Alvaro Odilio Salazar Beltran v. Jeffrey Crawford, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Alvaro Odilio Salazar Beltran’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The court held that his detention was governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), rather than the mandatory-detention provision of § 1225(b)(2)(A), and ordered respondents to provide him with a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge. The court also concluded that continued detention without such a hearing violated the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

Holdings

1. Section 1226(a) governs the detention of a noncitizen already present in the United States who entered without inspection and was not apprehended at or near the border, rather than the mandatory-detention provision in § 1225(b)(2)(A). The petitioner is therefore entitled to a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge.
2. Continued detention without the bond hearing required under § 1226(a) violates the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a noncitizen who entered the United States without inspection, has been continuously present for many years, and was not apprehended at or near the border is detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) rather than the mandatory-detention provision of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A).
2. Whether detention without a bond hearing violates the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause.

Disposition

writ_granted