Juan Nicolas Rubio Tercero v. Bryan Patterson et al

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE DIVISION

JUAN NICOLAS RUBIO TERCERO CASE NO. 6:26-CV-02495 SEC P

VERSUS JUDGE JAMES D. CAIN, JR.

BRYAN PATTERSON ET AL MAG. JUDGE KAYLA D. MCCLUSKY

MEMORANDUM ORDER Before the court is an Emergency Motion for Order to Compel Petitioner’s Return or to Expedite Proceedings. Doc. 5. Petitioner, a native and citizen of Nicaragua, is challenging his immigration detention under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. See doc. 1. One week after filing his habeas petition, he brought these emergency motions arguing that the government had wrongfully removed him from the United States despite his pending habeas petition. Doc. 5. Accordingly, he argues that the government has manufactured mootness and asks that this court order his immediate return to the United States. Petitioner admits that he was deported subject to a final order of removal, after the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed his appeal on July 1, 2026. Doc. 5, att. 1, p. 2. This renders his habeas petition, which is the proper vehicle for challenging only the fact of his immigration detention rather than the merits of his underlying case, moot. See, e.g., Oguntuyi v. Manuel, No. 2:24-CV-1069, 2025 WL 2399184, at *2 (W.D. La. July 21, 2025), report and recommendation adopted, No. 2:24-CV-1069, 2025 WL 2398645 (W.D. La. Aug. 18, 2025) (“Here, Petitioner challenged the lawfulness of his continued detention. Because Petitioner is no longer detained and has been removed from the United States, the § 2241 petition is moot.”); Francis v. Lynch, 622 F. App'x 455, 455-56 (Sth Cir. 2015) (challenge to length of detention awaiting removal became moot when the petitioner was removed); Odus v. Ashcroft, 61 F. App'x 121 (Sth Cir. 2003) (same). There is no basis for granting his request for emergency relief or any other relief under his habeas petition. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Motions [doc. 5] be DENIED and that this matter be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE as moot. THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Chambers on the 28th day of July, 2026.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE