Cruz-Zavala v. Barr

District Court, N.D. California·Decided April 17, 2020·No. 5:20-cv-02142·Unknown

Opinion

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION

WALTER CRUZ-ZAVALA, Case No. 20-CV-02142-LHK

Petitioner, ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PETITION FOR v. WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND DENYING AS MOOT MOTION FOR WILLIAM P. BARR, et al., TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER Respondents. Re: Dkt. Nos. 1, 5 On March 29, 2020, Petitioner Walter Cruz-Zavala (“Petitioner”) filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. ECF No. 1 (“Pet.”). Petitioner is a native of El Salvador who is currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) custody. See Pet. ¶¶ 1, 20. Petitioner argues that his prolonged detention violates his procedural and substantive due process rights. Petitioner named as Respondents William P. Barr, Attorney General of the United States; Chad Wolf, Acting Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security; David Jennings, Field Office Director of ICE in San Francisco, California; and Nathan Allen, Warden of the Mesa Verde Detention Facility (collectively, “Respondents”). Thereafter, on March 30, 2020, Petitioner filed a motion for a temporary restraining order 1 (“TRO”) seeking immediate release, or, alternatively, to “secure his immediate release pending a constitutionally compliant bond hearing.”1 Petitioner’s TRO motion has been fully briefed. Having considered the briefing and exhibits submitted by the parties, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Petitioner’s habeas petition and DENIES as moot Petitioner’s motion for a TRO. Petitioner is 29 years old and has been continuously residing in the United States for over 15 years. Pet. ¶ 19. Petitioner first entered the United States in December 2004 without being lawfully admitted or paroled. ECF No. 1-2, Ex. C (“May 2018 IJ Order”) at 1. When Petitioner was 17 years old, Petitioner joined the MS-13 gang. ECF No. 1-2, Exh. A, ¶ 7. Shortly thereafter, Petitioner pled guilty to participation in a criminal street gang in violation of California Penal Code § 186.22 and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. ECF No. 1-2, Exh. I at 6. As a young adult, Petitioner was arrested and charged with federal racketeering and conspiracy charges, for which he spent nearly 3 years in solitary confinement in federal custody before he was ultimately acquitted of all charges. Id. During his time in federal custody, Petitioner attacked a sheriff’s deputy. ECF No. 1-2, Exh. I at 8. Petitioner was convicted of driving under the influence (“DUI”) five times between 2013 and 2015, three of which were misdemeanor convictions and two of which were felony convictions. Id. ¶ 21. The last DUI conviction resulted in physical injuries to Petitioner’s brother who was a passenger in Petitioner’s vehicle. ECF No. 1-2, Exh. A ¶ 4. Petitioner was arrested in July 2017 and convicted of carrying a concealed firearm, in violation of California Penal Code section 25400. Id. The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) first initiated removal proceedings against Petitioner via notice to appear in January 2005. May 2018 IJ Order at 1. The notice to appear charged Petitioner with removability “as an alien present in the United States without being 1 Following the parties’ approach, the Court refers to these hearings as “bond hearings” throughout this Order. 2 admitted or paroled.” Id. Petitioner admitted the factual allegations at a hearing on March 2, 2005 and conceded the charge of removability. Id. However, Petitioner subsequently applied for asylum and withholding of removal, as well as protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). Id. at 2. Years later, Petitioner also filed an application seeking suspension of deportation or special rule cancellation of removal under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act. Id. While those applications remained pending, ICE again took Petitioner into custody in July 2017, following his arrest for carrying a concealed firearm. Pet. ¶¶ 21, 22. While in immigration detention, Petitioner participated in an attack on another detainee in 2017. ECF No. 9-1 ¶ 30. Subsequently, the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) granted Petitioner’s request for CAT relief but denied all of his other requests for relief. May 2018 IJ Order at 13. On May 24, 2018, the government appealed the IJ’s grant of relief to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). Pet. ¶ 26. In June 2019, the BIA dismissed Petitioner’s appeal of the IJ’s denial of relief but remanded for the IJ to clarify its grant of relief under the CAT. ECF No. 1-2, Ex. E (“BIA Remand Order”). On remand, the IJ clarified that Petitioner was ineligible for withholding of removal under the CAT because he had committed a “particularly serious crime.” ECF No. 1-2, Ex. F (“Aug. 2019 IJ Order”). However, the IJ found that Petitioner was eligible for deferral of removal under the CAT, a more limited form of relief than withholding of removal. Id. DHS appealed the IJ’s August 2019 order, which remains pending with the BIA. See ECF No. 12. As to bond hearings, Petitioner withdrew his first request for a bond hearing on August 4, 2017. ECF No. 9-1 ¶ 29. Then, on January 24, 2018, Petitioner waived his right to a bond hearing because Petitioner had an outstanding state warrant. Id. ¶ 32. However, on April 11, 2019, Petitioner moved the IJ for a bond hearing. ECF No. 1-2, Ex. I. Petitioner argued that, at the hearing, the government must bear the burden of “justifying his continued detention by proving by clear and convincing evidence that he either poses a danger to the community or a flight risk such that no amount of bond can ensure his appearance.” Id. at 2. Petitioner also argued that the IJ 3 must consider the length of his immigration detention thus far. Id. The IJ held a bond hearing on May 1, 2019, at which the IJ explicitly declined to apply the burden of proof requested by Petitioner and ultimately denied bond. See ECF No 1-2, Exs. J, K. Petitioner appealed, and the BIA affirmed. Id., Ex. L.2 Petitioner currently remains in ICE detention at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield, California.3 On March 29, 2020, Petitioner filed the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. ECF No. 1. Petitioner asserts two claims for relief: that the conditions of his confinement, which he alleges heighten his risk of exposure to COVID-19, violate his substantive due process rights under the Fifth Amendment, Pet. ¶¶ 122–26; and that Petitioner’s prolonged detention without a constitutionally compliant bond hearing violates his procedural due process rights under the Fifth Amendment, id. ¶¶ 127–130. In relevant part, Petitioner requests that the Court order Petitioner released, or in the alternative, that the Court order a “constitutionally compliant” bond hearing within 7 days of the Court’s order. Id. at 41–42. On March 30, 2020, Petitioner filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) seeking immediate release, or, alternatively, to “secure his immediate release pending a constitutionally compliant bond hearing.” See ECF No. 3-1 (“TRO Mot.”). On April 2, 2020, Respondents filed an opposition to Petitioner’s TRO motion. ECF No. 9 (“Opp’n”). While Respondents style their opposition as an opposition to Petitioner’s motion for a TRO, Respondents also respond substantively to Petitioner’s claims for relief in his petition. 2 As a result, the Court finds that any prudential administrative exhaustion requirement has been satisfied. See Hernandez v. Sessions, 872 F.3d 976, 988 (9th Cir. 2017) (discussing prudential administrative exhaustion requirement). 3 The Court notes that, ordinarily, jurisdiction for a § 2241 habeas corpus petition challenging “present physical co

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