taking a vehicle without consent and was 5 released to DHS custody on November 24, 2025 (id. at 2), which he states was at the end of a 6 carceral sentence (ECF No. 12 at 5). Petitioner alleges that he was not provided notice of the 7 reasons for the revocation of his release or an opportunity to respond to the reasons for the 8 revocation. ECF No. 1 at 17-18; ECF No. 12 at 20. 9 On February 3, 2026, petitioner filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus under 10 § 2241 and was later appointed counsel. ECF Nos. 1, 6. Respondents have filed an opposition to 11 the petition (ECF No. 11) and petitioner, through counsel, has filed a reply (ECF No. 12). 12 II. Petition 13 The petition asserts four grounds for relief. First, petitioner alleges that his continued 14 detention violates due process because his post-final removal order detention has extended 15 beyond the presumptively reasonable six-month period and there is no significant likelihood that 16 he will be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future. ECF No. 1 at 13-14. Next, he asserts 17 that ICE’s current procedures relating to the removal of persons to third countries, which provide 18 little to no notice or process, violates due process, 8 U.S.C. § 1231, implementing regulations, the 19 Convention Against Torture (CAT), and the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Id. at 14-15. 20 Ground Three alleges that the third-country removal program is punitive and violates the Eighth 21 Amendment and due process. Id. at 15-16. Finally, the petition asserts that petitioner’s re- 22 detention without notice or a demonstration of changed circumstances regarding the likelihood of 23 removal violates due process, 8 C.F.R. § 241.13, and the APA. Id. at 17-18. 24 In opposition, respondents argue that “Petitioner has not met his burden of providing good 25 reason to believe that there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable 26 future.” ECF No. 16 at 2-3. They further argue that petitioner’s re-detention is lawful because 27 § 1231(a)(6) expressly allows the government to hold a noncitizen like petitioner who is 28 removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227 for more than ninety days and that supervised release can be 1 revoked for a violation or the conditions of release or for removal. Id. at 3-4. They appear to 2 argue that petitioner’s release was revoked due to changed circumstances leading to a significant 3 likelihood that removal will occur in the reasonably foreseeable future, though they also appear to 4 assert that petitioner’s release was revoked due to a violation of his terms of supervision. Id. 5 Finally, respondents argue that petitioner’s third-country removal claims should be denied 6 because they are merely speculative. Id. at 5. 7 III. Discussion 8 A. Post-Removal Order Detention 9 Detention of non-citizens who have been ordered removed from the United States is 10 governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a). The statute provides that when a non-citizen is ordered 11 removed, they shall be removed within ninety days, which is referred to as the “removal period.” 12 Id., § 1231(a)(1)(A). 13 An alien ordered removed who is inadmissible under section 1182 of this title, removable under section 1227(a)(1)(C), 1227(a)(2), or 14 1227(a)(4) of this title or who has been determined by the Attorney General to be a risk to the community or unlikely to comply with the 15 order of removal, may be detained beyond the removal period and, if released, shall be subject to the terms of supervision in paragraph (3). 16 17 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6); Johnson v. Arteaga-Martinez, 596 U.S. 573, 578-79 (2022) (after removal 18 period expires, “the Government ‘may’ detain only four categories of people” as set forth in 19 § 1231(a)(6)). When a noncitizen is released subject to terms of supervision, release can be 20 revoked only when the noncitizen violates a condition of release or when “on account of changed 21 circumstances” it is determined “that there is a significant likelihood that the [noncitizen] may be 22 removed in the reasonably foreseeable future.” 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i)(1)-(2). The parties do not 23 dispute that petitioner is detained under § 1231(a)(6), although neither party specifies the 24 underlying basis for petitioner’s inclusion in the categories of people to whom the statute applies.2 25

26 2 Respondents state that petitioner is both inadmissible and removable on specified grounds, but do not provide the basis for his order of removal. ECF No. 11 at 2. Petitioner’s I-213 indicates 27 that he overstayed his visa and was ordered removed (ECF No. 11-1 at 2-3), while his reply states that he was ordered removed after an unspecified criminal conviction (ECF No. 12 at 5), which 28 his I-213 reflects may have been for possession of a controlled substance (ECF No. 11-1 at 3). 1 In Zadvydas v. Davis, the Supreme Court held that “the statute, read in light of the 2 Constitution’s demands, limits an alien’s post-removal-period detention to a period reasonably 3 necessary to bring about that alien’s removal from the United States. It does not permit indefinite 4 detention.” 533 U.S. 678, 689 (2001). “[O]nce removal is no longer reasonably foreseeable, 5 continued detention is no longer authorized by statute.” Id. at 699. “[F]or the sake of uniform 6 administration in the federal courts,” the Supreme Court recognized a period of six months to be a 7 “presumptively reasonable period of detention.” Id. at 701.

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