Court: District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania; October 26, 2018; Federal District Court
A petition for a writ of habeas corpus has been filed by Jonathan Pierre, challenging his prolonged detention by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Respondent argues that Pierre is an "arriving alien" detained lawfully under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b), claiming he is not entitled to release or a bond hearing. Pierre, a Haitian citizen, was apprehended on November 6, 2016, at the San Ysidro port of entry without valid immigration documents and was deemed inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Following his apprehension, an expedited removal order was issued, and his applications for asylum and withholding of removal were denied by an immigration judge on May 1, 2017.
Pierre's case has encountered procedural delays, including the return of his record to the Immigration Court due to a missing audio recording. His appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) remain pending. He has made multiple requests for parole pending the resolution of his immigration proceedings, all of which have been denied by ICE, citing concerns about flight risk and insufficient community ties. The legal framework governing his case is 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b), which mandates the detention of arriving aliens lacking valid entry documents. The court has decided to grant in part Pierre's habeas corpus petition.
An immigration officer must order the removal of an alien who is deemed inadmissible due to the lack of valid entry documents, without any hearing or review, in accordance with 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(7) and 8 C.F.R. 1235.3. However, if the alien expresses an intention to apply for asylum or fears persecution, they must be referred for an asylum officer interview, as stipulated by 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(A)(ii) and 8 C.F.R. 235.3(b)(4). Should the asylum officer find a credible fear of persecution, the alien will be detained for further asylum application consideration under 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(B)(ii) and will enter removal proceedings while remaining in detention. Release from this detention is only possible under 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A) on a case-by-case basis, determined by the Attorney General based on urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
The excerpt notes that the Petitioner, classified as an "arriving alien" after presenting at the San Ysidro port of entry, is inadmissible and subject to detention under 8 U.S.C. 1225(b). It emphasizes that a Supreme Court ruling in Jennings v. Rodriguez clarified that aliens under these provisions are not entitled to periodic bond hearings, reinforcing that 1225(b) applies to aliens seeking entry and mandates their detention until proceedings conclude, with no statutory limit on the duration of such detention or mention of bond hearings.
The Jennings Court determined that provisions 1225(b)(1) and (b)(2) mandate detention until specific points are reached, allowing for release only under limited circumstances, and do not restrict detention to six months. The Petitioner’s asylum appeal is pending before the BIA, and he is subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. 1225(b). Specifically, Section 1225(b)(1) requires detention for asylum application consideration, while Section 1225(b)(2) mandates detention for removal proceedings, indicating that detention continues until these processes are complete. Consequently, the Petitioner is not entitled to a bond hearing during his asylum proceedings as per Jennings. However, Jennings did not address whether arriving aliens facing prolonged detention have a constitutional right to bond hearings under Due Process. This constitutional issue remains unresolved, as neither the Supreme Court nor the Third Circuit has determined if due process necessitates bond hearings after a certain detention duration under 1225(b). In contrast, the constitutionality of detaining criminal aliens under 8 U.S.C. 1226(c) has been analyzed. The Supreme Court upheld such detention without bond for a limited duration of removal proceedings in Demore v. Kim, affirming that detained aliens are protected by due process. The Third Circuit acknowledged potential constitutional concerns with prolonged detention under 1226(c), suggesting that continued detention may become unconstitutional without government justification at a hearing to assess the necessity of further detention.
Detention becomes unreasonable under the Due Process Clause when it exceeds a certain duration, necessitating a hearing where the Government must prove that continued detention is essential. The Third Circuit, in **Chavez-Alvarez v. Warden York County Prison**, established that for petitioners challenging their removal, the burdens on their liberties outweigh justifications for detention without bond after six months, especially after one year. The court emphasized that the Government must provide individualized evidence for continued detention, aligning with the statute's goals.
Post **Jennings**, various district courts have addressed the due process rights of arriving aliens detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b). For instance, in **Destine v. Doll** and **Lett v. Decker**, courts ruled that prolonged detention—such as twenty-one months or nearly ten months—was unreasonable, warranting individualized bond hearings. The consensus among these cases supports the view that arriving aliens have due process rights which entitle them to bond considerations once their detention duration becomes unreasonable.
The current court aligns with this authority, asserting that given the petitioner’s prolonged two-year detention, continued detention without a bond hearing is unreasonable. It mandates an individualized bond hearing according to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) procedures. The court concludes that the Government must justify continued detention at such a hearing, where it bears the burden of proof. The petition for a writ of habeas corpus is partially granted for an individualized bond hearing, while the Ninth Circuit is still considering related constitutional questions regarding mandatory detention and bond hearings for aliens detained under § 1225(b).
