Mohammad Mustafa Hamidi v. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 14, 2025
Docket5:25-cv-01205
StatusUnknown

This text of Mohammad Mustafa Hamidi v. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, et al. (Mohammad Mustafa Hamidi v. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, 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
Mohammad Mustafa Hamidi v. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, et al., (W.D. Okla. 2025).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA

MOHAMMAD MUSTAFA HAMIDI, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Case No. CIV-25-1205-G ) PAMELA BONDI, Attorney General, et al., ) ) Respondents. )

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION Petitioner Mohammad Mustafa Hamidi, represented by counsel, filed a Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (Doc. 1).1 United States District Judge Charles B. Goodwin referred the matter to the undersigned Magistrate Judge for initial proceedings consistent with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B)-(C). (Doc. 3). Respondents filed a Response in Opposition to Petitioner’s Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. (Doc. 14). Petitioner filed a Reply. (Doc. 15). For the reasons set forth below, the undersigned recommends that Petitioner be GRANTED habeas relief and released from custody immediately.

1 Citations to the parties’ filings and attached exhibits will refer to this Court’s CM/ECF pagination. I. Factual Background and Procedural History Petitioner is a citizen of Afghanistan who entered the United States in 1993. (Doc.

1, at 1; Doc. 14, at 2). After a 1998 conviction for armed robbery and possession of a firearm or knife during commission of a felony, he was ordered removed from the United States on June 24, 2005. (Doc. 1, at 1; Doc. 14, at 2). Petitioner did not appeal his order of removal, and that order became final on July 24, 2005, or in the alternative, June 24, 2005, if he waived appeal. (Doc. 1, at 1). After serving his state sentence, Petitioner was transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on September

17, 2008. (Doc. 14, at Ex. 1, at 2). He was released on an Order of Supervision (“OOS”) on February 10, 2009. (Id.) Petitioner complied with the OOS’s requirements to appear for routine check-ins with ICE and updated his address, as required, whenever he relocated. (Doc. 1, at 2). Petitioner alleges that he was wrongfully detained while reporting to his regular

check-in on September 10, 2025. (Id.) He further alleges that he was never served with a proper Notice of Revocation of Release (“Notice”) providing an explanation of why his OOS was being revoked, nor was he afforded any opportunity to challenge any Notice. (Id. at 13). Respondents contend that Petitioner was re-detained “since he had a final order of removal and there was a likelihood that he could be removed from the United States.”

(Doc. 14, at Ex. 1, at 2). Petitioner contends that his detention is “designed to send a message to other individuals with final orders of removal that they need to leave the United States or they will be jailed indefinitely and without any process.” (Doc. 1, at 4). Petitioner alleges he cannot return to Afghanistan because he does not have the requisite travel documents. (Id.) Petitioner alleges:

[He] does not have any proof of his Afghani citizenship. He was born at home during a war and has no birth certificate, passport, or other documentation of having been born in Afghanistan. [Petitioner’s] family fled Afghanistan to Pakistan and entered the United States through Pakistan. When [Petitioner] applied for an Afghani travel document in 2009, he received a denial request on February 20, 2009 due to his lack of proof of Afghani citizenship.

(Id. at 2). He further alleges that “Afghanistan is currently run by the Taliban and does not have an embassy that is open.” (Id. at 3). Petitioner alleges that “to the best of [his] knowledge” no attempts at removal to a third country have been attempted since he was detained. (Id.) He has not been asked to apply for a travel document for any country since being detained. (Id.) Petitioner contends that “[t]he government is not in possession of any credible or persuasive documents or evidence that [his] removal is likely to occur in the reasonably foreseeable future.” (Id.) Petitioner maintains that his “aggregate period of civil immigration confinement is believed to exceed six months and continues to grow.” (Id. at 8). Respondents contend that since Petitioner was taken into custody, ICE has “been working to obtain a travel document in order to remove [him]” and that ICE “is also looking into the possibility of a third country removal.” (Doc. 14, at Ex. 1, at 2). Respondents also state that ICE has “contacted the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Canada to determine if they can issue a travel permit for [Petitioner]. In past cases, the Canadian Embassy has been able to issue travel documents for Afghanistan where the alien agrees to voluntarily return to Afghanistan.” (Id. at 2-3). Respondents state that “[b]ecause there are several avenues being pursued, and because the current administration is making efforts to remove aliens to third countries, . . . [Petitioner] could be removed at some point

in the future.” (Id. at 3). II. Petitioner’s Claims Petitioner alleges that “ICE has denied [him] release because: (A) it incorrectly believes [he] is responsible for reestablishing that removal is not substantially likely to occur in the reasonably foreseeable future, (B) ICE seeks to punish [him] for remaining in the United States after previously having been ordered removed, and (C) ICE seeks to

punish [him] to send a message to similarly situated persons who have not yet been detained as a way to encourage those similarly situated people to immediately leave the United States to avoid [his] fate.” (Doc. 1, at 12). In Count One, Petitioner requests “declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201 that [he] is detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1),” “that [he] has previously

demonstrated to ICE’s satisfaction that there is no significant likelihood of his removal in the reasonably foreseeable future (‘NSLRRFF’), “that ICE did not rebut [his] prior NSLRRFF showing prior to redetaining him,” and “that until ICE rebuts [his] prior NSLRRFF showing, [he] may not be redetained.” (Id. at 21). In Count Two, Petitioner contends that his detention by Respondents violates the

Immigration and Nationality Act and applicable ICE regulations. (Id. at 21-22). In Count Three, Petitioner raises two due process claims. He states that his continued detention in excess of six months violates his “Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process” established in Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 701 (2001), as Respondents have not rebutted his prior showing of no significant likelihood of removal in the foreseeable future. (Id. at 22). And he alleges a separate due process claim based on his

allegations that he has been detained “to punish him and to otherwise send a message to similarly situated individuals that they must leave the United States to avoid a similar fate.” (Id. at 22-23). In Count Four, Petitioner alleges that Respondents have violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) as “[their] decisions, which represent changes in the agencies’ policies and positions, have considered factors that Congress did not intend to be

considered, have entirely failed to consider important aspects of the case, and have offered explanations for their decisions that run counter to the evidence before the agencies.” (Id. at 23). He alleges that Respondents’ decision to re-detain him is “arbitrary, capricious, and not in accordance with the law.” (Id.) Petitioner also requests a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction

“enjoining Respondents . . .

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

Related

United States v. Caceres
440 U.S. 741 (Supreme Court, 1979)
United States v. Nachtigal
507 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Soberanes v. Comfort
388 F.3d 1305 (Tenth Circuit, 2004)
Dennis Wayne Moore v. United States
950 F.2d 656 (Tenth Circuit, 1991)
Whitmore v. Parker
484 F. App'x 227 (Tenth Circuit, 2012)
Zadvydas v. Davis
533 U.S. 678 (Supreme Court, 2001)
Rombot v. Souza
296 F. Supp. 3d 383 (District of Columbia, 2017)
Trump v. J. G. G.
604 U.S. 670 (Supreme Court, 2025)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Mohammad Mustafa Hamidi v. Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mohammad-mustafa-hamidi-v-pamela-bondi-attorney-general-et-al-okwd-2025.