Diego Fernando Cuervo Marin v. ICE Field Office Director

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedApril 24, 2026
Docket2:26-cv-01071
StatusUnknown

This text of Diego Fernando Cuervo Marin v. ICE Field Office Director (Diego Fernando Cuervo Marin v. ICE Field Office Director) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Diego Fernando Cuervo Marin v. ICE Field Office Director, (W.D. Wash. 2026).

Opinion

1 2 3

4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 7 DIEGO FERNANDO CUERVO MARIN, CASE NO. C26-1071-KKE 8

Petitioner(s), ORDER ON HABEAS PETITION 9 v.

10 ICE FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR,1

11 Respondent(s).

12 Petitioner, proceeding pro se, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, asserting that his 13 re-detention by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) without a hearing violated his 14 right to due process. Dkt. No. 4. The briefing on Petitioner’s habeas petition is now complete. 15 Dkt. Nos. 4, 7, 10. 16

17 1 In this case, Petitioner names as a respondent the “ICE Field Office Director” rather than the warden of the detention center where he is held. The proper respondent for a habeas petition is the petitioner’s immediate 18 custodian or warden of the detention facility. Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 439 (2004). Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21, the Court may, “on its own,” and “on just terms, add … a party.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 21. Here, although Petitioner fails to name his immediate custodian, the petition clearly challenges his detention at and seeks 19 release from the Northwest ICE Processing Center (“NWIPC”). Construing the petition liberally, as it must, the Court directs the Clerk to add Bruce Scott, Warden of the NWIPC, as a respondent in this action pursuant to Federal 20 Rule of Civil Procedure 21. See, e.g., Urena v. Warden, Otay Mesa Det. Ctr., 26-CV-323-JO-DDL, 2026 WL 362082 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 9, 2026) (court sua sponte adding detention center warden as a respondent “[g]iven 21 Petitioner’s pro se status and his clear indication that he seeks release from the Otay Mesa Detention Center” and assuming jurisdiction over habeas action); Bailey v. Fulwood, 780 F. Supp. 2d 20, 25 (D.D.C. 2011) (court sua sponte adding prison warden as “the proper respondent” in habeas action under Rule 21); Devilmar v. U.S. 22 Immigration & Customs Enf’t ICE, 3:26-CV-0009-JES-MSB, 2026 WL 130387, at *1 (S.D. Cal. Jan. 16, 2026) (declining to dismiss habeas petition for want of jurisdiction where petitioner failed to name detention center warden 23 as a respondent “[i]n light of Petitioner’s pro se status and the liberty interests at issue”); Torres Munguia v. Attorney General, 2:26-CV-1067-KG-GBW, 2026 WL 967363, at *1 n.1 (D.N.M. Apr. 9, 2026) (court sua sponte adding proper respondent and noting it “routinely substitutes” the “proper parties” as respondents in habeas actions 24 under Rule 21). 1 I. BACKGROUND 2 Petitioner Diego Fernando Cuervo Marin is a native and citizen of Colombia. Dkt. No. 9 3 ¶ 3, Dkt. No. 10 at 1. On January 5, 2025, Petitioner entered the United States through a port of

4 entry in Brownsville, Texas. Dkt. No. 9 ¶ 3, Dkt. No. 10 at 1. The same day, Customs and Border 5 Patrol (“CBP”) processed Petitioner and served him with a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) charging 6 inadmissibility under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) and scheduling a master calendar hearing for 7 December 17, 2025. Dkt. No. 9 ¶ 4, Dkt. No. 8-1. Petitioner was subsequently released pursuant 8 to an Order of Release on Recognizance (“OREC”), or “Form I-220A.”2 Dkt. No. 9 ¶ 8, Dkt. No. 9 7 at 4, see Dkt. No. 8-3. Upon his release from immigration custody, Petitioner, his wife, and his 10 daughter settled in Yakima, Washington. Dkt. No. 10 at 1. While Petitioner was on release, ICE 11 Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”) mailed Petitioner a “Call-in-Letter” directing him 12 to report to the Yakima ERO office, but that form was returned as undeliverable. Dkt. No. 9 ¶¶ 5– 13 6. The Government contends that Petitioner later failed to appear for an Alternatives to Detention 14 (“ATD”) appointment that had been scheduled for March 5, 2025. Dkt. No. 9 ¶ 7; Dkt. No. 8-2 at 15 4. 16 On December 21, 2025, while conducting a targeted field operation, ICE ERO arrested and 17 detained Petitioner, according to the Government, “under the mandatory detention provision for 18 applicants for admission.” Dkt. No. 7 at 5 (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)), Dkt. No. 9 ¶ 8. The same 19 day, ERO issued a memorandum “cancelling” Petitioner’s OREC, citing the “reasons stated in the 20 Form I-213.” Dkt. No. 9 ¶ 8. The Form I-213—which appears to have been completed on the 21 same date of his arrest—includes a list of events that occurred on the date of Petitioner’s arrest, as 22

23 2 The Government does not provide a copy of the OREC. Based on ICE ERO’s memorandum cancelling Petitioner’s OREC, it appears as though Petitioner’s OREC may no longer be accessible by ICE. See Dkt. No. 8-3 (“This memo has been created because the [OREC] is not immediately available to complete and serves as notice of 24 cancellation … in lieu of completing the cancellation portion of the [OREC] form itself.”). 1 well as Petitioner’s answers to questions he was asked by a deportation officer. See Dkt. No. 8-2 2 at 2–5. For instance, when asked whether he had reason to believe that he is a citizen of the United 3 States, Petitioner allegedly answered “No.” Id. at 4. Under the header “Immigration History,” the

4 form notes that he failed to report to a single ATD appointment on March 5, 2025. Id. The I-213 5 form also states that, upon his arrival in the United States, Petitioner was “paroled into the United 6 States pending a [section] 240 [of the INA] hearing.” Id. Petitioner has no criminal history. Id. 7 Petitioner was transferred to the NWIPC where he remains detained, according to the 8 Government, under the mandatory detention scheme provided by 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b). Dkt. No. 9 9 ¶ 9, Dkt. No. 7 at 5. Though the Government claims Petitioner requested voluntary departure on 10 December 27, 2025 and again on January 15, 2026, Dkt. No. 9 ¶¶ 10, 12, in a declaration filed in 11 support of his reply, Petitioner asserted otherwise. See Dkt. No. 11. Petitioner stated his intent to 12 “clarify” communications he had with ICE while he was detained, and expressed:

13 I do not wish to renounce my legal rights, my asylum claim, or my habeas corpus petition. I remain committed to continuing my legal process … I am afraid of being 14 removed from the United States and sent to my country of origin or to any other country where my life may be in danger. 15 Dkt. No. 11 at 1. He asked “that the Court not interpret [his] prior communication as a voluntary 16 waiver of [his] rights or as an intention to abandon [his] case,” and explained that his 17 communications with ICE were owing to “extreme emotional distress, desperation, and frustration 18 due to prolonged and unjust detention, as well as the separation from [his] wife and daughter.” 19 Dkt. No. 11 at 1. 20 On March 3, 2026, Petitioner appeared for a hearing in his removal proceedings; the IJ 21 ordered him removed to Ecuador and Honduras. Dkt. No. 9 ¶ 13. Petitioner filed an appeal, which 22 remains pending. Id. ¶¶ 14–15, Dkt. No. 4 at 2, Dkt. No. 10 at 1. 23

24 1 II. ANALYSIS 2 A. Legal Standard 3 “Writs of habeas corpus may be granted by … the district courts …within their respective

4 jurisdictions.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(a).

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Diego Fernando Cuervo Marin v. ICE Field Office Director, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/diego-fernando-cuervo-marin-v-ice-field-office-director-wawd-2026.