Cortez v. Sessions

318 F. Supp. 3d 1134
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMarch 27, 2018
DocketCase No. 18-cv-01014-DMR
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 318 F. Supp. 3d 1134 (Cortez v. Sessions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cortez v. Sessions, 318 F. Supp. 3d 1134 (N.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

Donna M. Ryu, United States Magistrate Judge

Petitioner Alberto Solano Cortez is a noncitizen from Mexico who is currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") custody pending the conclusion of his removal proceedings. On February 15, 2018, Mr. Solano filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 in which he asks the court to order his release from custody or to direct the United States Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review ("EOIR") to provide him with an individualized custody hearing.1 [Docket No. 1.] On February 16, 2018, Mr. Solano filed a motion for a temporary restraining order ("TRO") seeking to enjoin his continued detention without a custody hearing until the court decides his habeas petition. [Docket No. 2.]

Upon completion of the briefing on the motion for a TRO, the court ordered the parties to provide supplemental briefing to address the impact of the Supreme Court's February 27, 2018 decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 830, 200 L.Ed.2d 122 (2018). [Docket No. 13.] The parties timely filed the requested briefing. [Docket Nos. 14-16.] This matter is suitable for resolution without a hearing. Civ. L.R. 7-1(b). For the following reasons, the petition is granted in part and denied in part. The motion for a TRO is denied as moot.

I. BACKGROUND

Mr. Solano was born in Mexico and is 22 years old. His family brought him to the United States when he was two years old. [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. B (Solano Decl., Jan. 26, 2018) ¶ 1.] Mr. Solano grew up in the United States and attended school here. Id. at ¶ 9. In 2013, shortly after he turned 18, he was arrested and charged with robbery. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to four years in prison. Id. at ¶¶ 13-19.

On August 14, 2017, after completing his prison sentence, Mr. Solano was transferred from criminal custody to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"). [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. A (Whitfield Decl., Feb. 15, 2018) ¶ 2.] On August 15, 2017, DHS served him with a Notice of Intent to Issue a Final Administrative Removal Order, noting that he had entered the United States "without admission or inspection by an immigration official" and was "not lawfully admitted for permanent residence." [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. C.] DHS issued a Final Administrative Removal Order on the same day. Id.

While in custody, Mr. Solano expressed his fear of returning to Mexico due to threats of violence against him and his family by other family members. Solano Decl. ¶¶ 2-7. Following an interview, an *1137asylum officer found that Mr. Solano had a reasonable fear of torture if he returned to Mexico and referred the case to an immigration judge so that Mr. Solano could apply for withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture. [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. D; Whitfield Decl. ¶ 3.] Mr. Solano was then placed in withholding-only proceedings. A hearing on the merits of his claim was scheduled for February 12, 2018. [Docket 8-1 (Olympia Decl., Feb. 20, 2018) ¶ 6, Ex. E; Whitfield Decl. ¶ 3.] On November 9, 2017, ICE determined that Mr. Solano would continue to be detained during the pendency of his withholding-only proceedings. Olympia Decl. ¶ 7, Ex. F.

On December 11, 2017, after being detained for nearly four months, Mr. Solano filed a request for a ruling on his eligibility for a bond hearing. Whitfield Decl. ¶ 6. Immigration Judge ("IJ") Joseph Park denied the request on December 14, 2017, stating that the "issue [was] not ripe." [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. E.] On January 12, 2018, Mr. Solano moved for a bond hearing to be set on or around February 12, 2018, immediately after he would reach six months in custody, pursuant to Rodriguez v. Robbins ("Rodriguez III "), 804 F.3d 1060 (9th Cir. 2015), reversed by Jennings v. Rodriguez , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 830, 200 L.Ed.2d 122 (2018), and Diouf v. Napolitano ("Diouf II "), 634 F.3d 1081 (9th Cir. 2011). Whitfield Decl. ¶ 7; Petition ¶ 5. The IJ denied the motion on January 25, 2018 on the ground that the "[court] lacks jurisdiction over custody as respondent [is] in withholding only proceedings." [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. F.] On January 30, 2018, Mr. Solano appealed the IJ's decision denying a custody hearing to the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. G.] As of the February 15, 2018 filing date of Mr. Solano's habeas petition, the BIA had not yet set a briefing schedule. Whitfield Decl. ¶ 12.

At the February 12, 2018 merits hearing regarding withholding of removal, Mr. Solano moved again for a bond hearing, which the IJ denied. [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. I.] The IJ continued the merits hearing to take additional evidence and testimony; the next hearing date is set for June 5, 2018. [Docket No. 1-1 Ex. J; Whitfield Decl. ¶ 14.] Mr. Solano has been detained in ICE custody for over seven months without a bond hearing, since August 14, 2017. He remains in detention at the Yuba County Jail in Marysville, California. Petition ¶ 1.

Mr. Solano now petitions for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, asserting that his continued detention without a bond hearing is unlawful and in violation of his due process rights. In his petition and motion for a TRO, he seeks to enjoin his continued detention by DHS without a bond hearing, and to secure his release from custody in advance of his June 5, 2018 merits hearing. Mr. Solano asks that the court order either his immediate release from custody, or direct the EOIR to provide him with an individualized bond hearing at which the government bears the burden of justifying his continued detention by clear and convincing evidence.

Respondents oppose the petition and the motion for a TRO, and ask the court to resolve Mr. Solano's habeas petition on the merits. [Docket No. 8 (Opp'n) 14.] They argue that the petition should be denied for two reasons: 1) Mr. Solano has failed to exhaust his administrative remedies; and 2) Mr. Solano is not entitled to a bond hearing under applicable law.

II. PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

A. Administrative Exhaustion

Respondents argue that the court should dismiss Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
318 F. Supp. 3d 1134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cortez-v-sessions-cand-2018.