Carlos Leandro Díaz Fuenmayor v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Summary

A United States magistrate judge recommends dismissing Carlos Leandro Díaz Fuenmayor’s 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. The petitioner challenged his prolonged immigration detention and sought release or an individualized bond hearing, but he was confined in Limestone County, within the Western District of Texas rather than the Northern District of Texas. The recommendation concludes that a core habeas petition must be filed in the district of confinement.

Holdings

1. A core § 2241 petition challenging present physical confinement must be filed in the district where the petitioner is incarcerated or where the custodian is subject to the court's jurisdiction. Because Díaz Fuenmayor was confined in Limestone County, within the Western District of Texas, the Northern District of Texas lacked jurisdiction.
2. The court need not decide whether María José Martell could proceed as Díaz Fuenmayor's next friend because the court lacked jurisdiction over the underlying § 2241 petition.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Northern District of Texas had jurisdiction to entertain a § 2241 petition challenging the petitioner's present physical confinement when the petitioner was detained in the Western District of Texas.
2. Whether the court needed to address the asserted next friend's standing under 28 U.S.C. § 2242 when the court lacked jurisdiction over the § 2241 petition.

Disposition

dismissed