Castro v. Bondi

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Kansas partially grants Zury Sarahi Castro’s petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The court holds that the Government could not detain Castro under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) and that her detention was instead governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which permits release on bond. Because an immigration judge had previously ordered Castro’s release on a $5,000 bond, the court orders Respondents to effectuate that release by April 6, 2026, without an equivalent stay.

Holdings

1. Because Castro was not a newly arriving alien and had been present in the United States for many years before detention, the Government could not detain her under § 1225(b)(2)(A); her detention pending a final removal decision was governed by § 1226(a).
2. The Government violated the detention statutes by refusing to allow consideration of Castro's release on bond under § 1226(a).
3. A new bond hearing was unnecessary because the immigration judge had already considered the merits and ordered Castro's release on a $5,000 bond, and the Government had offered no merits-based opposition to that determination.
4. Castro was not entitled to release without bond or on recognizance; the proper relief was release subject to the same $5,000 bond terms previously set by the immigration judge.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Castro's detention was governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) or by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).
2. Whether the Government violated the governing detention statutes by refusing to permit consideration of Castro's release on bond under § 1226(a).
3. Whether the appropriate habeas relief was a new bond hearing or enforcement of the immigration judge's prior $5,000 bond determination.
4. Whether the court should grant Castro's requested release without bond or on recognizance.

Disposition

other