Espinoza Hulke v. Schmidt

District Court, E.D. Wisconsin·Decided November 19, 2021·No. 2:21-cv-00845·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

MIGUEL ESPINOZA HULKE,

Petitioner, Case No. 21-CV-845-JPS-JPS v.

SHERIFF DALE J. SCHMIDT and ORDER HENRY LUCERO,

Defendants.

This case presents a novel issue in this Circuit. The question is whether Miguel Espinoza Hulke (“Hulke”), who is not a citizen of the United States and who has been held in jail for nearly two years pending the outcome of his appealed applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”), is constitutionally entitled to a second bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). Hulke brings this petition for habeas relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The Government contends that Hulke, who received a bond hearing earlier in the proceedings, has received all the process that he is due. Hulke argues that the burden of proof imposed during the original bond hearing was improperly placed on him and, in the alternative, that he has been detained for so long that a second bond hearing is constitutionally due. For the reasons explained below, the Court will grant Hulke’s habeas petition and deny the Government’s motion to dismiss. Hulke shall receive a second bond hearing, which will occur before the assigned immigration judge. See 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), (e) (conferring authority for immigration detention to the administrative branch and limiting judicial review). At that hearing, “due process requires the [G]overnment to either (1) prove by clear and convincing evidence that [Hulke] poses a danger to the community or (2) prove by a preponderance of the evidence that [he] poses a flight risk.” Hernandez-Lara v. Lyons, 10 F 4th 19, 41 (1st Cir. 2021). 1. RELEVANT FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Hulke, a Peruvian citizen, has been subject to removal proceedings for the past seven years. (Docket #1 ¶ 25). According to his habeas petition, Hulke suffered persecution for his sexual orientation in Peru. When he was fourteen years old, he came to the United States to visit his sister, who had been adopted by an American family. The American family wished to adopt Hulke as well, but a translation error at the Peruvian embassy led the family to believe that they could not adopt him until he turned eighteen. On his eighteenth birthday, when the American family attempted to adopt Hulke, they were informed that he was too old to obtain citizenship through the adoption. Although Hulke is able to live as an openly gay man in the United States, he struggles with his past trauma and lack of immigration status. In 2012, after Hulke was convicted of driving under the influence (“DUI”), the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) placed Hulke in removal proceedings. After a brief detention in DHS custody, Hulke was released on bond to fight his case in immigration court. Hulke’s asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT claims are currently on appeal before the Seventh Circuit, which granted a stay of Hulke’s removal pending the outcome of his case. (Id. ¶¶ 23, 24). In 2019, due to a variety of factors, Hulke suffered an alcohol relapse and was arrested for another DUI—his first in six years. He served a six- month sentence for the conviction. After he completed his sentence, Hulke was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) custody on December 3, 2019. He has been incarcerated at Dodge County Detention Facility ever since. At a bond hearing in the spring of 2020, Hulke’s previous immigration attorney—whose alleged failings are the subject of Hulke’s appeal before the Seventh Circuit—neglected to secure Hulke’s adoptive parents’ testimony in support of whether he poses a flight risk. Presently, Hulke brings a habeas petition on the grounds that (1) the immigration judge (the “IJ”) applied an incorrect legal standard in determining whether Hulke should be detained, and (2) at this juncture, after over twenty-three months of detention, Hulke has been held for an unconstitutional amount of time and deserves a second bond hearing. The Court will address each argument in turn. 2. ANALYSIS 2.1 Burden of Proof at Bond Hearings for Noncitizens Detained Pursuant to § 1226(a)(1)

Hulke is being detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)(1), which permits—but does not require—the detention of noncitizens facing removal. It states, in relevant part, [o]n a warrant issued by the Attorney General, an alien may be arrested and detained pending a decision on whether the alien is to be removed from the United States. Except as provided in subsection (c) and pending such decision, the Attorney General-- (1) may continue to detain the arrested alien; and (2) may release the alien on-- [either bond or conditional parole]

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