Manjot Kaur v. Todd M. Lyons, et al.

District Court, D. Arizona·Decided March 24, 2026·No. 2:26-cv-00217·Unknown

Opinion

Manjot Kaur, No. CV-26-00217-PHX-KML (ASB)

Petitioner, REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

v.

Todd M. Lyons, et al.,

Respondents. TO THE HONORABLE KRISSA M. LANHAM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE: Pending before the Court is pro se Petitioner Manjot Kaur’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (Doc. 1)1, filed on January 7, 2026. Petitioner is detained at San Luis Regional Detention Center and seeks release from immigration custody or a bond hearing. (Id.) For the reasons that follow, undersigned recommends the Petition be denied in part and granted in part. Petitioner is a citizen of India who sought asylum at the U.S. border on or about November 30, 2024. (Doc. 1 at 2; Doc. 9 at 1.) Petitioner pleads in her Petition that she was a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal Amristar (“SADA”) political party and “repeatedly attacked, beaten and threatened with death by members of India’s ruling Bhartiya Janta Party ([“BJP”]).” (Id.) Petitioner further alleges that she fled to the United

1 Citation to the record indicates documents as they are displayed in the District of Arizona’s official Court electronic document filing system under Case No. CV-26-00217-PHX-KML (ASB). States for safety and expressed her fear at the border. (Id.) According to Petitioner, “[a] U.S. asylum officer found [she had] a ‘credible fear’ of persecution” and she was placed in regular immigration proceedings. (Id.) Petitioner alleges that she has been in ICE detention since 2024, and as of the filing of her Petition, has been “imprisoned for over one year.” (Id.) Petitioner further asserts that on March 25, 2025, she “asked an Immigration Judge for a bond hearing” which was denied because the court found it “lack[ed] jurisdiction over bond redetermination.” (Id.) Petitioner alleges that she was “never given a chance to be heard[,]” that the “judge did not consider [her] individual circumstances[,]” that “no finding was made” that Petitioner was a flight risk or danger to the community, but rather that the “denial was automatic and categorical.” (Id.) In her Petition, Petitioner cites to her ties to the community in Baltimore, Maryland, where she will live with her husband if released. (Id. at 3.) Petitioner also cites to a “U.S. Citizen Financial Sponsor” who “guarantees [her] housing, food, and financial needs[.]” (Id.) Petitioner supports her Petition by including medical records from hospitals in India documenting her injuries from the attacks, a letter from SADA President Simranjit Singh Mann confirming her membership to the group and the threats against her, her lack of criminal history, and financial information from her “U.S. Citizen Financial Sponsor,” among other personal documents. (See Doc. 1.) Petitioner asserts three claims in her Petition, which the Court has previously summarized as: Petitioner contends her prolonged detention without a bond hearing is unlawful and unconstitutional and violates the Fifth Amendment. She also claims her detention serves no legitimate purpose because she is not a flight risk or danger to the community. (Doc. 3 at 2.) Petitioner requested the following relief: (1) issue of writ of habeas corpus; (2) order an immediate release from detention under appropriate conditions or order the government to provide a bond hearing, where the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence Petitioner is a flight risk or a danger; and (3) award any other relief the Court finds just. (Doc. 1 at 5.) Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and “Unknown Party,” Warden of the San Luis Regional Detention Center (collectively, “Respondents”) timely filed a “Response Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus” (Doc. 9) on February 17, 2026. In their Response, Respondents argue that the Petition should be denied because Petitioner’s detention is statutorily authorized and constitutional. (Id. at 2.) Respondents assert that Petitioner’s detention is lawful pursuant to Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001), because Petitioner’s immigration appeal remains pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) and Petitioner is not subject to an administratively final order of removal. (Id.) (relying on Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281 (2018)). Respondents argue that Petitioner is subject to mandatory detention as an applicant for admission. (Id.) According to Respondents, When Petitioner presented herself to immigration officials, those officials properly determined that she was inadmissible and immediately began to remove her. As an inadmissible alien, Petitioner has no right to be present in the United States. Petitioner is statutorily ineligible for bond, and her detention is legal as there is no final order of removal. (Id. at 4.) On February 23, 2026, Petitioner filed a Notice with this Court titled “Evidentiary Updates for Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus” containing various attorney/client correspondence and medical records from Petitioner’s detention at San Luis Regional Detention Center. (Doc. 12.) Petitioner has not filed a Reply with the Court, and the time for such Reply has now elapsed.2 (See Doc. 3.) “The writ of habeas corpus remains available to every individual detained within the United States.” Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507, 525 (2004) (citing U.S. Const., Art. I, § 9, cl. 2). Writ of habeas corpus relief extends to a person in federal custody if the petitioner can demonstrate he “is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or 2 Based on the Referral Order issued by this Court, Petitioner had 30 days from the date of service of Respondents’ Answer to file a Reply. (Doc. 3 at 3.) Respondents filed their Answer (“Response Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus”) on February 17, 2026 and included a Certificate of Service to Petitioner, dated February 17, 2026. (Doc. 9.) Accordingly, based on the record before this Court, this Petition became ripe for ruling 30 days later, on March 19, 2026. treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). Accordingly, federal courts have jurisdiction to grant writs of habeas corpus to noncitizens who are being unlawfully detained under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. See Trinidad y Garcia v. Thomas, 683 F.3d 952, 956 (9th Cir. 2012) (“The writ of habeas corpus historically provides a remedy to non-citizens challenging executive detention.”) (citing INS v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289, 301-303 (2001)); Lopez-Marroquin v. Barr, 955 F.3d 759, 759 (9th Cir. 2020) (“[D]istrict courts retain jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to consider habeas challenges to immigration detention that are sufficiently independent of the merits of the removal order”) (citation omitted). Respondents do not dispute this Court’s jurisdiction over considering Petitioner’s prolonged detention. (See Doc. 9.) Governing the detention of “applicants for admission” is 8 U.S.C. § 1225. The statute defines “applicants for admission” as “an alien present in the United States who has not been admitted” following inspection by immigration authorities. 8 U.S.C. §

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Manjot Kaur v. Todd M. Lyons, et al., (D. Ariz. 2026).

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