Reyes Cabrera-Cortes v. Jason Knight, et al.

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided November 20, 2025·No. 2:25-cv-01976·Unknown

Opinion

* * *

REYES CABRERA-CORTES, Case No. 2:25-cv-01976-RFB-MDC

Petitioner, ORDER

v.

JASON KNIGHT, et al., Respondents.

Before the Court is Petitioner Reyes Cabrera-Cortes’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Petition”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, challenging the lawfulness of his detention at Nevada Southern Detention Center in the custody of the Federal Respondents. For the following reasons, the Court grants the Petition. This case is one of a growing number before this court challenging the federal government’s new policy of mandatory detention of all noncitizens charged with entering the United States without inspection.1 The policy is based on a new interpretation of the Immigration 1 This Court has already granted petitioners relief—both preliminary and habeas—in eighteen similar challenges. See Escobar Salgado v. Mattos, No. 2:25-cv-01872-RFB-EJY 2025 WL 3205356 (D. Nev. Nov. 17, 2025); see also Herrera v. Knight, No. 2:25-CV-01366-RFB-DJA, 2025 WL 2581792 (D. Nev. Sept. 5, 2025); Vazquez v. Feeley, No. 2:25-CV-01542-RFB-EJY, 2025 WL 2676082 (D. Nev. Sept. 17, 2025); Roman v. Noem, No. 2:25-CV-01684-RFB-EJY, 2025 WL 2710211 (D. Nev. Sept. 23, 2025); Carlos v. Noem, No. 2:25-CV-01900-RFB-EJY, 2025 WL 2896156 (D. Nev. Oct. 10, 2025); E.C. v. Noem, No. 2:25-CV-01789-RFB-BNW, 2025 WL 2916264 (D. Nev. Oct. 14, 2025); Perez Sanchez v. Bernacke, No. 2:25-CV-01921-RFB- MDC (D. Nev. Oct. 17, 2025); Aparicio v. Noem, No. 2:25-CV-01919-RFB-DJA, 2025 WL 2998098 (D. Nev. Oct. 23, 2025); Dominguez-Lara v. Noem, No. 2:25-CV-01553-RFB-EJY, 2025 WL 2998094 (D. Nev. Oct. 24, 2025); Bautista-Avalos v. Bernacke, 2:25-CV-01987-RFB-BNW (D. Nev. Oct 27, 2025); Arce-Cervera v. Noem, No. 2:25-CV-01895-RFB-NJK, 2025 WL 3017866 (D. Nev. Oct. 28, 2025); Alvarado Gonzalez v. Mattos, No. 2:25-CV-01599-RFB-NJK (D. Nev. Oct. 30, 2025); Rodriguez Cabrera v. Mattos, No. 2:25-cv-01551-RFB-EJY, 2025 WL and Nationality Act (INA) by the executive branch, specifically 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), as requiring the detention of all undocumented individuals during the pendency of their removal proceedings, which can take months or years. According to this interpretation, detention is mandatory no matter how long a noncitizen has resided in the country, and without any due process to ensure the government has a legitimate interest in their detention. This sweeping new policy, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in conjunction with the Department of Justice (DOJ), adopted on a nationwide basis on July 8, 2025,2 subjects millions of undocumented residents to prolonged detention without the opportunity for release on bond, in contravention of decades of agency practice and robust due process protections hitherto afforded to such residents under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).3 On September 5, 2025, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued a precedential decision adopting this new interpretation of the government’s detention authority under the INA. See Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA 2025) (“Hurtado”). After Hurtado, immigration judges no longer have authority to hear bond requests or grant bond to noncitizens present in the U.S. who entered without inspection. Id. The overwhelming majority of district courts across the country, including this Court, that have considered the government’s new statutory interpretation have found it incorrect and unlawful. See, e.g., Escobar Salgado v. Mattos, 2:25-CV-01872-RFB-EJY, 2025 WL 3205356, at *22 (D Nev. Nov. 17, 2025) (finding that “the text and canons of statutory interpretation, legislative history, and long history of consistent agency practice, demonstrate . . . that the government’s new interpretation and policy under [§ 1225(b)(2)(A)], is unlawful”); see also, e.g., Rodriguez v. Bostock, No. 3:25-CV-05240-TMC, 2025 WL 2782499 (W.D. Wash. Sept. 30, 2025)

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