(HC) Le v. Field Office Director, San Francisco Field Office, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA HUY HOANG LE, Case No. 1:24-cv-01272-EPG-HC Petitioner, ORDER GRANTING PETITIONER’S MOTION TO AMEND THE PETITION, v. SUBSTITUTING MESA VERDE ICE PROCESSING CENTER FACILITY FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, SAN ADMINISTRATOR AS RESPONDENT, FRANCISCO FIELD OFFICE, et al., AND TERMINATING OTHER NAMED Respondents. (ECF No. 17) Petitioner Huy Hoang Le is a federal immigration detainee proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on August 30, 2024. (ECF No. 1.) On October 16, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order transferring the petition to this Court in light of the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Doe v. Garland, 109 F.4th 1188 (9th Cir. 2024). (ECF No. 8.) On October 21, 2024, the Court granted Petitioner leave to file a motion to amend the petition to name a proper respondent. (ECF No. 12.) On October 30, 2024, Petitioner filed a motion to amend the petition. (ECF No. 17.) To date, no opposition or statement of nonopposition has been filed, and the time for doing so has passed. “[L]ongstanding practice confirms that in habeas challenges to present physical confinement—‘core challenges’—the default rule is that the proper respondent is the warden of the facility where the prisoner is being held... .” Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 435 (2004). In Doe, the Ninth Circuit “affirm[ed] the application of the immediate custodian and district of confinement rules to core habeas petitions filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, including those filed by immigrant detainees.” Doe, 109 F.4th at 1199. “Under Padilla, [Petitioner] must name his immediate custodian . . . as the respondent to his petition.” Id. at 1197. Here, Petitioner is detained at the Mesa Verde Processing Center in Bakersfield, California. (ECF No. 1 at 2.1) In the motion to amend, Petitioner requests that the petition be amended to name the Facility Administrator of the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center as Respondent. (ECF No. 17.) Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. Petitioner’s motion to amend the petition (ECF No. 17) is GRANTED; 2. Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center Facility Administrator is substituted as Respondent in the instant matter; and 3. Other named Respondents are TERMINATED. Is SO ORDERED. 16] Dated: _ November 25, 2024 [sf Sy — U7 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE ! Page numbers refer to the ECF pagination stamped at the top of the page.