Oscar Oswaldo Lopez Pacheco v. Jim Arnott, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri grants Oscar Oswaldo Lopez Pacheco's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The court holds that his continued immigration detention without individualized custody review violates procedural due process under the Fifth Amendment and orders his immediate release. The court also permits him to seek attorneys' fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

Holdings

1. The continued detention of petitioner without an opportunity for individualized review of the basis for detention, danger, or flight risk violated the Fifth Amendment's procedural due process guarantee.
2. The issuance of a Notice to Appear did not, by itself, satisfy petitioner's procedural due process rights where the government continued to detain him without any individualized custody review.
3. Immediate release was appropriate because ordering a bond hearing would be futile under the court's understanding of the governing immigration authorities and no alternative mechanism for individualized custody review existed.
4. Petitioner may pursue an application for reasonable attorneys' fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act because the court found the government's position was not substantially justified.

Questions Presented

1. Whether continued immigration detention of a three-year resident without an individualized custody or bond hearing violated the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause.
2. Whether issuance of a Notice to Appear alone satisfied petitioner's procedural due process rights.
3. Whether immediate release, rather than a bond hearing, was an appropriate habeas remedy under the circumstances.
4. Whether petitioner could pursue attorneys' fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

Disposition

writ_granted