Carlos Enrique Tojxitumul v. Warden of the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, et al.

District Court, E.D. California·Decided March 6, 2026·No. 1:26-cv-01060·Unknown

Opinion

CARLOS ENRIQUE TOJXITUMUL, Case No. 1:26-cv-01060-JLT-CDB (HC) Petitioner, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO GRANT PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS v. CORPUS

WARDEN OF THE MESA VERDE (Doc. 1) DETENTION FACILITY, et al., 7-DAY OBJECTION PERIOD Respondents. Petitioner Carlos Enrique Tojxitumul, a federal immigration detainee proceeding pro se, initiated this action on February 6, 2026, with the filing of a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (Doc. 1). Petitioner is in custody the of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, located in Bakersfield, California. Id. ¶ 1. Respondents are: the unnamed Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”); unnamed Attorney General of the United States; unnamed Acting ICE Director; unnamed ICE Field Office Director, San Francisco Field Office; and the unnamed Warden, Mesa Verde Detention Facility. See id. At the Court’s direction, Respondents filed a response to the petition on February 19, 2026. (Doc. 10). Petitioner did not file a traverse. For the reasons set forth herein, the undersigned recommends that Petitioner’s petition for writ of habeas corpus be granted. /// I. Relevant Background Petitioner is a citizen of Guatemala who unlawfully entered the United States on or about March 25, 2019, and was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol; he was released on parole on March 27, 2019, with supervision under the Alternatives to Detention program. See (Doc. 10 at 1; Doc. 10-1). He alleges that he was re-arrested and detained by immigration authorities on December 10, 2025, when he was summonsed by his “ISAP officer” (Doc. 1 ¶ 23), a presumed reference to ICE’s “Intensive Supervision Appearance Program” that monitors non-detained noncitizens under ICE’s supervision. Petitioner also alleges that he complied with ISAP’s rules regarding calls, photos, and officer visits. Id. After his release on parole, on September 6, 2020, Petitioner was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (“DUI”) and for evading a peace officer; he was fined for the misdemeanor DUI and the other charges were dismissed. On July 14, 2022, he was arrested for DUI with a prior, as a misdemeanor, and ultimately was fined. On March 23, 2023, he was arrested for battery of a spouse, as a misdemeanor; the charges were dropped for insufficient evidence. On November 19, 2023, he was arrested for willful cruelty to a child and DUI, as well as driving on a suspended license, also as misdemeanors; he was convicted on counts of child abuse and DUI. He was fined and sentenced to a jail term and four years’ probation. See (Doc. 10 at 1-2; Doc. 10-2 at 4-8; Doc. 10-3). On February 10, 2025, he was booked into Marin County Jail to serve his sentence. See (Doc. 10 at 2; Doc. 10-3). During his most recent check-in with ICE (December 10, 2025), Petitioner was re-detained. (Doc. 1 ¶ 23; Doc. 10 at 2; Doc. 10-1 at 4). DHS records mention Petitioner’s arrest on DUI charges alongside the record of his recent detainment by ICE officers. However, Petitioner’s most recent arrest predated his detainment by over one year, and his confinement in jail predated it by approximately ten months. See (Doc. 10-at 4). Respondents assert that Petitioner’s arrests and convictions are violations of his terms of release. See (Doc. 10). Petitioner does not directly address these claims in his petition and did not file a traverse. See (Doc. 1). In his petition, Petitioner asserts generally that he “was doing everything correctly” and is in the process of seeking asylum. Id. ¶ 18, 23. Publicly available information provided by the Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”), does not evidence that Petitioner is the subject of any final order of removal.1 II. Governing Authority A. The Writ of Habeas Corpus Writ of habeas corpus relief extends to a person in custody under the authority of the United States. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241. A district court considering an application for a writ of habeas corpus shall “award the writ or issue an order directing the respondent to show cause why the writ should not be granted, unless it appears from the application that the applicant or person detained is not entitled thereto.” 28 U.S.C. § 2243. Relevant here, “in cases that do not involve a final order of removal, federal habeas corpus jurisdiction remains in the district court” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 where the petitioner “challenges his confinement on statutory and constitutional grounds.” Nadaraja v. Gonzales, 443 F.3d 1069, 1075-76 (9th Cir. 2006); accord Flores-Torres v. Mukasey, 548 F.3d 708, 713 (9th Cir. 2008) (holding “the district court has jurisdiction over Torres’s habeas petition challenging his detention” in ICE custody). B. Statutory Immigration Framework (8 U.S.C. § 1225 and § 1226) Two statutes govern the detention and removal of inadmissible noncitizens from the United States: 8 U.S.C. § 1226 and § 1225. Relevant here is the legal background presented by the district court in Salcedo Aceros v. Kaiser, No. 25-cv-06924-EMC, 2025 WL 2637503 (N.D. Cal. Sept 12, 2025), which the undersigned adopts herein: 1. Full Removal Proceedings and Discretionary Detention (§ 1226) The “usual removal process” involves an evidentiary hearing before an immigration judge. Dep’t of Homeland Sec. v. Thuraissigiam, 591 U.S. 103, 108 (2020). Proceedings are initiated under 8 U.S.C. § 1229(a), also known as “full removal,” by filing a Notice to Appear 1 See https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/caseInformation (last visited March 6, 2026, using Petitioner’s A-Number and nationality); Daniels-Hall v. National Edu. Ass'n, 629 F.3d 992, 998-99 (9th Cir. 2010) (“It is appropriate to take judicial notice of this information, as it was made publicly available by government entities ... and neither party disputes the authenticity of the web sites or the accuracy of the information displayed [ ] therein.”); Argueta v. Walgreens Co., 760 F. Supp. 3d 1028, 1034 (E.D. Cal. 2024) (taking judicial notice of information on federal government agency’s website). with the Immigration Court. Matter of E-R-M- & L-R-M-, 25 I. & N. Dec. 520, 520 (BIA 2011). Section § 1226 provides that while removal proceedings are pending, a noncitizen “may be arrested and detained” and that the government “may release the alien on ... conditional parole.” § 1226(a)(2); accord Thuraissigiam, 591 U.S. at 108 (during removal proceedings, applicant may either be “detained” or “allowed to reside in this country”). When a person is apprehended under § 1226(a), an ICE officer makes the initial custody determination. Diaz v. Garland, 53 F.4th 1189, 1196 (9th Cir. 2022) (citing 8 C.F.R. § 236.1(c)(8)). A noncitizen will be released if he or she “demonstrate[s] to the satisfaction of the officer that such release would not pose a danger to property or persons, and that the alien is likely to appear for any future proceeding.” Id. (citing 8 C.F.R. §

Carlos Enrique Tojxitumul v. Warden of the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, et al., (E.D. Cal. 2026).

Carlos Enrique Tojxitumul v. Warden of the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, et al. (Carlos Enrique Tojxitumul v. Warden of the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, et al.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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