Carlos Manuel Calzado Diaz v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of DHS, et al.

District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania·Decided December 15, 2025·No. 3:25-cv-00458·Unknown

Opinion

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

CARLOS MANUEL CALZADO ) DIAZ, ) ) Petitioner, ) Vv. ) Case No. 3:25-cv-00458 ) Judge Stephanie L. Haines KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of DHS, ) et al., ) ) Respondents. ) OPINION Petitioner Carlos Manuel Calzado Diaz (“Mr. Calzado Diaz”), who is currently detained at Moshannon Valley Processing Center (““MVPC”), has filed a Habeas Petition, naming as Respondents: Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”); DHS; Pameli Bondi, Attorney General of the United States; John D. Tsoukaris, the Director of the Philadelphia Field Office of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”); and the Warden of MVPC (collectively, “Respondents”). Mr. Calzado Diaz has also filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (“Motion for a P.I.”) that is ripe and pending before the Court. (ECF Nos. 2, 12). Mr. Calzado Diaz’s Habeas Petition and Motion for a P.I. primarily hinge on one issue— whether Mr. Calzado Diaz may be detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) or is instead detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), and therefore entitled to a bond hearing. For the following reasons, the Court finds that, because Mr. Calzado Diaz was detained inside the country as opposed to at the border, his detention is governed by § 1226(a) rather than § 1225(b)(2), and Respondents must afford him a bond hearing. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Mr. Calzado Diaz’s Habeas Petition

at ECF No. 1 insofar as he seeks a bond hearing. The Court DENIES the filings at ECF Nos. 1 and 2 in all other respects. I. Background . This case primarily hinges on the interpretation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1225(b)(2) and 1226(a). Therefore, the Court only provides brief background information before turning to the relevant legal issues. Mr. Calzado Diaz represents that he is a 33-year-old citizen of the Dominican Republic who “entered the United States on or about November 29, 2022, was paroled and subsequently released.” (ECF No. 1 at 4). According to Mr. Calzado Diaz, following his initial release from custody, he has “fully complied with all terms” of his release. (/d.). Then:

On September 29, 2025, during a routine ICE check-in at the Philadelphia Field Office, officers instructed Mr. Calzado Diaz to report to the third floor, and, without prior notice, hearing, or explanation, abruptly revoked his parole and detained him. He was initially transported to the Federal Detention Facility (FDC) in Philadelphia, a facility designed for criminal incarceration. [He] was later transferred to [MVPC] in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania. at 4-5). Finally, Mr. Calzado Diaz states that: (1) he is married to an American citizen, (2) he and his wife have filed documents that remain pending before USCIS, and (3) the adjudication of those documents will “determine his eligibility for lawful permanent residency.” (/d. at 5). For their part, Respondents assert that:

‘ Upon consideration of all of the relief that Mr. Calzado Diaz seeks via his Habeas Petition, (ECF No. 1 at 18), the Court finds that a bond hearing is the entirety of the relief due to him under the law. Further, the Court notes that, in his Motion at ECF No. 2, which was initially a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) and a P.L., Mr. Calzado Diaz requested an order: (1) barring his transfer away from MVPC, (2) prohibiting Respondents from detaining him under § 1225(b)(2), and (3) requiring Respondents to immediately release him from custody. (ECF No. 2 at 7). As the Court explained in its Memorandum Order denying Mr. Calzado Diaz’s request for a T.R.O., (ECF No. 8), it lacks jurisdiction to enjoin his transfer to another District. Ud. at 3~4). And, as the Court explains in the text below, Mr. Calzado Diaz is entitled to a bond hearing, but he has not shown that he is entitled to immediate release. Therefore, the only claim upon which Mr. Calzado Diaz has shown a likelihood of success on the merits is his request for a bond hearing. But the Court is granting him that relief in its ruling on his Habeas Petition, rendering that request for a P.J. moot. Accordingly, the Court denies Mr. Calzado Diaz’s Motion at ECF No. 2 as either unavailing or moot.

[Mr.] Calzado Diaz is a native and citizen of the Dominican Republic. He was born on March 30, 1992. He entered the United States on or about November 2, 2022[,] at an unknown location. He was not in possession of valid immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing card, or other valid entry document required by the Immigration and Nationality Act [(the “INA”)]. He was not then admitted or paroled. On November 29, 2022, [Mr.] Calzado Diaz was issued a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court in Conrow, TX on December 15, 2022. That Notice charged that he was subject to removal from the United States pursuant to Section “212(a)(7)(A)@)U) of the [INA] as an immigrant who, at the time of application for admission, is not in possession of valid unexpired immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing card, or other valid entry document as required by the Act, and a valid unexpired passport, or other suitable travel document, or document of identity and nationality as required under regulations issued by the Attorney General under section 211(a) of the Act.” The Notice also charged that [Mr.] Calzado Diaz was removable under “212(a)(6)(A)(1) of the Act as an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, or who has arrived in the United States at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General.[”] Finally, the Notice stated that it was “being issued after an asylum officer has found that [Mr. | Calzado Diaz had demonstrated a credible fear of persecution or torture.” At some point, he was released from custody. On October 22, 2023, [Mr.] Calzado Diaz married Maria Mercedes Martinez in Pennsylvania. In March 2024, Martinez submitted a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. [Mr.] Calzado Diaz was detained by ICE on September 29, 2025. He is currently housed at MVPC. (ECF No. 12 at 6-7) (cleaned up). The parties to this case agree that Respondents are detaining Mr. Calzado Diaz pursuant to § 1225(b)(2) and therefore holding him without a bond hearing. Notably, Respondents are doing so because of interim guidance that DHS issued on July 8, 2025. (ECF No. 12 at 20). That guidance provides that “all aliens who enter the country without being admitted or who otherwise arrive in the United States without proper documentation are subject to detention under [8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)] and may not be released from custody except by INA § 212(d)(5) parole.” (/d.). The Board of Immigration Appeals (the “BIA”) “soon adopted this interpretation [of the law] in” Matter of

Yajure Hortado, 29 I&N. 216 (BIA 2025). Ud. at 1, 21). In doing so, the BIA concluded that Immigration Judges lack authority to hear bond requests or otherwise grant bond to aliens “who are present in the United States without admission.” (/d. at 21) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). For his part, Mr. Calzado Diaz argues that he cannot be detained pursuant to § 1225(b)(2), and he may only be detained under § 1226(a), which requires a bond hearing. (ECF Nos. 1, 2). The Court now turns its attention to resolving the issue of which statute governs Mr. Calzado Diaz’s detention, which in turn resolves many of the issues that Mr. Calzado Diaz is currently presenting to the Court. Il. Discussion A.

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Carlos Manuel Calzado Diaz v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of DHS, et al., (W.D. Pa. 2025).

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