Pedro Trejo Trejo v. Juan Baltazar, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Colorado granted Pedro Trejo Trejo’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The court held that, because Trejo Trejo had lived continuously in the United States for more than 25 years, his detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) was unlawful and that detention could properly proceed only under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). The court ordered Respondents to provide him with a bond hearing within seven days and to file a compliance report within ten days.

Holdings

1. A noncitizen who has been present in the United States for more than twenty-five years cannot lawfully be detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2); detention is instead governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226.
2. Section 1226(a) does not require Petitioner's immediate release; it gives the Department of Homeland Security discretion to release a noncitizen on bond.
3. Respondents must provide Petitioner with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) before an immigration judge within seven days of the order.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a noncitizen who has been present continuously in the United States for more than twenty-five years may be detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), rather than under 8 U.S.C. § 1226.
2. Whether Petitioner was entitled to immediate release or, alternatively, a bond hearing under § 1226(a).

Disposition

writ_granted