District of Massachusetts • 1:26-cv-10509

#1

Feb 01, 2026

Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus - 2241

#2

Feb 02, 2026

ELECTRONIC NOTICE of Case Assignment. District Judge Julia E. Kobick assigned to case. If the trial Judge issues an Order of Reference of any matter in this case to a Magistrate Judge, the matter will be transmitted to Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson. (CM) (Entered: 02/02/2026)

#3

Feb 02, 2026

General Order 19-02, dated June 1, 2019 regarding Public Access to Immigration Cases Restricted by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c). (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 02/02/2026)

#4

Feb 02, 2026

District Judge Julia E. Kobick: ORDER CONCERNING SERVICE OF PETITION AND STAY OR TRANSFER OF REMOVAL entered.The answer or responsive pleading is due no later than February 9, 2026. (Attachments: # 1 *SEALED* Appendix) (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 02/02/2026)

#5

Feb 02, 2026

Copy re: 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241) and 4 Order Concerning Service of Petition and Stay or Transfer of Removal mailed to Antone Moniz, David Wesling, Todd Lyons, and Kristi Noem on 2/2/2026. (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 02/02/2026)

Feb 02, 2026

Notice of Case Assignment

Feb 02, 2026

Copy Mailed

#6

Feb 06, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#7

Feb 09, 2026

Answer/Response to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus - 2241

#8

Feb 10, 2026

District Judge Julia E. Kobick: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. Petitioner Kevin Alexandar Escobar Avelar, a citizen of El Salvador, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on February 1, 2026 seeking his immediate release or, alternatively, a bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). ECF 1, ¶ 12, and at 9; ECF 7-1, at 1, 3. In September 2022, he entered the United States without inspection, was arrested and detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1), and was issued an expedited removal order. ECF 7-1, at 1. That order was vacated in November 2022 when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services found that Escobar Avelar had a credible fear of returning to El Salvador and issued him a Notice to Appear, which was then filed in Immigration Court. ECF 7-2, at 1-2. That same month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) released him on interim parole under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A). ECF 7-3. That parole expired one year later, in November 2023. Id.On November 27, 2025, Escobar Avelar was arrested by the Everett Police Department on the charge of assault with a deadly weapon. ECF 7-4, at 6-8. The next day, after the Malden District Court arraigned him on that charge and released him on his own recognizance, ICE arrested him at the courthouse pursuant to a Form I-200 warrant. Id. at 3-5; ECF 1, ¶ 2. ICE then transferred him to Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts, where he remains detained. ECF 7, at 3; ECF 1, ¶¶ 3, 22-23.The respondents contend that Escobar Avelar is lawfully detained as an applicant for admission under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1). Even though Escobar Avelar was not on parole under Section 1182(d)(5)(A) when he was arrested by ICE, the respondents contend that he must nevertheless be returned to custody under Section 1225(b)(1) because Escobar Avelar should have reported to ICE or have been “returned to the custody from which he was paroled” when his parole expired. 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A). But this argument overlooks the fact that, in November 2025, two years after the expiration of his parole, ICE detained him pursuant to a Form I-200 warrant. That warrant, which the respondents failed to submit, was presumably issued under the authority of 8 U.S.C. § 1226, not Section 1225. See Sampiao v. Hyde, 799 F. Supp. 3d 14, 23 n.8 (D. Mass. 2025) (ICE’s sample Form I-200 warrant states that it is “authorized pursuant to sections 236 and 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act”—i.e., 8 U.S.C. §§ 1226 and 1357 (citation omitted)). This Court has repeatedly held that Section 1225(b) “does not apply to noncitizens who are arrested on a warrant issued by the Attorney General while residing in the United States.” Sampiao, 799 F. Supp. 3d at 28; see Gomes v. Hyde, 804 F. Supp. 3d 265, 276 (D. Mass. 2025); dos Santos v. Noem, No. 25-cv-12052-JEK, 2025 WL 2370988, at *7-8 & n.11 (D. Mass. Aug. 14, 2025). Like the petitioners in Sampiao, dos Santos, and Gomes, Escobar Avelar was arrested pursuant to a warrant while residing in Massachusetts, and he was not, at the time, on parole under Section 1182(d)(5)(A) or in the midst of expedited removal proceedings. Accordingly, he is not an applicant for admission subject to mandatory detention Section 1225(b)(1); instead, Section 1226(a) governs his detention. See ECF 11, Lema Lara v. Moniz, 25-cv-13747-JEK (D. Mass. Dec. 22, 2025) (Section 1226(a) governed where petitioner’s parole had expired and ICE arrested him pursuant to a warrant); ECF 8, Sheta Mbuese v. Moniz, No. 25-cv-13195-JEK (D. Mass. Nov. 7, 2025) (same).Noncitizens like Escobar Avelar “detained under Section 1226(a) have the right to request a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge, at which the government bears the burden to prove that continued detention is justified.” Sampiao, 799 F. Supp. 3d at 19-20. Bond may be denied only if the government “either (1) prove[s] by clear and convincing evidence that [the noncitizen] poses a danger to the community or (2) prove[s] by a preponderance of the evidence that [the noncitizen] poses a flight risk.” Hernandez-Lara v. Lyons, 10 F.4th 19, 41 (1st Cir. 2021).For the foregoing reasons, Escobar Avelar’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, ECF 1, is GRANTED. The respondents are ORDERED to provide him with a bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) within 7 days of this Order. The respondents are further ORDERED to file a status report on or before February 19, 2026, notifying the Court whether Escobar Avelar has been granted bond and released or, if his request for bond was denied, providing the reasons for that denial. (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 02/10/2026)

Feb 10, 2026

Order