Baidas v. Jennings

123 F. Supp. 2d 1052, 2000 WL 1804538
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedDecember 6, 1999
Docket2:00-cv-72003
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 123 F. Supp. 2d 1052 (Baidas v. Jennings) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baidas v. Jennings, 123 F. Supp. 2d 1052, 2000 WL 1804538 (E.D. Mich. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING PETITION FOR WRIT OF HA-BEAS CORPUS

COHN, District Judge.

I. Introduction

Petitioner, Abed Mosa Baidas (“petitioner”), presently confined at the Monroe County Jail in Monroe, Michigan, has filed this pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 alleging that he is confined in violation of his constitutional rights. In his application, petitioner challenges his detention pursuant to the Immigration and Nationalization Act (“INA”) § 236(c), 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) which mandates his detention without bond. Petitioner contends that 1) § 1226(e) does not apply to him because removal proceedings were initiated against him before the effective date of the statute, October 9, 1998 and 2) § 1226(c) violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fifth Amendment. 1 Petitioner seeks an order of this Court ordering his immediate release on personal recognizance pending review of his challenge to his current removal status.

*1054 Respondent contends that 1) this Court lacks jurisdiction to review petitioner’s detention on the merits, except to determine his constitutional claims, 2) the petition should be dismissed because petitioner has failed to exhaust Bureau of Immigration (“BIA”) administrative remedies, 3) mandatory detention of criminal aliens pursuant to INA § 236(c), 8 U.S.C. § 1236(c)(1) is constitutional, and 4) petitioner is not entitled to release from custody even if mandatory detention is unconstitutional, because he is a career criminal who would likely engage in serious and dangerous criminal activity if released.

II. Background

Petitioner is a Jordanian national who was lawfully admitted to the United States on January 4, 1979, as a non-immigrant student. 2 He became a lawful permanent resident on June 7, 1982. According to petitioner, he is a construction management engineer, he has two United States citizen children and is responsible for their welfare and education, and he has substantial business and community ties in Michigan. On February 10, 1998, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) issued a Notice to Appear, alleging that petitioner was subject to removal from the United States pursuant to INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(ii) and 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), because he had been convicted of two or more crimes of moral turpitude. 3 Petitioner was released from INS custody on a $3,000 bond on February 24, 1998.

On August 31, 1998, while at large on bond from INS detention, petitioner was convicted of three new crimes. 4 Petitioner was sentenced on October 31, 1998, to a minimum two year prison term for these crimes and placed in the custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections (“MDOC”).

The INS scheduled an initial removal hearing on October 28, 1998, based on the February 10, 1998, notice to appear. Petitioner’s attorney appeared for him, as he was in state custody at the time. On January 27,1999, the INS lodged additional charges to support its initial charging document.

On January 11, 2000, when Petitioner was released from MDOC incarceration, he was taken into INS custody pursuant to the mandatory detention provisions of INA § 236(c)(1)(B), 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)(1)(B). On January 20, 2000, an immigration judge held a hearing and sustained the charges that petitioner was a removable alien because he had committed two or more crimes of moral turpitude. The immigration judge did not sustain a charge that petitioner was an aggravated felon.

On March 28, 2000, the immigration court held a bond hearing and found that *1055 petitioner was subject to mandatory detention pursuant to INA § 236(c). Petitioner appealed his detention to the Bureau of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), but withdrew his appeal, before a decision was rendered. On May 23, 2000, the BIA returned petitioner’s record to the immigration court without hearing or deciding his appeal.

Petitioner submitted a written application for relief from removal to the immigration judge on May 5, 2000. The judge set petitioner’s case for trial on June 22, 2000. The trial began on June 22, 2000, but was not completed in its allotted time. Consequently, the case was continued until July 27, 2000. The parties have not informed this Court whether any subsequent immigration proceedings have transpired or are presently scheduled. Thus, it does not appear that a final order of removal has been entered. Petitioner remains in INS custody pursuant to the mandatory detention statute.

III. Jurisdiction

Respondent contends that this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider any of petitioners’ claims except his challenge the constitutionality of mandatory custody language pursuant to § 236(c)(1). Respondent cites Parra v. Perryman, 172 F.3d 954, 957 (7th Cir.1999), which held that 8 U.S.C. § 1226(e) precludes review of decisions to apply the provision and challenges to decisions to grant or deny bond, but does not preclude constitutional challenges to the provision itself. In addition to challenging the statute’s constitutionality, petitioner asserts that the statute does not apply to him because removal proceedings were initiated before the statute’s effective date and that he is not a flight risk or a threat to the community’s safety.

8 U.S.C. § 1226(e) provides that:

The Attorney General’s discretionary judgment regarding the application of this section shall not be subject to review. No court may set aside any action or decision by the Attorney General under this section regarding the determination or release of any alien or the grant, revocation, or denial of bond or parole.

Petitioner argues that he is being detained pursuant to § 236(c)(l)’s mandatory provisions, as opposed to any of the discretionary provisions contained in § 236, and therefore, judicial review is not prohibited by § 236(e). These contending arguments boil down to whether to interpret § 236(e), 8 U.S.C. § 1226(e), as a narrow jurisdictional restriction or whether to interpret it as a more general jurisdictional restriction.

In Reno v.

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Bluebook (online)
123 F. Supp. 2d 1052, 2000 WL 1804538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baidas-v-jennings-mied-1999.