Harrinson Jose Osuna Benitez v. Laura Hermosillo, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Washington granted Harrinson Jose Osuna Benitez’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The court held that although the petitioner was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225, due process required his release because he had been paroled into the United States, had established substantial community and family ties, and had been redetained without adequate process based on unsupported gang-affiliation concerns. The court ordered immediate release and prohibited redetention absent adequate notice, an opportunity to reapply for parole, and a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.

Holdings

1. The court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 because Petitioner challenged his detention and the process used to detain him, not a final order of removal.
2. Petitioner remained subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225 rather than discretionary detention under § 1226, notwithstanding his humanitarian parole and more than one year of residence in the United States.
3. Due process required Petitioner's release on humanitarian parole and prohibited redetention unless Respondents first provided adequate notice of the grounds for redetention, an opportunity to reapply for parole, and a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.
4. Respondents lacked a sufficient factual basis to justify Petitioner's detention based on an alleged violation of an order of release on recognizance or possible gang affiliation.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to review Petitioner's immigration detention and the process used to redetain him.
2. Whether Petitioner was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225 rather than discretionary detention under § 1226.
3. Whether due process required release and procedural safeguards before Petitioner could be redetained after having been paroled into the United States and living there for more than a year.
4. Whether the record established a sufficient factual basis for revoking Petitioner's parole and detaining him based on alleged gang ties inferred from tattoos.

Disposition

writ_granted