Luis Jose Freites Gonzalez v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States; Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Director, West Tennessee Detention Facility; and Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Tennessee
DecidedApril 2, 2026
Docket2:26-cv-02252
StatusUnknown

This text of Luis Jose Freites Gonzalez v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States; Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Director, West Tennessee Detention Facility; and Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Luis Jose Freites Gonzalez v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States; Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Director, West Tennessee Detention Facility; and Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Luis Jose Freites Gonzalez v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States; Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Director, West Tennessee Detention Facility; and Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, (W.D. Tenn. 2026).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE WESTERN DIVISION LUIS JOSE FREITES GONZALEZ, ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) ) KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of the U.S. ) Department of Homeland Security; PAMELA ) BONDI, Attorney General of the United ) No. 2:26-cv-02252-SHL-atc States; TODD M. LYONS, Acting Director of ) Immigration and Customs Enforcement; ) DIRECTOR, West Tennessee Detention ) Facility; and FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR for ) Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. ) Department of Homeland Security, ) Respondents. )

ORDER GRANTING PETITION

On March 9, 2026, pro se Petitioner Luis Jose Freites Gonzalez filed the Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (ECF No. 1.) He states that he is a citizen of Venezuela who entered the United States on June 23, 2023. (Id. at PageID 3.) On February 10, 2026, Freites Gonzalez was detained by ICE during a scheduled check-in appointment and has remained in detention “without ever receiving an individualized bond hearing.” (Id.) The Petition seeks immediate release from Respondents’ custody, or an individualized custody redetermination before an immigration judge.1 (Id. at PageID 5.) Respondents2 responded on

1 At the same time, Freites Gonzalez filed a pro se Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction Ordering Individualized Bond Hearing. (ECF No. 3.) Because the relief sought in the motion is duplicative of that sought in the Petition, the motion is DENIED AS MOOT.

2 Respondents also move “for the substitution of Christopher Bullock, Field Office Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, New Orleans Field Office, Immigration and March 13. (ECF No. 11.) Freites Gonzalez replied on March 30. (ECF No. 12.) For the reasons explained below, Freites Gonzalez is entitled to immediate release, and the Petition is GRANTED. BACKGROUND

Freites Gonzalez, a citizen of Venezuela, entered the United States on June 23, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas. (ECF No. 1 at PageID 3.) He is married to a Venezuelan national living in the U.S. (Id.) He was previously approved for Temporary Protected Status. (Id.) He has no criminal history. (Id.) On February 10, 2026, he was detained after appearing for a routine immigration check- in and was taken into ICE custody. (Id.) He remains at the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, Tennessee. (Id.) The present Petition followed, the crux of which argues that Freites Gonzalez was illegally detained without a bond hearing. Indeed, under recently adopted guidance from DHS and ICE, Freites Gonzalez is subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) of the INA and was allegedly declared

ineligible to be released on bond. Until recently, however, most noncitizens in this situation were given bond hearings under a different provision, § 1226(a). See Godinez-Lopez v. Ladwig, No. 25-CV-02962, 2025 WL 3047889, at *1 (W.D. Tenn. Oct. 31, 2025). Section 1226(a) allows immigration authorities to release immigrants from detention on a bond of $1,500 or

Customs Enforcement, as the sole Respondent in this case, and the dismissal of all remaining Respondents.” (ECF No. 11 at PageID 57 n.1 (citing Rosciszewski v. Adducci, 983 F. Supp. 2d 910, 914 (E.D. Mich. 2013) (“[T]he ICE District Director is the proper respondent in a habeas petition brought by an alien, since the District Director has power over such aliens.” (citation omitted))).) The motion is GRANTED. The case caption shall be MODIFIED to reflect that Christopher Bullock is the sole Respondent. more, unless they require detention for certain reasons. For example, noncitizens with certain criminal records may not be released on bond. 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c). Section 1225(b)(2)(A), on the other hand, prohibits a bond for all “applicants for admission” who are “seeking admission.” “Applicants for admission” has been interpreted to

mean recent arrivals, including those who have not been “physically present in the United States continuously” for the previous two years. See 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1)(A)(iii)(II) (“An alien described in this clause is an alien who . . . has not affirmatively shown . . . that the alien has been physically present in the United States continuously for the 2-year period immediately prior to the date of the determination of inadmissibility . . . .”). But, on July 8, 2025, ICE, in coordination with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), issued a new policy with a novel interpretation of §§ 1225(b)(2)(A) and 1226(a). Interim Guidance Regarding Detention Authority for Applicants for Admission, AILA (July 8, 2025), https://www.aila.org/ice-memo-interim-guidance-regarding-detention-authority-for-applications- for-admission (“For custody purposes, these aliens are now treated in the same manner that

‘arriving aliens’ have historically been treated.”). The policy reclassified all undocumented immigrants, even those who have lived in the United States for years, as “applicants for admission.” And all “applicants for admission” are required to be detained for removal proceedings without a bond hearing under § 1225(b)(2)(A). Thus, ICE’s new legal interpretation makes § 1225(b)(2)(A), not § 1226(a), the statute governing removal proceedings for all immigrants without legal status. As a result, all undocumented immigrants awaiting removal are detained without a bond hearing. This new interpretation was later adopted by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) in a published decision, Yajure Hurtado, 29 I. & N. Dec. 216, 220 (B.I.A. 2025). Freites Gonzalez alleges violations of § 1226(a) and Fifth Amendment due process. (ECF No. 1 at PageID 5.) He seeks his immediate release or a bond hearing. (Id.) In response, Respondents contend that Freites Gonzalez should be required to exhaust administrative remedies; that § 1225, not § 1226, applies to him because he is an “applicant for admission”; that

Freites Gonzalez should be treated for due process purposes as if stopped at the border; and that, if the Court finds that § 1226(a) applies to him, he should be granted a bond hearing and not immediately released. (ECF No. 11 at PageID 62–68.) ANALYSIS “Habeas relief is available when a person is ‘in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.’” Lopez-Campos v. Raycraft, No. 25-CV-12486, 2025 WL 2496379, at *3 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 29, 2025) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3)). Freites Gonzalez challenges his detention without bond as violative of § 1226(a) and his constitutional rights. (ECF No. 1 at PageID 5.) The Court first considers whether exhaustion should be excused, then interprets § 1225 and § 1226 to determine which applies to Freites Gonzalez, and then analyzes

the due process claim. I. Exhaustion If Congress “specifically mandates” exhaustion of administrative remedies, a petitioner must pursue relief through those administrative processes before seeking habeas relief. McCarthy v. Madigan, 503 U.S. 140, 144 (1992). When Congress is silent on administrative exhaustion, “sound judicial discretion governs.” Id.

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Luis Jose Freites Gonzalez v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States; Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Director, West Tennessee Detention Facility; and Field Office Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/luis-jose-freites-gonzalez-v-kristi-noem-secretary-of-the-us-department-tnwd-2026.