George Ashraf Morgan Faragalla v. Jeffrey Crawford

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia considered a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging prolonged post-removal-order detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Applying 8 U.S.C. § 1231 and Zadvydas v. Davis, the court held that the petitioner’s removal was not reasonably foreseeable and that the government had not rebutted that showing. The court granted the petition and ordered the petitioner released.

Holdings

1. After the presumptively reasonable six-month detention period, if a detainee provides good reason to believe that there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future, the government must produce evidence sufficient to rebut that showing or release the detainee.
2. Faragalla established that his removal was not likely to occur in the reasonably foreseeable future.
3. The government did not provide evidence sufficient to rebut Faragalla's showing that removal was not likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.
4. The court did not decide the amount or type of process constitutionally required before removal to a third country because no third country had been identified and relief was available under Zadvydas.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Faragalla's continued detention after a final order of removal violated 8 U.S.C. § 1231 and the limitation recognized in Zadvydas v. Davis because his removal was not likely to occur in the reasonably foreseeable future.
2. Whether the government's identification of Faragalla as a potential candidate for removal under an unspecified third-country removal agreement rebutted his showing that removal was not reasonably foreseeable.
3. Whether the court needed to decide what additional due process would be required before removal to a third country where Faragalla feared persecution or torture.

Disposition

writ_granted