Iverson Jorvianne Sanchez Benitez v. Kristi Noem, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted Iverson Jorvianne Sanchez Benitez’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The court held that his detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), without individualized assessment, notice, or an opportunity to be heard, violated procedural due process under the Mathews v. Eldridge framework. The court ordered the respondents to release him within 48 hours under conditions no more restrictive than those previously in place.

Holdings

1. An as-applied procedural due process challenge to detention without a bond hearing is not foreclosed by Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, Jennings v. Rodriguez, or Demore v. Kim when the petitioner challenges detention rather than eligibility for immigration relief or removal.
2. Detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), as applied to petitioner, without an individualized assessment or any notice and opportunity to be heard, violated procedural due process.
3. Release was the appropriate remedy because petitioner was unlawfully detained and respondents identified no available process that he could await.

Questions Presented

1. Whether petitioner's detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), as applied to him, violated procedural due process because he received no individualized assessment, notice, or opportunity to be heard regarding the justification for his continued detention.
2. Whether release, rather than a bond hearing, was the appropriate remedy for the unlawful detention under 28 U.S.C. § 2241.

Disposition

writ_granted