MIGUEL MONTERO GUERRA v. PAMELA J. BONDI, A.G. for the United States, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedJanuary 15, 2026
Docket5:25-cv-01240
StatusUnknown

This text of MIGUEL MONTERO GUERRA v. PAMELA J. BONDI, A.G. for the United States, et al. (MIGUEL MONTERO GUERRA v. PAMELA J. BONDI, A.G. for the United States, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
MIGUEL MONTERO GUERRA v. PAMELA J. BONDI, A.G. for the United States, et al., (W.D. Okla. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA

MIGUEL MONTERO GUERRA, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Case No. CIV-25-1240-G ) PAMELA J. BONDI, ) A.G. for the United States, et al., ) ) Respondents. ) ORDER On October 20, 2025, Petitioner Miguel Montero Guerra, appearing pro se, filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Petition,” Doc. No. 1) challenging his detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1), the matter was referred to Magistrate Judge Suzanne Mitchell for preliminary review. Respondent Pamela J. Bondi, United States Attorney General, filed a Response (Doc. No. 10) to the Petition.1 On December 16, 2025, Judge Mitchell issued a Report and Recommendation (“R. & R.,” Doc. No. 13), recommending that the Petition be granted and Petitioner be released from custody. Respondent filed an Objection (Doc. No. 14) to the R. & R. Although Petitioner’s time to respond to the Objection has not yet run, the Court proceeds to determine the issues raised in light of the urgency of the circumstances, including

1 On December 4, 2025, Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Marcos Charles, Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Executive Associate Director, and Cimarron Correctional Facility Warden Scarlet Grant were added as respondents. See Order (Doc. No. 12). Petitioner’s imminent removal from the country. See Resp’t’s Notice of Jan. 12, 2026 (Doc. No. 17); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(2). Pursuant to controlling authority, the Court reviews de novo the portions of the R.

& R. to which specific objection has been made. See United States v. 2121 E. 30th St., 73 F.3d 1057, 1060 (10th Cir. 1996); 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b)(3). Pro se filings “are to be construed liberally,” but the Court will not “assume the role of advocate for the pro se litigant.” Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir. 1991). I. Background

The factual background is set forth in the R. & R. and is not contested by Respondent. Petitioner appears to be a citizen of Cuba who entered the United States some time in or prior to 1989. See R. & R. at 2. On October 1, 2003, Petitioner was ordered removed by an immigration judge; Petitioner did not appeal, and this order became final. Id.

Rather than removing Petitioner, the United States, acting through the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), released Petitioner subject to an Order of Supervision (“OOS”). Id. On February 11, 2010, Petitioner did not report as required by the OOS, and he was detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) on August 3, 2010. See id. at 2-3. On October 22, 2010, he was again released pursuant to an OOS. Id. at 3.

There is no evidence that Petitioner has otherwise failed to comply with the conditions of his OOS. On July 31, 2025, Petitioner reported to an ICE office in Dallas, Texas. Id. Petitioner was detained by ICE on that date and has remained in ICE custody since that date. Id.

The deportation officer with whom Petitioner met on July 31, 2025, advised Petitioner that Petitioner was subject to the October 1, 2003 Final Order of Removal and that there were no outstanding immigration appeals or applications. Id. Petitioner was also informed that if ICE Enforcement Removal Operations (“ERO”) could not obtain travel documents to deport him, he would be released again on an OOS. Id.

As of November 19, 2025, Respondent represented the following relevant facts to be true: (1) that ERO has completed a 90-day custody review and that a decision had yet to be issued; (2) on October 3, 2025, ICE communicated with Cuban officials in an attempt to arrange Petitioner’s deportation to Cuba but received no response; and (3) ERO was attempting to arrange deportation of Petitioner to a third country, Mexico, which has

accepted Cuban citizens for third-country removals. See id. When the Petition was filed, Petitioner was being held at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, Oklahoma. Id. Shortly thereafter, the Magistrate Judge ordered that if the United States determined to move Petitioner from his current detention location, Respondents must notify the Court at least 72 hours prior to such movement. See Order

(Doc. No. 6) at 4. On January 5, 2026, Petitioner filed a Change of Address/Contact Information Form, signed December 31, 2025, notifying the Court that he had been moved to a detention facility in Grand Prairie, Texas. See Pet’r’s Notice (Doc. No. 15). On January 7, 2026, Respondents filed a Notice confirming that Petitioner had been moved to this detention center; the Notice did not address the failure to comply with the Order’s requirement of 72 hours’ prior notice. See Resp’t’s Notice of Jan. 7, 2026 (Doc. No. 16) at 1. Counsel for Respondents advised the Court that ERO “is working to return

[Petitioner] to Cim[arr]on Correctional Facility.” Id.2 On January 12, 2026, Respondents filed a second Notice, representing that “Petitioner is scheduled to be moved from his current detention location in order to execute his removal to Mexico after the expiration of 72 hours from this filing.” See Resp’t’s Second Notice (Doc. No. 17) at 2. The Court infers from this representation that Mexico

has agreed to accept Petitioner’s removal to that country. II. Relevant Standards “The Government’s ability to detain, release, and revoke the release of noncitizens subject to removal orders is governed by specific regulations.” Phongsavanh v. Williams, No. 25-cv-00426, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2025 WL 3124032, at *2 (S.D. Iowa Nov. 7, 2025).

Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a), the Attorney General “shall detain” a noncitizen who is ordered to be removed; this period of detention is referred to as the “removal period.” 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(A), (2)(A); see also Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 682 (2001)

2 This Order assumes that Petitioner is confined in this judicial district, consistent with Respondent’s representation to the Court and the currently available case record. Even if that assumption is incorrect, the Court would “retain[] jurisdiction” over the matter because Petitioner “properly file[d] a petition” in the Western District of Oklahoma “naming [his] immediate custodian,” and any action to move Petitioner outside the Western District of Oklahoma was made by Respondents. Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 441 & n.14 (2004). In such circumstances, regardless of Petitioner’s current location and custodian, the Court “may direct the writ to any respondent within its jurisdiction who has legal authority to effectuate [Petitioner’s] release.” Id. at 441. (“When an alien has been found to be unlawfully present in the United States and a final order of removal has been entered, the Government ordinarily secures the alien’s removal during a subsequent 90-day statutory ‘removal period,’ during which time the alien

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Mathews v. Eldridge
424 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Reno v. Flores
507 U.S. 292 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
525 U.S. 471 (Supreme Court, 1999)
Rumsfeld v. Padilla
542 U.S. 426 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Wright v. Lansing
75 F. App'x 710 (Tenth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Ellis Roark
403 F. App'x 1 (Sixth Circuit, 2010)
Zadvydas v. Davis
533 U.S. 678 (Supreme Court, 2001)
Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam
591 U.S. 103 (Supreme Court, 2020)
Syed Tazu v. Attorney General United States
975 F.3d 292 (Third Circuit, 2020)
United States v. 2121 East 30th Street
73 F.3d 1057 (Tenth Circuit, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
MIGUEL MONTERO GUERRA v. PAMELA J. BONDI, A.G. for the United States, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miguel-montero-guerra-v-pamela-j-bondi-ag-for-the-united-states-et-okwd-2026.