Sambo Thach v. Brian English

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana granted Sambo Thach’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The court held that, after more than six months of detention following a removal order, the government had not shown that Thach’s removal to Vietnam was reasonably foreseeable under Zadvydas v. Davis. The court ordered his release on the same supervised-release conditions that existed before his redetention and required certification of compliance.

Holdings

1. Sections 1252(g) and 1252(b)(9) did not deprive the district court of jurisdiction to consider Thach's habeas challenge to his continued immigration detention.
2. After the presumptively reasonable six-month detention period, continued detention under § 1231 is not authorized when removal is no longer reasonably foreseeable.
3. Thach was entitled to release because the respondent failed to demonstrate that his removal was reasonably foreseeable.

Questions Presented

1. Whether 8 U.S.C. §§ 1252(g) and 1252(b)(9) deprived the district court of subject-matter jurisdiction over Thach's § 2241 challenge to his post-removal-order detention.
2. Whether Thach's continued detention was authorized under 8 U.S.C. § 1231 when his removal was not reasonably foreseeable.
3. Whether the government rebutted Thach's showing that there was no significant likelihood of his removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Disposition

writ_granted