Calderon v. Sessions

330 F. Supp. 3d 944
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 1, 2018
Docket18 Civ. 5222 (PAC)
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 330 F. Supp. 3d 944 (Calderon v. Sessions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Calderon v. Sessions, 330 F. Supp. 3d 944 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

HONORABLE PAUL A. CROTTY, United States District Judge

This action is about an undocumented immigrant who has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") pending deportation, Petitioner, Pablo Antonio Villavicencio Calderon, unlawfully entered the United States in 2008. Subsequently, at an immigration proceeding in March 2010, he agreed to voluntarily depart the country by July 15, 2010. But Petitioner overstayed his welcome. Petitioner has continued to reside in this country, and as a result, the order of voluntary departure has been converted into a final order of removal.

Although he stayed in the United States unlawfully and is currently subject to a *950final order of removal, he has otherwise been a model citizen. Petitioner married Ms. Sandra Milena Carmona Chica, a United States citizen. He now has two children, both of whom are United States citizens. He has no criminal history. He has paid his taxes. And he has worked diligently to provide for his family.

Petitioner seeks to continue contributing to his family and community, and to that end, he commenced the process of regularizing his immigration status to become a lawful permanent resident. Specifically, he commenced the process of obtaining a provisional unlawful presence waiver, which is an initial step toward immigration status adjustment. In February 2018, Ms. Chica filed, on Petitioner's behalf, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS"), a petition for alien relative ("Form I-130"). requesting that USCIS recognize Petitioner as Ms. Chica's spouse. USCIS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (the "DHS"), is currently processing the I-130 petition, and has scheduled an interview for Petitioner. Once Form I-130 is approved, Petitioner plans to apply for permission to reapply for admission into the United States ("Form I-212") and, subsequently, for a provisional unlawful presence waiver ("Form I-601A"), as outlined in regulations promulgated by the DHS. See infra , pp. 956-57.

The prospect of regularizing his immigration status was set back when, on June 1, 2018, while making a pizza delivery at Fort Hamilton in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, base security found that Petitioner had an outstanding warrant of deportation. He was held by base security until he was turned over to ICE, a law enforcement agency within the DHS, and since then, he has been detained by ICE at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny, New Jersey. ICE seeks to remove Petitioner to his country of origin, Ecuador.

On Saturday, June 9, 2018, Petitioner filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, requesting the Court to order Jefferson B. Sessions III, Kirstjen Nielsen, Thomas Decker, and the DHS ("Respondents")1 to: (1) release him from custody; (2) enjoin Respondents from removing him from the New York City area; and (3) stay his removal from the United States pending resolution of this petition. ECF 1. Petitioner asserts five claims, including that his present detention and impending removal violate the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") and the Fifth Amendment.

Judge Nathan, sitting as the Part I judge, enjoined Respondents from transferring Petitioner from the New York City area and from transferring the Petitioner from the jurisdiction of the New York Field Office of the Office of Enforcement and Removal operations. She set July 20, 2018 as the hearing date, which was later adjourned to July 24, 2018. On that day, the Court heard oral argument from both parties and considered their arguments and submissions. The Court granted the petition for a writ of habeas corpus and Petitioner was immediately released.2 This *951opinion explains why the petition was granted.

It should not be difficult to discern that families should be kept together rather than be separated by the thoughtless and cruel application of a so called "zero tolerance" policy. This is especially so where the organization seeking removal has also provided a pathway for a person in Petitioner's position to regularize his immigration status with minimal disruption to his family life. Petitioner should be allowed to pursue the pathway. He deserves it due to his hard work, his dedication to the family, and his clean criminal record, Rather than provide him with this opportunity, however, Respondents inexplicably want to remove him. There is no justification for this mercurial exercise of executive power. Justice demands that Petitioner be accorded an opportunity to pursue the relief the law allows. Anything less would violate the APA and the U.S. Constitution. So long as Petitioner is pursuing the relief the law allows, he may not be removed.

DISCUSSION

Petitioner seeks an order releasing him from custody and staying his removal until he exhausts his right to pursue a provisional unlawful presence waiver, an initial step towards his immigrant status regularization. Petitioner contends that his detention and impending removal violate his due process right and the APA because the detention and the impending removal interfere with his opportunity to seek the waiver. Petitioner seeks a fair opportunity to engage in the immigration process that the DHS itself has promulgated for someone in his precise position.

Respondents oppose this sensible request for relief. Respondents contend that the Southern District of New York is not proper venue for the instant petition; and even if it were, the Court lacks jurisdiction to review the Petitioner's claims. Respondents also challenge the merits of the claims.

For the reasons set forth below, the Respondents' arguments are rejected, and the petition is granted.

I. Venue

"Congress has granted federal district courts, 'within their respective jurisdictions,' the authority to hear applications for habeas corpus by any person who claims to be held 'in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.' " Rasul v. Bush , 542 U.S. 466, 473, 124 S.Ct. 2686, 159 L.Ed.2d 548 (2004) (quoting 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241(a), (c)(3) ). "The question whether the [Court] has jurisdiction over [a] habeas petition breaks down into two related subquestions. First, who is the proper respondent to that petition? And second, does the [Court] have jurisdiction over him or her?" Rumsfeld v. Padilla , 542 U.S. 426

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Bluebook (online)
330 F. Supp. 3d 944, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/calderon-v-sessions-ilsd-2018.