Edwin Alfredo Hernandez-Cine v. Ed Voorhies, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedApril 10, 2026
Docket4:26-cv-00421
StatusUnknown

This text of Edwin Alfredo Hernandez-Cine v. Ed Voorhies, et al. (Edwin Alfredo Hernandez-Cine v. Ed Voorhies, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Edwin Alfredo Hernandez-Cine v. Ed Voorhies, et al., (N.D. Ohio 2026).

Opinion

PEARSON, J.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

EDWIN ALFREDO HERNANDEZ- ) CINE, ) CASE NO. 4:26-cv-421 Petitioner, ) ) v. ) JUDGE BENITA Y. PEARSON ) ED VOORHIES, et al., ) ) MEMORANDUM OF OPINNION Respondents. ) AND ORDER ) [Regarding ECF No. 1]

Pending before the Court is Edwin Alfredo Herndandez-Cine’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. ECF No. 1. The matter is fully briefed. Resp. Return of Writ, ECF No. 5; Pet. Response Br., ECF No. 6. Being duly advised, having reviewed the parties’ briefs and the applicable law, the Court grants the petition (ECF No. 1) for the reasons set forth herein. I. BACKGROUND Petitioner is a 24-year-old Salvadorian national. He entered the United States in 2015, crossing the international border from Mexico into Texas when he was 15 years old. ECF No. 1, ⁋⁋ 2, 49; ECF No. 5-5. On December 8, 2016, he was apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) at the Eagle Pass International Bridge in Texas. ECF No. 1; ECF No. 5-1. He was processed as an unaccompanied alien child, placed in removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a, and released into his father’s custody. ECF No. 5-1; ECF No. 5-9. The removal proceedings were dismissed for lack of prosecution in September 2020. ECF No. 5-2. Since his release in 2016, Petitioner has lived and worked in Trenton, New Jersey and has no criminal arrests or convictions. ECF No. 1, ⁋ 51. On November 23, 2025, Petitioner was stopped by border patrol while driving in Niagara

Falls, New York. On December 5, 2025, he received a Notice to Appear before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”). ECF No. 5 at PageID ##: 36–37. Petitioner has been in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) custody since December 2025, detained at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (“NEOCC”), without the opportunity to post bond or be released on other conditions. ECF No. 1, ⁋ 52. DHS placed Petitioner in regular removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a, charging him with: (1) being present in the United States without being admitted or paroled in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i);1 and (2) admission to the United States without proper documentation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I).2 ECF No. 5-4. In a footnote within the Return of Writ, Respondents acknowledge there is no evidence supporting the first

charge, which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) intends to correct “should this case be before an Immigration Judge in the future.” ECF No. 5 at PageID #: 37, n. 3.

1 “An alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, or who arrives in the United States at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General, is inadmissible.” 2 “[A]ny immigrant at the time of application for admission . . . who is not in possession of valid unexpired immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing identification card, or other valid entry document required by this chapter, and a valid unexpired passport, or other suitable travel document, or document or identity and nationality if such document is required under the regulations issued by the Attorney General under section 1181(a) of this title.” II. DISCUSSION A. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Respondents argue that Petitioner has failed to exhaust administrative remedies before the EOIR and Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”), and the Court should not waive that requirement.3 ECF No. 5 at PageID ##: 38–39. The Court is unpersuaded.

There is no statutory requirement that Petitioner must administratively exhaust his claims, rendering exhaustion prudential and within the Court’s sound discretion. See, e.g., Echavaria Morales v. Noem, No. 3:25-cv-2691, 2026 WL 100583, at *2 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 14, 2026) (Pearson, J.) (citing McCarthy v. Madigan, 503 U.S. 140, 144 (1992)). Although “[t]he Sixth Circuit has not formally adopted a standard for determining when prudential exhaustion applies,” see Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft, 797 F. Supp. 3d 771, 778 (E.D. Mich. 2025), appeal pending No. 25-1965 (6th Cir.), district courts in this circuit have utilized the Ninth Circuit’s three-factor test, see United States v. California Care Corp., 709 F.2d 1241, 1248 (9th Cir. 1983), requiring exhaustion when:

(1) agency expertise makes agency consideration necessary to generate a proper record and reach a proper decision; (2) relaxation of the requirement would encourage the deliberate bypass of the administrative scheme; and

3 Petitioner’s response does not address Respondents’ exhaustion argument, instead arguing that that 8 U.S.C. § 1252 does not strip the Court’s jurisdiction to decide detention issues. ECF No. 6 at PageID ##: 84–85. Although jurisdiction is uncontested, the Court affirms—consist with its prior holdings and those of other district courts in the Sixth Circuit and across the country—that § 1252 does not bar jurisdiction to resolve Petitioner’s detention-based claims, including his Fifth Amendment due process claims. See, e.g., E.V. v. Raycraft, No. 4:25-cv-2069, 2025 WL 3122837, at *5–7 (N.D. Ohio Nov. 7, 2025) (Pearson, J.); Singh v. Stevens, --- F. Supp. 3d ---, No. 3:26-cv-133, 2026 WL 456489, at *2–3 (N.D. Ohio Feb. 18, 2026) (Pearson, J.). (3) administrative review is likely to allow the agency to correct its own mistakes and to preclude the need for judicial review. Echavaria Morales, 2026 WL 100583, at *2 (collecting cases). All three factors weigh in Petitioner’s favor. First, his habeas petition raises purely legal questions that do not require a developed administrative record. Second, his habeas petition includes, inter alia, a due process claim rendering the administrative scheme (i.e. appeal to the BIA) futile. Finally, administrative review is unlikely to change Respondents’ position that § 1225(b)(2)(A) applies in this case. As such, requiring Petitioner to go through the administrative process would be fruitless and a waste of time. Even if these factors weighed in favor of exhaustion, the Court may still waive that

requirement “when the interests of the individual weigh heavily against requiring administrative exhaustion, or exhaustion would be futile and unable to afford the petitioner the relief he seeks,” or when “delay means hardship.” Lopez-Campos, 797 F. Supp. 3d. at 778–79. In this case, exhaustion would be futile. “Waiver based on futility is appropriate when an administrative agency ‘has predetermined the disputed issue’ by having a ‘clearly stated position’ that the petitioner is not eligible for the relief sought.” Contreras-Lomeli v. Raycraft, No. 2:25-cv-12826, 2025 WL 2976739, at *4 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 21, 2025) (quoting Cooper v. Zych, No. 09-CV-11620, 2009 WL 2711957, at *2 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 25, 2009)); see Shawnee Coal Co. v. Andrus, 661 F.2d 1083, 1093 (6th Cir. 1981) (recognizing that administrative exhaustion may be excused if it would be futile). Respondents’ position regarding mandatory

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