Valeriia Pak v. Angela Hoover, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted Valeriia Pak’s 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas petition challenging her immigration detention. The court held that Pak’s detention was governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), rather than the mandatory-detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b), and that detention without an opportunity for a bond determination violated procedural due process. The court ordered her release, required the return of her belongings and identification documents, and permanently enjoined re-detention under § 1225(b).

Holdings

1. Under the immediate-custodian rule, the warden of the facility where Pak was detained, Angela Hoover, was the proper respondent; Michael T. Rose was dismissed as a respondent.
2. The district court retained jurisdiction under § 2241 to determine whether Pak was detained under the correct statutory provision and whether she was entitled to a bond hearing.
3. Pak was not shown to be an arriving alien subject to expedited removal and detention under § 1225(b)(1).
4. Section 1226(a), not § 1225(b)(1) or § 1225(b)(2)(A), applied to Pak's detention because she was no longer actively seeking admission after residing in the United States for more than two years; detention under § 1225(b) was therefore improper.
5. Detaining Pak under § 1225(b), thereby denying her an opportunity for a bond determination, violated the procedural Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court had subject-matter jurisdiction under § 2241 to review Pak's detention despite statutory limits associated with removal proceedings.
2. Whether Pak was properly subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1) or § 1225(b)(2)(A), rather than detention under § 1226(a).
3. Whether detention under § 1225(b), without an opportunity for a bond determination, violated Pak's procedural due process rights under the Fifth Amendment.
4. Whether Angela Hoover was the proper respondent under the immediate-custodian rule.

Disposition

writ_granted