Brayan Eduardo Pena Rebolledo v. Fred Figueroa, et al.

District Court, W.D. Oklahoma·Decided July 13, 2026·No. 5:26-cv-00958·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA

BRAYAN EDUARDO PENA ) REBOLLEDO, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Case No. CIV-26-958-J ) FRED FIGUEROA, et al., ) ) Respondents.1 )

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Petitioner Brayan Eduardo Pena Rebolledo, a noncitizen,2 seeks a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Doc. 1.3 United States District Judge Bernard M. Jones, II referred the case to the undersigned Magistrate Judge for initial proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B), (C). Doc. 3. The Government responded, Doc. 8, and Petitioner has replied, Doc. 9. So the matter is at issue.

1 Warden Fred Figueroa is not a federal official, and the Government did not file a response on his behalf. Doc. 8, at 1 n.1.

2 This Report and Recommendation “uses the term ‘noncitizen’ as equivalent to the statutory term ‘alien.’” Nasrallah v. Barr, 590 U.S. 573, 578 n.2 (2020) (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(3)).

3 Citations to a court document are to its electronic case filing designation and pagination. Except for capitalization, quotations are verbatim unless otherwise indicated. For the reasons below, the undersigned recommends the Court grant Petitioner’s habeas petition in part and order Respondents to immediately

release Petitioner subject to the same conditions of his earlier parole. I. Factual background and Petitioner’s claims.

Petitioner is a citizen of Venezuela. Doc. 1, at 4; Doc. 8, at 5. On January 14, 2025, he arrived at the border at San Ysidro, California. Doc. 1, at 9; Doc. 8, at 5. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued him a Notice to Appear (NTA) charging him as removable under § 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),4 and placed him into removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a. Doc. 1, at 9-10; Doc. 8, at 5-6 & Ex. 1.

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents released him into the country with an appearance date of June 17, 2026. Doc. 8, Ex. 1, at 2. Respondents state they “paroled [Petitioner] into the United States until April 18, 2025.” Doc. 8, at 6; see Doc. 1, Ex. 2 (stating Petitioner arrived January 14,

2025, and was admitted until April 18, 2025). On May 27, 2025, Petitioner applied for Asylum and Withholding of Removal. Doc. 8, Ex. 2.

4 This section is codified in the United States Code at 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I). This section provides that a noncitizen, who at the time of application for admission, was not in possession of (1) a valid unexpired entry document as required by the INA, and (2) a valid travel document/document of identity and nationality as required by regulations is inadmissible.

2 Petitioner claims that since his release, he has appeared for all of his scheduled check-ins and engaged in no unlawful activity. Doc. 1, at 10. On

January 21, 2026, during a regularly scheduled Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) check-in appointment, Respondents took Petitioner into custody. Id.; Doc. 8, at 6 & Ex. 3 (arrest warrant). Petitioner argues that his re-detention without process violated his due

process rights under the Fifth Amendment and violated the INA. Id. at 10-12. He asks this Court to order Respondents not to transfer him outside this district while this habeas petition is pending; issue an order requiring Respondents to show cause why this Petition should not be granted within

three days5; order his immediate release “without additional alternatives to detention;” declare his detention is unlawful; and award him attorney’s fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412, and on any other basis justified under law. Id. at 12-13.

II. Standard of review.

An application for a writ of habeas corpus “is an attack by a person in custody upon the legality of that custody, and . . . the traditional function of the writ is to secure release from illegal custody.” Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S.

5 The Court addressed this request in its Order for Response, Doc. 6. 3 475, 484 (1973). Habeas corpus relief is warranted only if the petitioner “is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United

States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). “Challenges to immigration detention are properly brought directly through habeas.” Soberanes v. Comfort, 388 F.3d 1305, 1310 (10th Cir. 2004) (citing Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 687-88 (2001)).

III. Discussion.

A. The Court has jurisdiction to consider Petitioner’s claims. Petitioner presented himself at a port of entry and was released on parole. Doc. 1, at 9. Respondents contend they are properly detaining Petitioner under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1) and that the Court has no jurisdiction to review the discretionary decision to re-detain Petitioner during the pendency of his removal proceedings. See Doc. 8, at 7 (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii)). The Court should disagree.

Petitioner does not challenge a discretionary decision to terminate his parole. He instead argues he was arbitrarily detained in violation of his due process rights and the regulations governing his parole. Doc. 1, at 10-12. So the Court has jurisdiction to consider Petitioner’s claims. See Ghamoushi-

Ramandi v. Janecka, 2026 WL 1107385, at *3 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 20, 2026) (“Respondents argue Section[] . . . 1252(a)(2)(B)(ii) strip[s] the Court of 4 jurisdiction to review Petitioner’s custody determination and bond orders. However, [the petitioner’s] claims are constitutional in nature and do not

challenge actions that fall within the discretion of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security. The first and second claims raise due process and regulatory challenges to the procedures Respondents afforded Petitioner when they re-detained him.”) (alteration omitted) (internal citations and

quotation marks omitted); cf. Mwangi v. Terry, 465 F. App’x 784, 787 (10th Cir. 2012) (“[T]o the extent Mr. Mwangi challenges the agency’s discretionary bond decision, the magistrate judge was correct that the court lacked jurisdiction.”). B. Petitioner is entitled to due process.

Petitioner claims that his ongoing detention without a custody review violates his due process rights and the INA. Doc. 1, at 10-12. To the extent that Respondents substantively address Petitioner’s statutory and procedural due process arguments, they assert that Petitioner is properly detained under 8

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Brayan Eduardo Pena Rebolledo v. Fred Figueroa, et al., (W.D. Okla. 2026).

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