Lemus-Pineda v. Whittaker

354 F. Supp. 3d 473
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 10, 2018
Docket18 Civ. 11037 (GBD)
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 354 F. Supp. 3d 473 (Lemus-Pineda v. Whittaker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lemus-Pineda v. Whittaker, 354 F. Supp. 3d 473 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

GEORGE B. DANIELS, United States District Judge:

Petitioner Jose Eduardo Lemus-Pineda seeks immediate release from detention *474pending the resolution of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (ECF No. 3.) Respondents Matthew Whittaker, Kirstjen Nielsen, Thomas Decker, James McHenry, and the United States Department of Homeland Security move to dismiss the petition or, alternatively, to transfer the case to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. (ECF No. 6.) Respondents' motion to transfer is GRANTED.

In Rumsfeld v. Padilla , the United States Supreme Court explained that "under the "immediate custodian rule," when a habeas petitioner raises "core challenges" to his "present physical confinement," the "default rule is that the proper respondent is the warden of the facility where the petitioner is being held, not the Attorney General or some other remote supervisory official." 542 U.S. 426, 435, 124 S.Ct. 2711, 159 L.Ed.2d 513 (2004). By contrast, "a habeas petitioner who challenges a form of 'custody' other than present physical confinement may name as respondent the entity or person who exercises legal control with respect to the challenged 'custody.' " Id. at 438, 124 S.Ct. 2711 (emphasis added).

The Padilla court expressly declined to address whether the immediate custodian rule applies to "a habeas petition filed by an alien." Id. at 435 n.8, 124 S.Ct. 2711. The Second Circuit has also declined to decide the issue. See Henderson v. INS , 157 F.3d 106, 128 (2d Cir. 1998). "A majority of district courts in this Circuit, however, have held that the immediate custodian rule applies to 'core' immigration-based habeas challenges (i.e., challenges to immigration-based detention) but does not apply to 'non-core' challenges (i.e., challenges to forms of custody other than physical confinement, such as orders of removal)." S.N.C. v. Sessions , 325 F.Supp.3d 401, 406-07 & nn.5-6 (S.D.N.Y. 2018) (collecting cases); see also Almazo v. Decker , No. 18 Civ. 9941 (PAE), 2018 WL 5919523, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 13, 2018) (noting that a "minority of courts have concluded that venue was proper in this district even though the petitioner was confined elsewhere," but the "overwhelming majority of courts in this District have applied Padilla " to immigration habeas petitions).

Petitioner argues that the Supreme Court's decision in Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit Court of Kentucky , 410 U.S. 484, 93 S.Ct. 1123, 35 L.Ed.2d 443 (1973), provides the "governing rule for ... alien habeas petitions." (Pet.'s Mem. in Opp'n to Resps.' Mot. to Dismiss ("Opp'n"), ECF No. 9, at 5.) Braden noted that "traditional venue considerations" include "where all of the material events took place," where "the records and witnesses pertinent to petitioner's claim are likely to be found," and the "convenien[ce]" of the parties. Braden , 410 U.S. at 493-94, 93 S.Ct. 1123. However, the Padilla court distinguished Braden as a case involving a challenge to " 'custody' other than present physical confinement" and noted that "nothing in Braden supports departing from the immediate custodian rule in the traditional context of challenges to present physical confinement." Padilla , 542 U.S. at 438, 124 S.Ct. 2711.

Petitioner further argues that the "immediate custodian rule" does not apply here, because his petition "alleges both core and non-core claims." (Opp'n at 6.) Petitioner asserts that his petition alleges "non-core" claims because it "rests in part on statutory and constitutional grounds." (Id. ) However, all of the statutory and constitutional violations that he alleges stem from his detention. (See Pet., ECF No. 2, ¶ 82 ("Respondents' unilateral decision to detain Jose ... violates" the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C. § 500 et seq. ); id. ¶ 87 ("Respondents violated Jose's due process rights by detaining *475him ... without providing adequate procedural protections ...."); id. ¶ 93 (alleging that Petitioner's procedural due process rights are being violated because he has been "subject[ed] to prolonged detention without a meaningful hearing");

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Bluebook (online)
354 F. Supp. 3d 473, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lemus-pineda-v-whittaker-ilsd-2018.