Cesar Cano-Ortega v. Samuel Olson, Kristi Noem, Pamela Bondi, Todd M. Lyons, and Scott Smith

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin screens Cesar Cano-Ortega’s 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas petition challenging his mandatory immigration detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2). The court concludes that it cannot find the petitioner plainly ineligible for relief, particularly in light of Seventh Circuit and district court decisions distinguishing interior detainees from noncitizens detained at the border. The court orders the respondents to answer the petition and respond to the petitioner’s brief by January 23, 2026.

Holdings

1. The petition could not be dismissed at the screening stage because it did not plainly appear from the petition and attached materials that Cano-Ortega was not entitled to relief.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the § 2241 petition should be dismissed at Rule 4 screening because it plainly appeared that Cano-Ortega was not entitled to relief.
2. Whether the petition plausibly challenged the government's application of mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) to a noncitizen apprehended in the interior of the United States years after entering without inspection.
3. Whether the petition plausibly alleged that continued detention without a bond hearing violated the Immigration and Nationality Act or the Due Process Clause.

Disposition

other