Eastern District of New York • 1:26-cv-00719

#1

Feb 09, 2026

PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus filing fee $ 5, receipt number ANYEDC-19892424, filed by Hector Neri Pliego. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - Notice to Appear for Petitioner Hector Neri Pliego, # 2 Exhibit 2 - Declaration of Daad Sharfi in Support of Habeas Petition for Hector Neri Pliego (Redacted for PII), # 3 Exhibit 3 - Declaration of Jomaira Meza in Support of Hector Neri Pliegos Application for Cancellation of Removal (Redacted for PII), # 4 Exhibit 4 - Arrest Records of Hector Neri Pliego (Redacted for PII), # 5 Exhibit 5 - Criminal History Records Search of Hector Neri Pliego (Redacted for PII), # 6 Exhibit 6 - Psychological Evaluation of Hector Neri Pliegos Son (Redacted for PII), # 7 Exhibit 7 - 12/5/25 Notice of Bond Hearing for Hector Neri Pliego, # 8 Exhibit 8 - 12/12/25 Order by the Immigration Judge Denying Bond Due to Lack of Jurisdiction, # 9 Exhibit 9 - Hector Neri Pliegos Motion for Reconsideration and Custody Redetermination Hearing, # 10 Exhibit 10 - 12/23/25 Order by the Immigration Judge Denying Motion for Reconsideration of Bond Due to Lack of Jurisdiction, # 11 Exhibit 11 - 12/5/25 Order by the Immigration Judge Withdrawing Bond and Requesting Another Bond Motion be Filed, # 12 Exhibit 12 - 12/5/25 Notice of Bond Hearing Scheduling the Proceeding for 12/12/25, # 13 Exhibit 13 - Declaration of Megi Belegu in Support of Habeas Petition for Hector Neri Pliego, # 14 Exhibit 14 - Hector Neri Pliegos Form EOIR 42B, Application for Cancellation of Removal, Showing Proof of Employment (Redacted for PII), # 15 Civil Cover Sheet, # 16 Proposed Summons) (Evans, Anne) (Entered: 02/09/2026)

#2

Feb 09, 2026

MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction by Hector Neri Pliego. (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Declaration of Anne M. Evans, # 3 Proposed Order) (Evans, Anne) (Entered: 02/09/2026)

#3

Feb 09, 2026

NOTICE of Appearance by Anne M. Evans on behalf of Hector Neri Pliego (notification declined or already on case) (Evans, Anne) (Entered: 02/09/2026)

#4

Feb 09, 2026

NOTICE of Appearance by Megi Belegu on behalf of Hector Neri Pliego (aty to be noticed) (Belegu, Megi) (Entered: 02/09/2026)

#5

Feb 09, 2026

NOTICE of Appearance by Andrew McWhorter on behalf of Hector Neri Pliego (aty to be noticed) (McWhorter, Andrew) (Entered: 02/09/2026)

#6

Feb 09, 2026

Summons Issued as to Pamela Bondi, Kenneth Genalo, Todd Lyons, Raul Maldonado, Jr., Kristi Noem, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (CV) (Entered: 02/09/2026)

#7

Feb 09, 2026

This attorney case opening filing has been checked for quality control. See the attachment for corrections that were made, if any. (CV) (Entered: 02/09/2026)

#8

Feb 09, 2026

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE and Electronic Service upon the US Attorneys Office. See attached Order. If Respondents take the position that the outcome of this 1 Petition is materially distinguishable from a prior decision of this Court, Respondents are ordered to show cause in writing no later than February 12, 2026 at 5:00 PM as to why the Petition should not be granted. In their submission, Respondents shall affirm that they have provided the Court with all facts material to Petitioners claims and Respondents opposition to the Petition, and shall attach as exhibits all records related to those facts. Petitioner may reply by February 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM. The Court will then hear argument on the Petition, if necessary, on February 17, 2026 at 10:30 AM in Courtroom 6E North. Ordered by Judge Nina R. Morrison on 2/9/2026. (MM) (Entered: 02/09/2026)

Feb 09, 2026

To preserve the Court's jurisdiction pending final disposition of the 1 Petition, Respondents are enjoined from moving Petitioner to a location outside this District, the Southern District of New York, or the District of New Jersey absent further order of this Court. See, e.g., Loc. 1814, Int'l Longshoremen's Ass'n, AFL-CIO v. N.Y. Shipping Ass'n, Inc., 965 F.2d 1224, 1237 (2d Cir. 1992) ("Once the district court acquires jurisdiction over the subject matter of, and the parties to, the litigation, the All Writs Act [28 U.S.C. § 1651] authorizes a federal court to protect that jurisdiction."); Garcia-Izquierdo v. Gartner, No. 04 Civ. 7377, 2004 WL 2093515, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 17, 2004) (observing that, under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. §1651, a district court "may order that a petitioner's deportation be stayed... when a stay is necessary to preserve the Court's jurisdiction of the case"); Khalil v. Joyce, No. 25 Civ. 1935, 2025 WL 750599, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 10, 2025) (barring the government from removing petitioner from the United States until the Court could address his claim); Ozturk v. Hyde, 136 F.4th 382 (2d Cir. 2025) (declining to stay a district court order, issued pursuant to the All Writs Act, which transferred petitioner to the district court's territorial jurisdiction, given district courts' "undeniabl[e]... inherent authority to protect [its] proceedings" (citation modified)); cf. Michael v. I.N.S., 48 F.3d 657, 661-62 (2d Cir. 1995) (holding that the All Writs Act provides a federal court of appeals reviewing a final removal order with a basis to stay removal). The Clerk of the Court is respectfully directed to email a copy of this Order and the Petition to the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of New York. Petitioner's counsel shall also serve a copy of the order on the USAO. Ordered by Judge Nina R. Morrison on 2/9/2026. (MM)

Feb 09, 2026

Case Assigned/Reassigned

Feb 09, 2026

Order(Other)

Feb 09, 2026

Case Assigned to Judge Nina R. Morrison. Please download and review the Individual Practices of the assigned Judges, located on our website. Attorneys are responsible for providing courtesy copies to judges where their Individual Practices require such. (CV)

#9

Feb 10, 2026

Certificate of Service

#10

Feb 10, 2026

Certificate of Service

#11

Feb 10, 2026

Letter

#12

Feb 10, 2026

Certificate of Service

Feb 10, 2026

Order(Other)

Feb 10, 2026

ORDER. By its 8 Order dated February 9, 2026, the Court directed Respondents to file, by 12:00 PM on February 10, 2026, a submission (1) providing certain information about Petitioner and his circumstances, (2) indicating the statutory provision(s) under which they assert the authority to detain Petitioner, and (3) addressing whether there is any basis to distinguish the asserted grounds for detention from the Court's decision in Hyppolite v. Noem, No. 25-CV-4304 (NRM), 2025 WL 2829511 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 6, 2025), or from any other prior decisions issued by the Court in this area of law. The Court further directed that, if Respondents asserted no basis to distinguish this 1 Petition from the Court's analysis in Hyppolite or another decision of this Court, the submission could take the form of a letter so stating, and indicating whether Respondents oppose issuance of the writ, subject to preservation of Respondents' arguments for appeal. Respondents neither filed this submission nor requested an extension of time to file. No attorney has noticed an appearance on behalf of Respondents, despite personal service of the 1 Petition and the Court's jurisdictional order dated February 9, 2026 on Richard Hayes, Chief of the Civil Division for the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of New York, and service, by both email and ECF, of the jurisdictional order dated February 9, 2026 and the 8 Order on the USAO for the Eastern District of New York at the email address designated for habeas service by the Civil Division. Respondents shall file an initial submission responsive to the 8 Order on or before February 10, 2026 at 5:00 PM. Respondents and their counsel are further reminded that failure to comply with orders of this Court may result in the Court construing the Petition as unopposed, and may further result in sanctions. The Clerk of the Court is respectfully directed to email a copy of this Order and the Petition to the USAO for the Eastern District of New York. Petitioner's counsel shall also serve a copy of the order on the USAO by electronic mail. Ordered by Judge Nina R. Morrison on 2/10/2026. (MM)

Feb 10, 2026

ORDER. The Court is in receipt of the 11 Letter by Assistant United States Attorney David A. Cooper, counsel for Respondents in this matter, filed at 5:00 PM today in response to the Court's 8 Order to Show Cause dated February 9, 2026 (the "OTSC") and the Court's subsequent docket order dated February 10, 2026, entered after Respondents failed to comply with the Court's deadline to provide an initial response to the 1 Petition in the form of a letter addressing certain threshold matters by 12:00 PM today. The contention by Respondents' counsel that the government believed that its initial response to the Petition was not due until February 12, and that he and/or unnamed others at the "the Office [of the United States Attorney] did not appreciate that there were additional provisions of the written Order that necessitated a written response by noon today," ECF No. 11 at 1, is difficult to square with the unambiguous terms of the February 9 OTSC. The OTSC, which spans less than two pages of text, is hardly complex or difficult to parse. On the very first page, it states clearly -- and in bold text, lest there be any risk that Respondents' counsel might overlook this initial deadline -- that the initial response to the petition regarding certain matters was to be filed by letter no later than February 10 at 12:00 PM. The OTSC goes on to list the matters to be addressed in that initial letter in numbered sub-points on the very next page. And the OTSC made clear that only after receipt of the February 10 letter would the Court inform the parties whether a further response to the Petition on February 12 be necessary. See also Docket Entry, ECF No. 8 (stating "See attached Order" and further stating that "If Respondents take the position that the outcome of this Petition is materially distinguishable from a prior decision of this Court, Respondents are ordered to show cause in writing no later than February 12, 2026 at 5:00 PM as to why the Petition should not be granted" (emphasis supplied)). Frankly, it is difficult to conceive how counsel for the United States government can fail to "appreciate" clear and unambiguous deadlines in a simple two-page order -- even when it contains more than one such deadline -- and only realizes what the initial OTSC contained after being admonished by the Court to review and comply with its terms. Respondents' belated motion for leave to file its initial response to the Petition on February 12 is denied. However, the Court will give Respondents additional time to file their letter containing the information set forth at pages 1-2 of the February 9 OTSC. That letter shall be filed no later than 6:00 PM on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. All other deadlines remain unchanged absent further order of the Court. Ordered by Judge Nina R. Morrison on 2/10/2026. (MM)

#13

Feb 11, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#14

Feb 11, 2026

Response to Order to Show Cause

#15

Feb 11, 2026

Order on Motion for TRO AND Order(Other)

#16

Feb 11, 2026

Status Report