District of Massachusetts • 1:26-cv-11174

#1

Mar 06, 2026

Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus - 2241

#2

Mar 09, 2026

ELECTRONIC NOTICE of Case Assignment. Judge Allison D. Burroughs 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 Donald L. Cabell. (CM) (Entered: 03/09/2026)

#3

Mar 09, 2026

Service Order-2241 Petition

#4

Mar 09, 2026

General Order 19-02

#5

Mar 09, 2026

Copy re 3 Service Order - 2241 Petition, 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241), emailed to Duty AUSA Weinstein and mailed to USAO and Respondents on 3/9/2026. (CAM) (Entered: 03/09/2026)

Mar 09, 2026

Notice of Case Assignment

Mar 09, 2026

Copy Mailed

#6

Mar 17, 2026

NOTICE of Appearance by Erica McMahon on behalf of Pamela Bondi, Todd M Lyons, Antone Moniz, Kristi Noem (McMahon, Erica) (Entered: 03/17/2026)

#7

Mar 17, 2026

RESPONSE/ANSWER to Petitioner's 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241), by Pamela Bondi, Todd M Lyons, Antone Moniz, Kristi Noem. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2)(McMahon, Erica) (Entered: 03/17/2026)

#8

Mar 18, 2026

Judge Allison D. Burroughs: ECTRONIC ORDER entered. Currently before the Court is Petitioner Kelvin Kwadwo Agyei's petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his immigration detention. [ECF No. 1 ]. Petitioner entered the United States with a student visa in 2024 and has remained in the country since then. [Id. ¶ 19]. Petitioner was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on February 11, 2026, and provided with a Notice to Appear in removal proceedings under § 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act alleging that his status as an F-1 student was terminated on April 28, 2025 based on failure to enroll. [ECF No. 7-1]. Petitioner now claims that he is detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226 and entitled to a bond hearing. [ECF No. 1 ¶ 22]. He has not, however, alleged that he requested or was denied a bond hearing, [ECF No. 7 at 2]. He seeks immediate release based on the alleged violation of his Fifth Amendment due process rights, [ECF No. 1 at 6, 7]. Respondents do not contest that Petitioner is detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226 and entitled to a bond hearing, but oppose Petitioner’s request for immediate release. [ECF No. 7 at 1]. Section 1226 creates a discretionary detention framework, subject to exclusions not applicable here, which applies to noncitizens arrested “[o]n a warrant,” 8 U.S.C. § 1226, and authorizes the government “to detain certain aliens already in the country,” Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281, 289 (2018). Noncitizens subject to § 1226’s discretionary detention framework are, however, entitled to a bond hearing before an immigration judge. Jennings, 583 U.S. at 306 (citing 8 C.F.R. §§ 236.1(d)(1), 1236.1(d)(1)). “[T]he First Circuit require[s] exhaustion where, as here, a petitioner fails ‘to raise [his] alternatives-to-detention claims before’ an Immigration Judge.” Quinonez Mercado v. D.H.S., No. 25-cv-12066, 2025 WL 2430423, at *3 (D. Mass. August 25, 2025) (quoting Brito v. Garland, 22 F.4th 240, 255 (1st Cir. 2021)). Petitioner is therefore required to exhaust his administrative remedies, which requires him to request a bond hearing before seeking a writ of habeas corpus, [ECF No. 7 at 6], given that he makes no allegation that seeking a bond hearing would be futile or that the agency has “predetermined the issue before it,” which could excuse the exhaustion requirement. [ECF No. 7 at 5 (citing Duy Tho Hy v. Gillen, 588 F. Supp. 2d 122, 125 (D. Mass. 2008))]. Accordingly, Petitioner’s petition, [ECF No. 1 ], is DENIED with leave to amend. If, after requesting a bond hearing from an immigration judge, no hearing under § 1226(a) is granted within one week of such request, Petitioner may file an Amended Petition in which he details the exhaustion of his administrative remedies.(CAM) (Entered: 03/18/2026)

Mar 18, 2026

Order