Nirmal Singh v. Kristi Noem, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedMarch 13, 2026
Docket1:26-cv-00722
StatusUnknown

This text of Nirmal Singh v. Kristi Noem, et al. (Nirmal Singh v. Kristi Noem, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nirmal Singh v. Kristi Noem, et al., (E.D. Cal. 2026).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 NIRMAL SINGH, Case No. 1:26-cv-00722-KES-CDB (HC) 12 Petitioner, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO GRANT PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS 13 v. CORPUS (A-Number 240 614 324)

14 KRISTI NOEM, et al., (Doc. 1)

15 Respondents. 7-Day Objection Period 16 17 Petitioner Nirmal Singh, a federal immigration detainee proceeding by counsel, initiated 18 this action on January 28, 2026, with the filing of a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 19 U.S.C. § 2241. (Doc. 1). Petitioner is in custody the of Immigration and Customs Enforcement 20 (“ICE”) at the Golden State Annex facility, located in McFarland, California. Id. ¶ 5. Respondents 21 are: the unnamed Warden of the Golden State Annex Detention Center; Kristi Noem, Secretary of 22 Homeland Security; Sergio Albarran, Acting Field Office Director for the San Francisco ICE Field 23 Office; Todd Lyons, Acting Director of ICE; and Pamela Bondi, United States Attorney General. 24 See id. 25 At the Court’s direction, Respondents timely filed a response to the petition on February 26 10, 2026. (Doc. 7). Petitioner filed a status report indicating his intent to proceed without further 27 briefing. (Doc. 8). For the reasons set forth herein, the undersigned recommends that Petitioner’s 28 petition for writ of habeas corpus be granted. 1 I. Relevant Background 2 The relevant facts are undisputed. See (Doc. 7). Petitioner is a citizen of India who entered 3 the United States without inspection on April 11, 2022. (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 1, 14; Doc. 7 at 6 ¶ 6). He was 4 detained by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and released on his own recognizance 5 subject to ICE’s imposition of a $3,000 immigration bond; DHS issued a Notice to Appear in 6 immigration court. (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 1, 15-16; Doc. 7 at 6 ¶¶ 6-7 & Exhibit 4). On June 29, 2022, 7 Petitioner filed an application for asylum. DHS issued Petitioner a Form I-766, Employment 8 Authorization Document. (Doc. 1 ¶¶ 17-18). On October 14, 2025, Petitioner attended his 9 immigration court hearing and was detained by Respondents immediately after the hearing. (Doc. 10 1 ¶¶ 19-20; Doc. 7 at 6 ¶¶ 8-10). The Court also takes judicial notice that Petitioner has been in 11 removal proceedings since April 18, 2022, Petitioner was ordered removed on October 14, 2025, 12 and the order was appealed on October 20, 2025.1 13 II. Governing Authority 14 A. The Writ of Habeas Corpus 15 Writ of habeas corpus relief extends to a person in custody under the authority of the United 16 States. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241. A district court considering an application for a writ of habeas corpus 17 shall “award the writ or issue an order directing the respondent to show cause why the writ should 18 not be granted, unless it appears from the application that the applicant or person detained is not 19 entitled thereto.” 28 U.S.C. § 2243. 20 Relevant here, “in cases that do not involve a final order of removal, federal habeas corpus 21 jurisdiction remains in the district court” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 where the petitioner 22 “challenges his confinement on statutory and constitutional grounds.” Nadaraja v. Gonzales, 443 23 F.3d 1069, 1075-76 (9th Cir. 2006); accord Flores-Torres v. Mukasey, 548 F.3d 708, 713 (9th Cir. 24 2008) (holding “the district court has jurisdiction over Torres’s habeas petition challenging his 25 1 See https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/caseInformation (last visited Mar. 12, 2026, using Petitioner’s 26 A-Number and nationality); Daniels-Hall v. National Edu. Ass'n, 629 F.3d 992, 998-99 (9th Cir. 2010) (“It is appropriate to take judicial notice of this information, as it was made publicly available by government 27 entities ... and neither party disputes the authenticity of the web sites or the accuracy of the information displayed [ ] therein.”); Argueta v. Walgreens Co., 760 F. Supp. 3d 1028, 1034 (E.D. Cal. 2024) (taking 28 judicial notice of information on federal government agency’s website). 1 detention” in ICE custody). 2 B. Statutory Immigration Framework (8 U.S.C. § 1225 and § 1226) 3 Two statutes govern the detention and removal of inadmissible noncitizens from the United 4 States: 8 U.S.C. § 1226 and § 1225. Relevant here is the legal background presented by the district 5 court in Salcedo Aceros v. Kaiser, No. 25-cv-06924-EMC (EMC), 2025 WL 2637503 (N.D. Cal. 6 Sept 12, 2025), which the undersigned adopts herein: 7 1. Full Removal Proceedings and Discretionary Detention (§ 1226) 8 The “usual removal process” involves an evidentiary hearing before 9 an immigration judge. Dep’t of Homeland Sec. v. Thuraissigiam, 591 U.S. 103, 108 (2020). Proceedings are initiated under 8 U.S.C. 10 § 1229(a), also known as “full removal,” by filing a Notice to Appear with the Immigration Court. Matter of E-R-M- & L-R-M-, 25 I. & N. 11 Dec. 520, 520 (BIA 2011). Section § 1226 provides that while removal proceedings are pending, a noncitizen “may be arrested and 12 detained” and that the government “may release the alien on ... conditional parole.” § 1226(a)(2); accord Thuraissigiam, 591 U.S. at 13 108 (during removal proceedings, applicant may either be “detained” or “allowed to reside in this country”). When a person is apprehended 14 under § 1226(a), an ICE officer makes the initial custody determination. Diaz v. Garland, 53 F.4th 1189, 1196 (9th Cir. 2022) 15 (citing 8 C.F.R. § 236.1(c)(8)). A noncitizen will be released if he or she “demonstrate[s] to the satisfaction of the officer that such release 16 would not pose a danger to property or persons, and that the alien is likely to appear for any future proceeding.” Id. (citing 8 C.F.R. 17 § 236.1(c)(8)).

18 “Federal regulations provide that aliens detained under § 1226(a) receive bond hearings at the outset of detention.” Jennings v. 19 Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281, 306 (2018) (citing 8 CFR §§ 236.1(d)(1)). If, at this hearing, the detainee demonstrates by the preponderance of 20 the evidence that he or she is not “a threat to national security, a danger to the community at large, likely to abscond, or otherwise a 21 poor bail risk,” the IJ will order his or his release. Diaz, 53 F.4th at 1197 (citing Matter of Guerra, 24 I. & N. Dec. 37, 40 (B.I.A. 2006)). 22 Once released, the noncitizen’s bond is subject to revocation. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(b), “the DHS has authority to revoke a noncitizen’s 23 bond or parole ‘at any time,’ even if that individual has previously been released.” Ortega v. Bonnar, 415 F. Supp. 3d 963, 968 (N.D. 24 Cal. 2019).

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Bluebook (online)
Nirmal Singh v. Kristi Noem, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nirmal-singh-v-kristi-noem-et-al-caed-2026.