Yusuf Kalayci v. Kristi Noem, Samuel J. Olson, Todd M. Lyons, and Brian English

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana grants Yusuf Kalayci’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and orders his immediate release from immigration detention. The court holds that the mandatory detention provision in 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) does not apply to a noncitizen arrested in the interior of the United States after being released into the country, and concludes that the respondents did not establish detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). The court declines to reach Kalayci’s constitutional due process and Administrative Procedure Act claims.

Holdings

1. The mandatory-detention provision in 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) does not apply to a noncitizen such as Kalayci who was arrested in the interior of the United States well after entering the country and being released into it.
2. The government did not establish that Kalayci's detention was authorized under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), because it did not show that he was arrested pursuant to a warrant or otherwise identify a valid statutory basis for his detention.
3. The court had jurisdiction over Kalayci's § 2241 petition.
4. The court did not decide the petitioner's alternative Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause or APA claims because statutory grounds independently entitled him to immediate release.

Questions Presented

1. Whether 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)'s mandatory-detention provision applies to a noncitizen who entered the United States, was released into the country, and was later arrested in the interior during pending removal proceedings.
2. Whether the petitioner was entitled to release because the government failed to establish a lawful basis for detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).
3. Whether the court had jurisdiction over the § 2241 habeas petition.
4. Whether the detention violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause or the Administrative Procedure Act.

Disposition

writ_granted