L.A.E.P. v. Warden, Stewart Detention Center, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia orders respondents to provide the petitioner with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)(2) in a § 2241 habeas action. The order relies on the court’s prior decisions in J.A.M. v. Streeval and P.R.S. v. Streeval, and provides that the order will be stayed if respondents file a good-faith motion demonstrating that those decisions do not apply.

Holdings

1. For a noncitizen found unlawfully in the country and arrested without having been inspected by an examining immigration officer, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) applies and authorizes an immigration officer or immigration judge to exercise discretion concerning release on bond unless a statutory exception under § 1226(c) applies; mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2) is not authorized in those circumstances. Petitioner was therefore entitled to a bond hearing under § 1226(a)(2).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the § 2241 petition should proceed under the court's preliminary-review procedures.
2. Whether petitioner was entitled to a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), rather than mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), based on the circumstances described in the court's prior rulings.

Disposition

other