Baquera v. Longshore

948 F. Supp. 2d 1258, 2013 WL 2423178, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78259
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJune 4, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 13-cv-00543-RM-MEH
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 948 F. Supp. 2d 1258 (Baquera v. Longshore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baquera v. Longshore, 948 F. Supp. 2d 1258, 2013 WL 2423178, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78259 (D. Colo. 2013).

Opinion

[1259]*1259ORDER GRANTING PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

RAYMOND P. MOORE, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Application of Petitioner Erick Rogelio Nieto Baquera (“Mr. Nieto”) for a Writ of Habeas Corpus filed March 1, 2013. (ECF No. 1.) A hearing was held on Mr. Nieto’s Application on May 23, 2013. Mr. Nieto is a lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) of the United States who was arrested and detained in 2013 by immigration authorities because of a 2003 criminal conviction involving possession of a controlled substance. Mr. Nieto seeks an individualized hearing and bond determination pending removal proceedings in immigration court. For the reasons stated below, the Court grants Mr. Nieto’s request for relief and directs that an Immigration Judge conduct a bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)(2) within fourteen days from the date of the entry of this Order.1

I. LEGAL STANDARD

1. Jurisdiction and Venue

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c), habeas jurisdiction “shall not extend to a prisoner unless ... [h]e is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” A federal court has subject matter jurisdiction under § 2241(c)(3) if two requirements are met: (1) the petitioner is “in custody,” and (2) the custody is “in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3); Maleng v. Cook, 490 U.S. 488, 490, 109 S.Ct. 1923, 104 L.Ed.2d 540 (1989).

Mr. Nieto is currently in the custody of immigration officials in Aurora, Colorado. “[F]or core habeas petitions challenging present physical confinement, jurisdiction lies only in one district: the district of confinement.” Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 443, 124 S.Ct. 2711, 159 L.Ed.2d 513 (2004); see also United States v. Scott, 803 F.2d 1095, 1096 (10th Cir.1986) (“A § 2241 petition for a writ of habeas corpus must be addressed to the federal district court in the district where the prisoner is confined.”). This Court has subject matter jurisdiction under § 2241, because Mr. Nieto is detained within its jurisdiction in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and asserts both that his mandatory detention is not statutorily authorized and that it violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. ■ Venue is proper because Mr. Nieto is in custody in Aurora, Colorado, which is within the geographical boundaries of the District of Colorado.

2. Exhaustion

Ordinarily, petitioners are required to exhaust their administrative remedies prior to seeking a writ under § 2241. See Williams v. O’Brien, 792 F.2d 986, 987 (10th Cir.1986) (per curiam). Respondents have not pursued the argument that Mr. Nieto’s claims are barred because he failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. Moreover, exhaustion of remedies is not required if exhaustion would be futile. Goodwin v. State of Okl., 923 F.2d 156, 157 (10th Cir.1991). Here, Mr. Nieto seeks a hearing and bond determination pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). Although such a determination was requested in immigration court, the immigration judge ruled simply that there was “no jurisdiction” and did not consider the matter further. (ECF No. 1, Ex. 3.) Mr. Nieto did not appeal that decision, because [1260]*1260in his view, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) had already “predetermined the issue before it.” (ECF No. 1 ¶ 24 (quoting Bell v. Wiley, 481 F.Supp.2d 1168, 1172 (D.Colo.2007)).) In light of the fact that the BIA had previously ruled that aliens in Mr. Nieto’s circumstances are subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) and not entitled to individualized bond determinations, In re Rojas, 28 I. & N. Dec. 117 (BIA 2001) (“Rojas ”), the Court agrees that any appeal by Mr. Nieto would have been futile.

3. Statutory Framework

Title 8 of the United States Code Section 1226 governs the pre-removal detention of an alien. Section 1226(a) authorizes immigration officials to arrest and to detain or release an alien pending a decision on whether the alien is to be removed from the United States. An alien has the right under § 1226(a) to a hearing before an immigration judge to determine whether he or she should be released on bond during the removal process. There is an exception to this broad authority given to immigration officials to release an alien on bond following a hearing as § 1226(a), by its plain terms, applies in all circumstances “[ejxcept as provided in subsection (c) of this section.” This exception, subsection (c), authorizes mandatory detention of certain aliens without a bond hearing. And the mandatory detention 'authorized by subsection (c) itself contains an extremely limited exception in witness protection circumstances not applicable in this case. Section 1226(c) provides in part:

Detention of criminal aliens
(1) Custody
The Attorney General shall take into custody any alien who—
(A)is inadmissible by reason of having committed any offense covered in section 1182(a)(2) of this title,
(B) is deportable by reason of having committed any offense covered in section 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), (A)(iii), (B), (C), or (D) of this title,
(C) is deportable under section 1227(a)(2)(A)® of this title on the basis of an offense for which the alien has been sentence to a term of imprisonment of at least 1 year, or
(D) is inadmissible under section 1182(a)(3)(B) of this title or deportable under section 1227(a)(4)(B) of this title,
when the alien is released, without regard to whether the alien is released on parole, supervised release, or probation, and without regard to whether the alien may be arrested or imprisoned again for the same offense.
(2) Release
The Attorney General may release an alien described in paragraph (1) only [under limited circumstances related to witness protection],

8 U.S.C. § 1226(c).

II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Mr. Nieto is a native and citizen of Mexico and an LPR of the United States.

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Bluebook (online)
948 F. Supp. 2d 1258, 2013 WL 2423178, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baquera-v-longshore-cod-2013.