Luis Ramirez Rodriguez v. Warden, Glades County Detention Center, US Attorney General

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FORT MYERS DIVISION

LUIS RAMIREZ RODRIGUEZ,

Petitioner, Case No. 2:26-cv-2179-KCD-KRH

v.

WARDEN, GLADES COUNTY DETENTION CENTER, US ATTORNEY GENERAL,

Respondents. /

ORDER Petitioner Luis Ramirez Rodriguez has filed a pro se habeas corpus petition challenging his detention by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement. (Doc. 1.)1 As best the Court can tell, he claims that his continued detention violates the Fifth Amendment. (Id. at 7-8.) Respondents oppose the petition. (Doc. 8.) For the reasons below, the petition is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. I. Background Rodriguez is a native of Cuba who entered the United States in 2007. A year later, an immigration judge ordered him removed. When that removal did not come to fruition, he was placed on an order of supervision and

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all internal quotation marks, citations, case history, and alterations have been omitted in this and later citations. released from custody. According to the records provided, Rodriguez’s removal order is final.

On November 6, 2025, ICE took Rodriguez into immigration custody to execute the removal order. This is Rodriguez’s second petition. The Court denied the first petition based on Rodriguez’s refusal to cooperate with his removal by refusing to get dressed and get off the bus. See 2:26-cv-1440-KCD-

DNF. Respondents state that Rodriguez continues to thwart his removal by refusing to sign the forms necessary for his removal. (Doc. 8 at 4-7.) II. Legal Framework The federal habeas statute, 28 U.S.C. § 2241, provides authority to

issue writs of habeas corpus when an individual is “[i]n custody in violation of the Constitution or law or treaties of the United States.” Id. § 2241(c)(3). “At its historical core, the writ of habeas corpus has served as a means of reviewing the legality of Executive detention, and it is in that context that its

protections have been strongest.” I.N.S. v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289, 301 (2001). “Section 2241 authorizes federal courts to hear challenges to immigration detention.” Grigorian v. Bondi, No. 25-CV-22914-RAR, 2025 WL 2604573, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 9, 2025).

III. Discussion The statutory framework for removal works like this: when a noncitizen’s removal order becomes final, the government has 90 days to effectuate removal. 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(A). During that period, detention is mandatory. Id. § 1231(a)(2)(A). If the 90 days pass and the noncitizen is still

here, the statute gives the government a choice: release the individual on supervision or keep them detained. Id. § 1231(a)(6). But as the Supreme Court explained in Zadvydas v. Davis, the authority to detain does not stretch into infinity. To avoid serious

constitutional problems, the Court read an implicit limitation into the statute: the government may detain a noncitizen only for a period “reasonably necessary” to secure his removal. 533 U.S. 678 (2001). And to make that rule workable, the Court established a presumption. For the first

six months, detention is presumptively reasonable. Id. at 701. After that period has passed and the alien “provides good reason to believe that there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future,” the burden shifts to the government to provide evidence sufficient to rebut that

showing. Akinwale v. Ashcroft, 287 F.3d 1050, 1052 (11th Cir. 2002). Thus, “in order to state a claim under Zadvydas, the alien not only must show post- removal order detention in excess of six months but also must provide evidence of a good reason to believe that there is no significant likelihood of

removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.” Id. Rodriguez has been detained longer than six months. But according to the unrebutted record, he has thwarted removal to Mexico by refusing to sign forms necessary for his removal. Such conduct tolls the detention period. See Akinwale, 287 F.3d at 1052 n.4 (stating that “removal period shall be

extended ... if the alien ... acts to prevent the alien’s removal subject to an order of removal”). Under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(C), the removal clock stops ticking if an alien refuses to cooperate in obtaining travel documents. It also tolls if the

alien “conspires or acts to prevent [his] removal.” Id. Common sense (and the Eleventh Circuit) tells us that a person cannot actively thwart his own deportation and then use the resulting delay to demand his freedom. Whether by stubbornly withholding a signature on a required form or by

affirmatively taking steps to sabotage the government’s efforts, an alien who engineers his own prolonged detention cannot turn around and complain about it. The law does not reward that kind of gamesmanship. See Quo Zing Song v. U.S. Atty. Gen., 516 F. App’x 894, 899 (11th Cir. 2013) (“The six-

month period is tolled, however, if the alien acts to prevent his removal.”). That is precisely the game Rodriguez is playing here. He claims his detention violates the Fifth Amendment, yet his refusal to cooperate with ICE is the very roadblock keeping him in custody.2 If he signs the required

2 The Immigration and Nationality Act does not leave an individual without recourse if he objects to his designated destination. The statute provides a framework for contesting removal to a specific third country. See 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b). But nowhere in his petition does Rodriguez allege—let alone offer evidence to show—that he has formally challenged his proposed removal to Mexico. Instead, he has apparently dug in his heels and refused to paperwork and gets off the bus, his removal is reasonably foreseeable; if he does not, the delay is entirely of his own making. Because Rodriguez is apparently responsible for stalling his own departure, the presumptively reasonable period for his detention is tolled. Consequently, the habeas petition is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to Rodriguez refiling a new petition should his current detention be unimpeded and he can demonstrate there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future. The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment accordingly, terminate

any pending motions and deadlines, and close the case. ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on August 27, 2026.

Kyle C. Dudek United States District Judge

physically depart the United States. Because it seems he bypassed the proper legal channels for contesting his destination, the Court accepts he is legally subject to removal to Mexico.