District of Massachusetts • 1:25-cv-12815

#1

Sep 29, 2025

PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241) Filing fee: $ 5, receipt number AMADC-11266735 Fee status: Filing Fee paid., filed by Zoila Esmeralda Mendoza. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Category Form)(Freidel, Irene) (Entered: 09/29/2025)

#2

Sep 29, 2025

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 Jennifer C. Boal. (JAM) (Entered: 09/29/2025)

#3

Sep 29, 2025

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 October 6, 2025. (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 09/29/2025)

#4

Sep 29, 2025

Copy re 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241) and 3 Order Concerning Service of Petition and Stay or Transfer of Removal mailed to Patricia Hyde, Todd M Lyons and Kristi Noem on 9/29/2025. (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 09/29/2025)

#5

Sep 29, 2025

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: 09/29/2025)

Sep 29, 2025

Copy Mailed

Sep 29, 2025

Notice of Case Assignment

#6

Sep 30, 2025

NOTICE of Appearance by Nicole M. O'Connor on behalf of Patricia Hyde, Todd M Lyons, Kristi L NOEM (O'Connor, Nicole) (Entered: 09/30/2025)

#7

Sep 30, 2025

Notice - Other

#8

Sep 30, 2025

District Judge Julia E. Kobick: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. The petitioner shall notify the Court and the respondents, by 5:00 p.m. on October 1, 2025, whether she has any objection to the transfer to Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, Vermont, see ECF 7, and, if so, the basis for her objection. Such notice shall be filed on the docket. The Court will retain jurisdiction over the petitioner and her habeas petition in the event of a transfer. (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 09/30/2025)

#9

Sep 30, 2025

AFFIDAVIT of Irene C. Freidel re 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241) by Zoila Esmeralda Mendoza. (Freidel, Irene) (Entered: 09/30/2025)

Sep 30, 2025

Order

#10

Oct 01, 2025

Response - not related to a motion

#11

Oct 01, 2025

Response - not related to a motion

#12

Oct 01, 2025

District Judge Julia E. Kobick: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. Petitioner Zoila Mendoza, a 19-year-old Guatemalan citizen and Massachusetts resident, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 seeking her immediate release or, alternatively, a bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). ECF 1, ¶¶ 1, 13, and at 7; ECF 11, ¶ 1. Mendoza entered the United States without inspection on or about October 10, 2022, at which point she was released and served a Notice to Appear. ECF 1, ¶ 5. Since 2022, Mendoza has lived with her aunt and attended Waltham High School, where she is currently a Senior. ECF 11, ¶¶ 1-4. On or about September 27, 2025, Mendoza was arrested by federal agents on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"). ECF 1, ¶ 2. She remains in ICE custody in Massachusetts. Id. ¶ 3. The respondents argue that Mendoza is lawfully detained as an applicant for admission under 8 U.S.C. § 1225. ECF 10, at 2. They acknowledge, however, that this Court's decisions in Gomes v. Hyde, No. 25-cv-11571-JEK, 2025 WL 1869299 (D. Mass. July 7, 2025), dos Santos v. Noem, No. 25-cv-12052-JEK, 2025 WL 2370988 (D. Mass. Aug. 14, 2025), and Sampiao v. Hyde, No. 25-cv-11981-JEK, 2025 WL 2607924 (D. Mass. Sept. 9, 2025), "control the result in this case if the Court adheres to its reasoning in those decisions." ECF 10, at 1. Recognizing that "the principal legal issues in this case substantially overlap with those at issue in Gomes, dos Santos, and Sampiao," the respondents contend that "[s]hould the Court apply the reasoning of those cases here, it would reach the same result as the facts are materially indistinguishable from the facts here." Id. at 2-3. The Court agrees and therefore concludes that Mendoza is not an applicant for admission subject to mandatory detention under Section 1225(b). Noncitizens subject to detention under § 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." dos Santos, 2025 WL 2370988, at *1. 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). Mendoza may be subject to detention under § 1226(a) if the government meets its burden of proof following a bond hearing. But in light of Mendoza's status as a child and high school student, see 8 U.S.C. § 1101(b)(1), and in view of the government's representation that it intends to transfer her out of Massachusetts imminently, ECF 7, the equities in this case do not warrant her ongoing detention pending a bond hearing. See Jimenez v. Cronen, 317 F. Supp. 3d 626, 636 (D. Mass. 2018) (because "[h]abeas corpus is an equitable remedy," a "court has the discretion to fashion relief that is fair in the circumstances, including to order an alien's release").Accordingly, Mendoza's petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, ECF 1, is GRANTED. The respondents are ORDERED to release Mendoza from custody on or before 6:00 p.m. on October 2, 2025. Should the respondents still seek to detain her, they are further ORDERED to provide her 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 within 10 days of this order notifying the Court whether it sought a bond hearing and, if so, whether Mendoza has been granted bond or, if her request for bond was denied, providing the reasons for that denial. (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 10/01/2025)

Oct 01, 2025

Order