Tai Truong v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General; Todd Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedOctober 22, 2025
Docket3:25-cv-02597
StatusUnknown

This text of Tai Truong v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General; Todd Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Tai Truong v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General; Todd Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tai Truong v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General; Todd Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (S.D. Cal. 2025).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 TAI TRUONG Case No.: 25-cv-2597-JES-MMP

12 Petitioner, ORDER: 13 v. (1) GRANTING PETITION FOR 14 KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 15 PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 2241; and SECURITY; PAMELA BONDI,

16 ATTORNEY GENERAL; TODD (2) DENYING MOTION FOR LYONS, ACTING DIRECTOR OF 17 TEMPORARY RESTRAINING IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ORDER AS MOOT 18 ENFORECEMENT; JESUS ROCHA,

ACTING FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, 19 SAN DIEGO FIELD OFFICE, [ECF Nos. 1, 3] 20 CHRISTOPHER LAROSE, WARDEN OF OTAY MESA DETENTION 21 CENTER, 22 Respondents. 23 24 25 Before the Court are Petitioner Tai Truong’s (“Petitioner” or “Truong”) Petition for 26 Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and Motion for a Temporary 27 Restraining Order. ECF No. 1, (“Pet.”); ECF No. 3, (“TRO”). The Petition and TRO were 28 filed on October 1, 2025. Id. On that same day, Petitioner also filed a Motion for 1 Appointment of Counsel pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2). ECF No. 2. On October 3, 2 2025, the Court granted the Motion for Appointment of Counsel and set the briefing 3 schedule for the Petition and TRO. ECF No. 4. Respondents filed their Response on 4 October 8, 2025. ECF No. 7, (“Res.”). Petitioner filed his Traverse on October 9, 2025. 5 ECF No. 8, (“Trav.”). And on October 10, 2025, the Court held a hearing on the Petition 6 and TRO. ECF No. 9. For the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS the Writ of 7 Habeas Corpus and DENIES AS MOOT the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order. 8 I. BACKGROUND 9 Petitioner is a citizen of Laos who is currently detained in Otay Mesa Detention 10 Center. Pet. Ex. A ¶ 5. In 1979, Petitioner came to the United States and became a lawful 11 permanent resident soon after. Id. In 1996, Petitioner was convicted of forced oral 12 copulation in violation of California law and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Res. 13 Exh. 1 ¶ 5. In October 2015, Petitioner was released from California criminal custody in 14 and immediately taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) custody. 15 Pet. Ex. A ¶ 5. Due to his criminal conviction, Petitioner was placed into removal 16 proceedings and ordered removable by an Immigration Judge in December 2015. Id. ¶ 2. 17 Petitioner remained in ICE custody for the next five months while it attempted to deport 18 him to Laos. Id. ¶ 3. On March 4, 2016, Petitioner was released from ICE’s custody. Id. 19 For the past nine years, Petitioner successfully attended all check in appointments and had 20 no new criminal convictions. Id. ¶ 4. On July 12, 2025, Petitioner was pulled over and 21 arrested by ICE agents. Id. ¶ 5. Petitioner did not receive advance notice of this arrest, an 22 interview, or a chance to contest his re-detention. Id. On September 24, 2025, Petitioner 23 was informed that ICE had obtained travel documents from Laos and that he would soon 24 be deported. Id. ¶ 6. 25 On September 8, 2025, by and through his attorney Michael Hawkins, Petitioner 26 filed a motion pursuant to Cal. Penal Code § 1473.7 to vacate his 1996 criminal conviction 27 in California Superior Court. Id. ¶ 7. A hearing on that motion took place on October 2, 28 2025. Trav. at 2; ECF No. 7-2 (“Res. Ex. 2”) at 15. Had the California Superior Court 1 vacated his conviction, Petitioner intended to immediately file a motion to vacate and 2 reopen his immigration proceedings. Pet. ¶ 8. However, Petitioner’s motion in California 3 Superior Court was denied, which foreclosed his ability to take such action in Immigration 4 Court. Trav. at 2; Res. Ex. 2 at 15. 5 In his Petition, Truong asserts three claims: (1) procedural due process prevents 6 Petitioner’s removal during the pendency of his motion to reopen his removal proceedings 7 (“Claim 1”); (2) ICE failed to comply with its own regulations to re-detain him and he 8 should, therefore, be released (“Claim 2”); and (3) ICE cannot remove him to a third 9 country without adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard (“Claim 3”). Pet. at 2. In 10 his Traverse, Truong withdraws his request for a TRO and habeas relief with respect to 11 Claims 1 and 3. Trav. at 2. Claim 1 was withdrawn in light of his denied motion in 12 California Superior Court. Id. Petitioner withdrew Claim 3 in reliance on the Government’s 13 representation that it does not seek to remove him to a third country, has obtained a travel 14 document from Laos, and anticipates Petitioner will be removed to Laos by November 1, 15 2025. Id.; ECF No. 7-1 (“Res. Dec.”) ¶¶ 11-12. Accordingly, the Court narrows its analysis 16 only to Claim 2. 17 II. LEGAL STANDARD 18 A writ of habeas corpus is “available to every individual detained within the United 19 States.” Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507, 525 (2004) (citing U.S. Const., Art I, § 9, cl. 2). 20 “The essence of habeas corpus is an attack by a person in custody upon the legality of that 21 custody, and ... the traditional function of the writ is to secure release from illegal 22 custody.” Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 484 (1973). A court may grant a writ of 23 habeas corpus to a petitioner who demonstrates to be in custody in violation of the 24 Constitution or federal law. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). Traditionally, “the writ of habeas 25 corpus has served as a means of reviewing the legality of Executive detention, and it is in 26 that context that its protections have been strongest.” I.N.S. v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289, 301 27 (2001). Accordingly, challenges to immigration-related detention are within the purview 28 // 1 of a district court's habeas jurisdiction. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 687 (2001); see 2 also Demore v. Kim, 538 U.S. 510, 517 (2003). 3 Habeas corpus is “perhaps the most important writ known to the constitutional law 4 ... affording as it does a swift and imperative remedy in all cases of illegal restraint or 5 confinement.” Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391, 400 (1963). “The application for the writ usurps 6 the attention and displaces the calendar of the judge or justice who entertains it and receives 7 prompt action from him within the four corners of the application.” Yong v. I.N.S., 208 F.3d 8 1116, 1120 (9th Cir. 2000) (citation omitted). 9 III. DISCUSSION 10 A. Jurisdiction 11 As a threshold matter, the Court finds that it has jurisdiction to hear the Petition for 12 Writ of Habeas Corpus. 13 Respondents assert that the Court does not have jurisdiction to hear this claim 14 because it stems from the Attorney General’s decision to execute a removal order against 15 Truong. Res. at 9-11. However, Petitioner does not seek relief from this Court from a 16 decision to execute a removal order. Rather, he challenges solely the propriety of his 17 detention, not the core proceedings involved in his removal. Pet. at 8-9. Therefore, this 18 argument has no bearing on this Petition.

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Related

United States Ex Rel. Accardi v. Shaughnessy
347 U.S. 260 (Supreme Court, 1954)
Fay v. Noia
372 U.S. 391 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Preiser v. Rodriguez
411 U.S. 475 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Mathews v. Eldridge
424 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Immigration & Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr
533 U.S. 289 (Supreme Court, 2001)
Demore v. Kim
538 U.S. 510 (Supreme Court, 2003)
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
542 U.S. 507 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Zadvydas v. Davis
533 U.S. 678 (Supreme Court, 2001)
Xochitl Hernandez v. Jefferson Sessions
872 F.3d 976 (Ninth Circuit, 2017)
National Ass'n of Home Builders v. Norton
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Bluebook (online)
Tai Truong v. Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Pamela Bondi, Attorney General; Todd Lyons, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tai-truong-v-kristi-noem-secretary-of-the-department-of-homeland-casd-2025.