Jose Santos Soriano Chavez v. Todd Blanche, et al.

District Court, E.D. Virginia·Decided August 5, 2026·No. 3:26-cv-00702·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA Richmond Division

JOSE SANTOS SORIANO CHAVEZ, Petitioner, v. Civil Action No. 3:26-cvy-702 TODD BLANCHE, et al., Respondents.

MEMORANDUM OPINION This matter comes before the Court on Petitioner Jose Santos Soriano Chavez’s (“Petitioner”) Amended Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (the “Amended Petition”). (ECF No. 4.) In the Amended Petition, Mr. Soriano Chavez challenges his detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), arguing that ICE’s failure to provide him with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226 violates his statutory right to such a hearing and his constitutional right to due process! under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.2 (ECF No. 4 §§ 33-45, 46-48.)

! Petitioner also argues that his detention violates the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) and the Suspension Clause of the United States Constitution. (ECF No. 4 {{] 49-60.) Because the Court grants the Amended Petition with respect to Mr. Soriano Chavez’s due process and separate statutory claims, the Court need not and does not address his APA or Suspension Clause claims. 2 The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, in pertinent part: No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. U.S. Const. amend. V.

For the reasons articulated below, the Court will grant the Amended Petition. (ECF No. 4.) The Court will order Respondents to provide Mr. Soriano Chavez with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). I. Factual and Procedural Background A. Factual Background? Mr. Soriano Chavez is a citizen of Honduras. (ECF No. 4 § 23.) Mr. Soriano Chavez “entered the United States in or around February 2010.” (ECF No. 4 4 23.) On May 19, 2026, ICE officers detained Petitioner and transported him to the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia. (ECF No. 4 { 24.) On July 2, 2026, the Immigration Court held a bond hearing for Petitioner, during which it concluded that it lacked jurisdiction owing to the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) in Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 291&N. Dec. 216 (BIA 2025).* (ECF No. 4 25, 28.) B. Procedural Background On July 21, 2026, Mr. Soriano Chavez filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (ECF No. 1.) On July 22, 2026, the Court ordered Petitioner to file an

3 As discussed below, the Court proceeds by dispensing with additional briefing and incorporating Respondents’ filings in this Court’s decision in Duarte Escobar v. Perry, 3:25-cv- 758 (MHL) (E.D. Va. 2025). Respondents have recently represented to the Court that “the factual and legal issues presented in the instant habeas petition do not differ in any material fashion from those presented in Duarte Escobar.” (ECF No. 6, at 1.) Accordingly, the Court’s recitation of the factual background relies on the facts as alleged in the Amended Petition. (ECF No. 4.) 4 On September 5, 2025, the BIA released a precedential decision in Matter of Yajure Hurtado. “Pursuant to the BIA’s decision in Hurtado, nearly all noncitizens who entered the United States without inspection are now subject to mandatory detention pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), rather than the discretionary detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).” Soto v. Soto, 807 F. Supp. 3d 397, 401 (D.N.J. 2025) (citing Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. at 227-29).

amended petition that complied with Rule 2 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases.> (ECF No. 3, at 2.) Also on July 22, 2026, the Court ordered Respondents to file a notice indicating whether the factual and legal issues presented in the Amended Petition differ in any material fashion from those presented in Duarte Escobar v. Perry, 807 F. Supp. 3d 564 (E.D. Va. 2025). (ECF No. 3.) The Court further ordered that, if Respondents indicated that the factual and legal issues presented in the Amended Petition do not differ in any material fashion from those presented in Duarte Escobar, “each of the substantive filings in [Duarte Escobar would] be incorporated into this habeas proceeding, and this Court [would] issue a ruling without further filings from the parties.” (ECF No. 3, at 2.) On July 30, 2026, Mr. Soriano Chavez filed the instant Amended Petition. (ECF No. 4.) On August 4, 2026, Respondents filed a Notice in response to the Court’s Order. (ECF No. 6.) In the Notice, Respondents “submit that the factual and legal issues presented in the instant habeas petition do not differ in any material fashion from those presented in Duarte Escobar.” (ECF No. 6, at 1.) “{C]Jonsistent with [the Court’s] recent order,” Respondents contend that “this Court should incorporate the filings in Duarte Escobar into the record of this habeas action.” (ECF No. 6, at 1.) The Court incorporates the parties’ merits briefing in Duarte Escobar into the record. See Duarte Escobar, No. 3:25-cv-758 (MHL), ECF Nos. 16, 18, 19, 20 (E.D. Va. 2025). The Court also dispenses with any further briefing by the parties.

> Rule 1(b) of the Rules Governing § 2254 cases permits this Court to apply the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases to petitions under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Rule 1(b), Rules Governing § 2254 Cases; see Aguayo v. Harvey, 476 F.3d 971, 976 (D.C. Cir. 2007).

Il. Standard of Review 28 U.S.C. § 2241(a) provides that “[w]rits of habeas corpus may be granted by the Supreme Court, any justice thereof, the district courts and any circuit judge within their respective jurisdictions.” Jd. “A federal court may grant habeas relief only on the ground that the petitioner is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” Torrence v. Lewis, 60 F.4th 209, 213 (4th Cir. 2023) (internal citations and brackets omitted). After receiving the petition and any response thereto, “[t]he court shall summarily hear and determine the facts, and dispose of the matter as law and justice require.” 28 U.S.C. § 2243.

IIL. Analysis The central question posed in Mr. Soriano Chavez’s Amended Petition is whether he is entitled to a discretionary bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)® or whether he is subject to the mandatory detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A).’ Petitioner contends that 8 U.S.C. § 1226 entitles him to a bond hearing. Specifically, Mr. Soriano Chavez argues that (1) the

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Jose Santos Soriano Chavez v. Todd Blanche, et al., (E.D. Va. 2026).

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