Elieser David Mejia Moran v. Warden, California City Detention Center, et al.

District Court, E.D. California·Decided May 11, 2026·No. 1:26-cv-01772·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ELIESER DAVID MEJIA MORAN, Case No. 1:26-cv-01772-JLT-HBK (HC) 12 Petitioner, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO GRANT PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS 13 v. CORPUS 1 14 WARDEN, CALIFORNIA CITY (Doc. 1) DETENTION CENTER, et al., 15 A-221-489-539 Respondents. 16 FIVE-DAY OBJECTION PERIOD

17 18 Petitioner Elieser David Mejia Moran, an immigrant detainee in U.S. Immigration 19 Customs and Enforcement (“ICE”) custody at the California City Detention Center in California 20 City, California, has pending a pro se2 petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, 21 docketed on March 5, 2026. (Doc. 1, “Petition”). Liberally construed, the Petition raises the 22 following claims for relief: he is properly detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) as an alien who 23 entered the United States without inspection and is therefore entitled to a pre-deprivation bond 24 hearing; his detention without a bond hearing is a violation of his due process rights under the 25 1 This matter was referred to the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302 26 (E.D. Cal. 2022). 2 The Petition was initially filed “by and through Next Friend” Jason L. Quimby. On April 27, 2026, 27 Petitioner filed a declaration attesting that the Petition was filed by the next friend with his knowledge and permission, the contents of the Petition are true and correct, and he wishes to appear on his own behalf and 28 prosecute the habeas action. (Doc. 16). 1 Fifth Amendment; his continued detention without a bond hearing is “excessive and 2 unconstitutional”; and repeated interstate transfers to different detention facilities have impaired 3 his access to meaningful judicial review. (Id. at 2). As relief, the Petition seeks, inter alia, 4 release from custody, or in the alternative, an immediate bond hearing before an Immigration 5 Judge. (Id.). 6 In response, Respondent offers the now familiar 2-page boilerplate argument that the 7 Court should deny the Petition because Petitioner is an “applicant for admission” subject to 8 mandatory detention by ICE under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) and is therefore ineligible for a bond 9 hearing.3 (Doc. 11). Petitioner filed a reply arguing he is not an arriving alien subject to 10 mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b). (Doc. 14). 11 Significant to the consideration of the Petition is Petitioner’s status as a citizen of 12 Honduras who entered the country without inspection and resided in the United States before 13 being apprehended and placed in standard removal proceedings under § 1229a. The undersigned 14 recommends the district court grant the Petition as to Claim One (violation of the INA) in part for 15 the reasons set forth below.4 16 I. BACKGROUND 17 It is uncontested that Petitioner is a citizen and native of Honduras who entered the United 18 States without inspection at an unknown date and time. (Doc. 1 at 1; Doc. 11 at 3). On January 19 16, 2026, Petitioner ERO officials apprehended Petitioner at a vehicle stop in Baltimore, MD. 20 (Doc. 11 at 3). On the same date, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a 21 Notice to Appear charging Petitioner as subject to removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §

22 3 The response also includes a footnote outlining district court cases within the Ninth Circuit that have 23 recently vacated or stayed the Department of Homeland Security’s July 8, 2025 Interim Guidance Regarding Detention Authority for Applications for Admission, and appeals regarding the application of § 24 1225(b)(2) and “the question of due process in the context of re-detention” that are currently pending before the Ninth Circuit. (Doc. 11 at 2, n. 1 (citing, e.g., Maldonado Bautista v. Noem, 2025 WL 3713987 25 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 18, 2025); Garro Pinchi v. Noem, 2025 WL 3691938 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 19, 2025); Rodriguez v. Bostock, No. 25-6842 (9th Cir.); Benavides Carballo v. Andrews, No. 25-6533 (9th Cir.)). 26 However, Respondents do not identify the relevance of these cases for the Court’s consideration of the instant matter, nor does the instant Petition assert any claims relying on these cases. 27 4 In light of the Court’s conclusion that Petitioner’s detention is in violation of the INA and recommendation that Petitioner be immediately released, the Court declines to address Petitioner’s 28 additional claims for relief. 1 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) (alien entry without inspection) and U.S.C. § 1182(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) (alien not in 2 possession of valid entry document). (Id. at 3-4). 3 Petitioner is currently detained in ICE custody at the California City Detention Facility in 4 California City, California. (Doc. 1). 5 II. APPLICABLE LAW AND ANALYSIS 6 A. Jurisdiction 7 A district court may grant a writ of habeas corpus when the petitioner “is in custody in 8 violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). As 9 pertinent here, “district courts retain jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to consider habeas 10 challenges to immigration detention that are sufficiently independent of the merits of [a] removal 11 order.” Lopez-Marroquin v. Barr, 955 F.3d 759, 759 (9th Cir. 2020) (citing Singh v. Holder, 638 12 F.3d 1196, 1211–12 (9th Cir. 2011)); see also Jennings v. Rodriguez, 538 U.S. 281, 294 (2018). 13 B. Violation of the INA 14 Liberally construed, Petitioner claims the applicable provision for noncitizens who 15 previously entered and were apprehended within the interior of the United States, as here, is 8 16 U.S.C. § 1226(a), opposed to 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b); therefore, Respondents’ interpretation of 8 17 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) as requiring mandatory detention of noncitizens, like him, who previously 18 entered the country without inspection and have been residing in the United States prior to being 19 apprehended within the interior, is a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). 20 (Doc. 1). Thus, the Court will briefly outline the statutory and legal framework of detention 21 authority under the INA. 22 Title 8 U.S.C. § 1225, titled “Inspection by immigration officers; expedited removal of 23 inadmissible arriving aliens; referral for hearing,” states that an “alien present in the United States 24 who has not been admitted or arrives in the United States … shall be deemed for purposes of this 25 chapter an applicant for admission.” 8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(1). “Applicants for admission must ‘be 26 inspected by immigration officers’ to ensure that they may be admitted into the country consistent 27 with U.S. immigration law.” Jennings, 583 U.S. at 287 (quoting § 1225(a)(3)).

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Elieser David Mejia Moran v. Warden, California City Detention Center, et al., (E.D. Cal. 2026).

Elieser David Mejia Moran v. Warden, California City Detention Center, et al. (Elieser David Mejia Moran v. Warden, California City Detention Center, et al.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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