Ehsan Gholestani v. United States District Court, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 13, 2026
Docket5:25-cv-01392
StatusUnknown

This text of Ehsan Gholestani v. United States District Court, et al. (Ehsan Gholestani v. United States District Court, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ehsan Gholestani v. United States District Court, et al., (W.D. Okla. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA EHSAN GHOLESTANI, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Case No. CIV-25-1392-R ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, ) et al., ) ) Respondents. ) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION Petitioner Ehsan Gholestani, a noncitizen1 and Iranian national proceeding pro se, filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his detention by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). Doc. 11.2 United States District Judge David L. Russell referred this matter to the undersigned Magistrate Judge in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B)-(C). Respondents filed a Response, Doc. 15, and Petitioner has not yet filed a Reply.3 For the reasons set forth below, the

1 This Report and Recommendation “uses the term ‘noncitizen’ as equivalent to the statutory term ‘alien.’” Nasrallah v. Barr, 590 U.S. 573, 578 n.2 (2020) (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(3)). 2 On January 20, 2026, Petitioner filed an amended Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Petition”). Doc. 11. This is the operative pleading. See Doc. 13. On January 23, 2026, the Court sua sponte added appropriate federal respondents in the action. Doc. 12. 3 Petitioner’s optional reply is due today. See Doc. 13. Given delays with his filings in ICE custody and the time-sensitive nature of this recommended relief, the undersigned concludes it is in the interest of justice to file the Report and Recommendation promptly. Petitioner may still object to this Report and Recommendation in the normal course. undersigned recommends that the Court grant the Petition for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and order Petitioner’s release from ICE custody.

I. Background Petitioner is a native and citizen of Iran. Doc. 11-1 at 1; Resp. at 2. In 2012, Petitioner left Iran due to religious and political “problems.” Doc. 11-1 at 1. From 2012 to late 2023, Petitioner lived illegally in Venezuela where he applied for asylum but was ultimately denied “due to political relations with Iran.” Id. On November 21, 2023, Petitioner illegally entered the United States at or near Eagle Pass, Texas. Id.; Doc. 15-1 at 1.4 He was arrested and sentenced to five months in jail for illegal entry under 8 U.S.C.

§ 1325. Doc. 11-1 at 1; Doc. 15-1 at 2; Resp. at 2. In April 2024,5 after serving his sentence for illegal entry, Petitioner was taken into ICE custody and, on May 1, 2024, ICE Enforcement Removal Operations (“ERO”)

initiated removal proceedings through a Notice to Appear. Doc. 11-1 at 1; Doc. 15-1 at 2; Doc. 15-4 at 1; Resp. at 2. At some point after that, Petitioner applied for asylum and

4 Doc. 15-1 is ERO Officer Romeo Foncha’s Declaration. The undersigned notes that Mr. Foncha’s declaration is not signed or dated. However, Mr. Foncha’s failure to sign or date his declaration is not material to the undersigned’s analysis, and, given the time-sensitive nature of this recommended relief, the undersigned does not believe it is necessary to further delay Petitioner’s case by ordering a signed and dated Declaration. 5 Petitioner alleges that he was “moved to an Immigration Detention Facility” on April 21, 2024. Doc. 11-1 at 1 (citation modified). ERO Officer Foncha alleges Petitioner “was encountered by ICE ERO” on April 17, 2024. Doc. 15-1 at 2. It is not relevant to the disposition here exactly when Petitioner was taken into ICE custody. The relevant date is when Petitioner’s order of removal became final, which is undisputed. Docs. 11-1 at 3 (Removal Order); 15-3 at 1 (same). withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture. Doc. 15-2. On February 5, 2025, Petitioner’s applications for asylum and withholding of removal were denied and he

was ordered removed to Iran. Doc. 11-1 at 3; Doc. 15-3 at 1. Petitioner waived his right to appeal, making his removal order final. Doc. 15-1 at 2; Resp. at 2. At some point after being ordered removed, Petitioner met with the Iranian consulate, which told him that he would not be given travel documents based on the documentation that he was able to provide. Doc. 11-1 at 1. On March 25, 2025, ICE ERO sent “a Travel Document Request to the Embassy of Pakistan, Interests Section of the

Islamic Republic of Iran.” Doc. 15-1 at 2; see also Resp. at 2. On July 28, 2025, ICE ERO initiated a standard 90-day post-removal order custody review interview and recommended that Petitioner remain in ICE custody. Doc. 15-1 at 2; Doc. 15-5 at 1-4; Resp. at 3. On August 4, 2025, the Iranian Interest Section informed ICE that it had denied Petitioner’s travel request. Doc. 15-1 at 2; Resp. at 3. On August 14, 2025, and August

21, 2025, ICE informed Petitioner the Iranian consulate denied his travel document request.6 Doc. 11-1 at 1. On October 20, 2025, ICE ERO requested information from its headquarters about third country removal for him. Doc. 15-1 at 2; Resp. at 3. On the same day, ICE ERO headquarters advised ERO Officer Foncha “they have not received any

information regarding third country removals for Iran yet” and they “only have a tracking list of individuals to possibly add for potential third country removal.” Doc. 15-1 at 2.

6 It is not clear whether Petitioner made multiple requests for a travel document that were denied or whether he was twice told of the Iranian consulate’s single denial. What is clear is that by August 2025, ICE knew that Iran had denied Petitioner’s travel document request. On October 29, 2025, Petitioner filed his original petition in the Northern District of Texas. Doc. 3. On November 21, 2025, Petitioner’s case was properly transferred to

this District and referred to the undersigned. Docs. 5, 6, 8. On November 24, 2025, and December 23, 2025, the Court ordered Petitioner to file an amended petition that complies with the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts (“Habeas Rules”).7 On January 20, 2026, Petitioner filed an amended petition, which became the operative pleading (the “Petition”). Doc. 11.

On January 27, 2026, ICE ERO headquarters told Officer Foncha that “there are no substantial updates to provide at this time [with] regard to Gholestani’s third country removal.” Doc. 15-1 at 2. Nonetheless, Officer Foncha asserts that “ERO is currently working to facilitate Gholestani’s removal from the United States in this case,” and that Petitioner “is a priority for removal.” Id. at 3. Officer Foncha further asserts that

Petitioner’s removal is significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future “based on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s willingness to accept its citizens, and the number of successful removals ERO has made to Iran and third countries of removal from FY2024 to FY2026YTD.” Id. (citation modified). Petitioner has now been in ICE custody for more than one year and nine months and

has had a final order of removal for more than one year. Petitioner asserts he has no criminal record other than his illegal entry charge and he is suffering severe mental health issues because he has been in custody since November 2023. Doc. 11-1 at 1; Doc. 15-5 at

7 The Court may apply the Habeas Rules to § 2241 petitions. See Habeas Rule 1(b). 3. He further alleges that every time he asks about his deportation “they tell [him] that this administration doesn’t have to release [h]im.” Doc. 11-1 at 1 (citation modified).

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Bluebook (online)
Ehsan Gholestani v. United States District Court, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ehsan-gholestani-v-united-states-district-court-et-al-okwd-2026.