C.A.R.V. v. Minga Wofford, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedNovember 3, 2025
Docket1:25-cv-01395
StatusUnknown

This text of C.A.R.V. v. Minga Wofford, et al. (C.A.R.V. v. Minga Wofford, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
C.A.R.V. v. Minga Wofford, et al., (E.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 C.A.R.V.,1 Case No. 1:25-CV-01395 JLT SKO 12 Petitioner, ORDER CONVERTING THE MATTER TO A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION AND 13 v. GRANTING THE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN PART AND REFERRING 14 MINGA WOFFORD, ET AL., THE MATTER TO THE ASSIGNED MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15 Respondents. (Doc. 2) 16 17 I. INTRODUCTION 18 Before the Court for decision is C.A.R.V’s request for a temporary restraining order (Doc. 19 2)filed in conjunction with his petition for a writ of habeas corpus brought under 28 U.S.C. 20 §2241 challenging his ongoing immigration detention. (Doc. 1.) Having evaluated the TRO 21 request, Respondents’ opposition (Doc. 9), C.A.R.V’s reply (Doc. 10), and Respondents’ 22 supplemental filing alongside the entire record, the Court converts the matter into a motion for 23 preliminary injunction, GRANTS that motion IN PART, and REFERS the matter to the 24 assigned magistrate judge for a determination on the merits. 25 II. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 26 1 Respondents object to Petitioner proceeding by pseudonym (see Doc. 3), arguing that the procedure is not justified under the circumstances, particularly given Petitioner’s “public criminal case proceedings.” 27 (Doc. 9 at 2, n. 2.) 1 Respondents also object to Petitioner naming multiple officials as Respondents in this 28 matter. In the interest of expedience, the Court will defer determinations of these questions to the merits 1 Petitioner is a citizen and national of Nicaragua who crossed the border into the United 2 States in November 2021 at which time he was apprehended by the Department of Homeland 3 Security (DHS). (Doc. 2-3, ¶9; Doc. 9-1, ¶ 6). According to the declaration of Deportation Officer 4 Abad, Petitioner apparently admitted at that time to entering the United States unlawfully, though 5 Respondents have failed to provide documents supporting that assertion. (Doc. 9-1, ¶ 5.) On 6 December 6 or 7, 2021, DHS released Petitioner on his own recognizance. (Doc. 2-3, ¶ 13; Doc. 7 9-1, ¶ 7; Doc. 12-1 at 1.) The I-220A Petitioner signed upon his release imposed various 8 conditions, including in person reporting and a requirement that Petitioner must not violate any 9 local, State or Federal laws or ordinances. (Doc. 12-1 at 1.) 10 According to information relayed to the Court from Petitioner through counsel, after his 11 release from DHS custody in 2021, C.A.R.V. came to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. (Doc. 12 1-2, ¶ 12.) He established a life in Daly City, California, and became engaged to a U.S. Citizen 13 approximately six months before his most recent detention. (Id.) C.A.R.V. and K.M. are 14 expecting a baby girl due in November of 2025. (Id.) They have a wedding currently scheduled 15 for July 13, 2026, in San Mateo, California. (Id.) K.M. has submitted a letter describing their 16 relationship, their plans, and the strain C.A.R.V.’s detention has caused as they prepare for the 17 birth of their child. (Id. at 2. (“Rather than sharing in the happiness of getting ready to welcome 18 our daughter, we are coping with the anxiety of not knowing what the future holds.”).) 19 On April 20, 2023, C.A.R.V applied for asylum. ((Doc. 1-2, ¶ 14.) C.A.R.V. received 20 employment authorization from DHS and is employed full time as a cook and food preparation 21 specialist for a catering company. (Id. ¶ 13.) His employers and co-workers praise his work ethic 22 and character. (Doc. 1-8 at 5–6, 9.) Relatives of his fiancé provide similar letters of support. (Id. 23 at 3, 7–8.) Prior to his detention, his next scheduled hearing on his asylum application was 24 scheduled for November 26, 2027. (Id.) 25 On June 10, 2023, Petitioner was arrested for violation of California Vehicle Code 26 (“CVC”) § 23152(a), Driving under the Influence (“DUI”) of Alcohol; CVC § 23152(b), DUI 27 Alcohol/0.08 percent or more; and CVC § 12500(a), Driving without a Valid License. (Doc. 9-1, 28 ¶8.) Petitioner pled no contest to the CVC § 23152(b) charge (DUI Alcohol/0.08 percent or 1 more). (Doc. 2, ¶17.) On October 28, 2024, Petitioner was cited for violation of CVC § 2322(a) 2 Possession of Open container while driving. (Doc. 9-1, ¶9; Doc. 10 at 12.) Petitioner pled guilty 3 to the CVC § 2322(a) violation. (Doc. 10-2 at 2.) 4 On August 11, 2025, Petitioner reported to the ICE Field Office in San Francisco. (Doc 9- 5 1, ¶10.) After becoming aware of Petitioner’s DUI arrest, ICE Enforcement and Removal 6 Operations (ERO) apparently instructed Petitioner to return on September 15, 2025, with relevant 7 court dispositions or police records for custody redetermination. (Doc. 9-1, ¶ 10; Doc. 2, ¶ 19.) 8 When Petitioner returned to the ICE Field Office on September 15, 2025, he purportedly admitted 9 to his DUI and open container convictions. (Doc. 9-1, ¶ 11) ICE then arrested Petitioner, 10 assertedly, for violating the conditions of his OREC release because of the state law/ordinance 11 violations. (Doc. 9-1, ¶ 11.) After detaining Petitioner, ICE transferred him to Mesa Verde where 12 he remains today. (Doc. 2, ¶ 20; Doc. 9-1, ¶ 12.) 13 On October 20, 2025, Petitioner filed both a petition for writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 1) 14 asserting that his detention violates his procedural and substantive due process rights under the 15 Fifth Amendment, as well as a motion for temporary restraining order requesting immediate 16 release and other injunctive relief. (Doc. 2.) On October 21, 2025, this Court entered a minute 17 order setting a briefing and hearing schedule. (Doc. 6.) In addition, this Court ordered 18 Respondents not to remove Petitioner from the United States nor transfer Petitioner out of the 19 Eastern District of California unless and until this Court orders otherwise. (Id.) 20 Respondents and Petitioner timely field their respective opposition (Doc. 9) and reply 21 (Doc. 10) briefs. In support of Respondents’ arguments, they offer the Declaration of Officer 22 Abad, but he does not claim that he was present at the last interview—or any of the interviews or 23 hearings involving C.A.R.V.—and makes no showing how he knows what he purports to assert. 24 Due to the ambiguity in the declaration, the Court required Respondents to file the underlying 25 documents upon which the declaration relied. The order reads,

26 The Court requires additional details before it can evaluate the factual assertions made in Respondents’ opposition (Doc. 9). Accordingly, as soon as possible but 27 no later than noon TOMORROW, October 30, 2025, Respondents SHALL file those portions of Petitioner’s A File that support the assertions made in the 28 Declaration of Deportation Officer Abad (Doc. 9-1). In particular, Respondents 1 SHALL provide documentation detailing the nature of Petitioner’s release on recognizance, any documents he signed in connection with that release, any notice 2 provided to Petitioner in relation to the revocation of release, and any opportunity Petitioner was afforded (formal or informal) to contest the grounds for that 3 revocation. 4 (Doc. 11) On October 30, 2025, Respondents filed only Petitioner’s “Order of Release on 5 Recognizance” dated November 24, 2021, and the “Continuation Page,” and “Addendum 6 attached to that order. Among other notable omission, Respondents did not provide any 7 documents detailing the notice provided to Petitioner on August 11, 2025 that at the next 8 interview he was subject to detention, no documents detailing any opportunity for him to contest 9 revocation of his release, no documents detailing what occurred on September 15, 2025, and no 10 arrest report (form I-213).

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C.A.R.V. v. Minga Wofford, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carv-v-minga-wofford-et-al-caed-2025.