Sanchez-Rivera v. Matuszewski

District Court, S.D. California·Decided January 9, 2023·No. 3:22-cv-01357·Unknown

Opinion

JUAN SANCHEZ-RIVERA, Case No.: 22-cv-1357-MMA (JLB) A# 073-830-803, ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND Petitioner, DENYING IN PART PETITION FOR v. WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

JAMISON MATUSZEWSKI, et al., [Doc. No. 1] Respondents. On September 6, 2022, Petitioner Juan Sanchez-Rivera (“Petitioner”), a federal immigration detainee in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility (“IRDF”), proceeding pro se, filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Doc. No. 1 (the “Petition”). On October 12, 2022, Respondents Jamison Matuszewski, Joseph Suazo, William Derevere, Matthew Allen, and Alejandro Mayorkas (“Respondents”) filed a return in opposition to the Petition (the “Return”). Doc. No. 6. On November 14, 2022, Petitioner filed a reply. Doc. No. 10. Upon due consideration and for the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part the Petition. Petitioner is a native and citizen of Mexico. Doc. No. 6-1 at 20, 24. Petitioner became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2000. Id. at 20, 24. On December 7, 2017, Petitioner was convicted of assault upon a peace officer and possession for sale of a controlled substance, specifically, methamphetamine. Id. at 24, 29. Petitioner was sentenced to a total imprisonment term of two years. Id. at 24. Upon Petitioner’s release from prison, ICE detained Petitioner on December 12, 2019. Id. at 20–22. That same day, ICE filed a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) with the immigration court and initiated removal proceedings, charging Petitioner with being removable from the United States as an aggravated felon under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), 1101(a)(43)(F), and 1101(a)(43)(B). Id. at 18–24. Petitioner was also charged with being removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i) in relation to his drug charge. Id. at 24. On January 9, 2020, Petitioner first appeared before an immigration judge and requested additional time to obtain counsel. Id. at 28–29. The immigration court subsequently granted Petitioner twelve more continuances. Id. at 31. On December 29, 2020, Petitioner requested voluntary departure in lieu of removal at a hearing before an immigration judge. Id. at 31. That same day, the immigration judge found Petitioner ineligible for voluntary departure as a result of his criminal convictions, and ordered Petitioner removed to Mexico. Id. at 32, 36–37. On January 6, 2021, ICE conducted a

1 Petitioner initially filed a timely reply on October 17, 2022. See Doc. No. 8. However, Petitioner indicated that he had not received a copy of the Return, and therefore, did not address the substance Respondents’ arguments. Id. After the Court directed the Clerk of Court to send Petitioner an custody determination and concluded that Petitioner should remain in custody because he was a threat to public safety and a flight risk. Id. at 38–39. Petitioner appealed the immigration judge’s December 29, 2020 decision, and on April 9, 2021, retroactively changed his pleas in the underlying state criminal convictions. Id. at 44. On July 8, 2021, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) remanded the matter to the immigration judge in light of Petitioner’s change of plea and consequently amended conviction history. Id. at 44–45. On August 23, 2021, the immigration judge held a master calendar hearing and continued the matter to October 7, 2021. Id. at 80. ICE filed updated conviction records and a brief. Id. at 46–79. On October 7, 2021, December 1, 2021, January 3, 2022, and January 31, 2022, the immigration judge granted Petitioner continuances for someone to file a Petition for Alien Relative (“Form I-130”) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Petitioner’s behalf. Id. at 84–87. At the hearing on January 31, 2022, Petitioner had yet to file a Form I-130. Id. at 88, 93–97. The Court addressed ICE’s amended NTA and Petitioner admitted the first seven allegations, but denied the drug charge (8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i)). Id. at 95. The immigration judge sustained the aggravated felony charge (8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii)) and did not address the drug charge at that time. Id. The immigration judge gave Petitioner another chance to show that a Form I-130 had been filed on his behalf, and continued the matter to February 28, 2022. Id. at 88–89. At the final hearing on February 28, 2022, no Form I-130 had been filed. Id. at 90–99. The immigration judge deemed all immigration applications abandoned and ordered Petitioner removed to Mexico. Id. at 90, 99. On or about March 1, 2022, Petitioner filed a Notice of Appeal with the BIA. Id. at 100–04. The BIA dismissed Petitioner’s appeal on June 29, 2022. Id. at 100–07. On July 6, 2022, Petitioner filed a petition for review with the Ninth Circuit, which has been held in abeyance since September 20, 2022. Id. at 108–09; see also Doc. No. 8 at 4. Petitioner commenced this case on September 6, 2022. See Doc. No. 1. Based on the record, it appears that Petitioner has not received an initial bond hearing or any individualized determination of whether his continued detention is necessary to ensure the safety of the community or his availability for removal from the United States. Federal law has long allowed immigration officials to detain non-citizens (which the governing statutes refer to as “aliens”) in a variety of circumstances. See generally Hillel R. Smith, Cong. Rsch. Serv., R45915, Immigration Detention: A Legal Overview (Sept. 16, 2019). This case concerns one such circumstance: detention during the pendency of an alien’s removal proceedings. In that context, one of two statutory provisions applies. The first provision, which sets out the general rule, places the alien’s detention within the Attorney General’s discretion. See 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). In other words, the Attorney General “may” detain the alien for the duration of removal proceedings, or he “may” release the alien on bond or conditional parole. Id. § 1226(a)(1)–(2). Regulations allow an alien detained under § 1226(a) to seek a bond hearing, first before an officer from the Department of Homeland Security and then before an immigration judge. 8 C.F.R. §§ 236.1(c)(8) and (d)(1), 1003.19, 1236.1(c)(8) and (d)(1); see Nielsen v. Preap, 139 S. Ct. 954, 959–60 (2019). The alien can request a bond hearing “at any time before” receiving a final order of removal. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(a), 1236.1(d)(1). The second provision, which is an exception to the general rule, makes detention during removal proceedings mandatory when the alien is “inadmissible” or “deportable” for specified reasons—usually because the alien has been convicted of a qualifying criminal offense. 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c). Aliens detained under § 1226(c) do not get bond hearings. Instead, the Attorney General “may” only release the alien if doing so is necessary for

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