District of Colorado • 1:26-cv-01069

#1

Mar 16, 2026

APPLICATION for Writ of Habeas Corpus Pursuant to 28 USC 2241 (Filing fee $ 5, Receipt Number BCODC-10883348)Attorney Michael G. Congiu added to party Kelia Daniela Bracho-Cortez(pty:pet), filed by Kelia Daniela Bracho-Cortez. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Civil Cover Sheet)(Congiu, Michael) (Entered: 03/16/2026)

#2

Mar 16, 2026

MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction by Petitioner Kelia Daniela Bracho-Cortez. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order (PDF Only))(Congiu, Michael) (Entered: 03/16/2026)

#3

Mar 16, 2026

Case assigned to Judge S. Kato Crews and drawn to Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak. Text Only Entry. (dhern, ) (Entered: 03/17/2026)

#4

Mar 16, 2026

Magistrate Judge consent form issued pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 636(c). (dhern, ) (Entered: 03/17/2026)

#5

Mar 17, 2026

ORDER Upon review of the Petition 1 and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order 2, it is ORDERED that Petitioner shall SERVE Respondents with a copy of the Petition, Motion for TRO, and accompanying papers, along with a copy of this Order, by e-mail and by overnight mail, on or before March 20, 2026. Petitioner shall promptly file proof of such service on the docket, and counsel for Respondents shall promptly enter their notices of appearance. Within seven days of service, Respondents shall RESPOND to the Petition and SHOW CAUSE why the Petition shall not be granted.IT IS FURTHER ORDERED Pursuant to the All Writs Act, and in order to preserve the Court's jurisdiction, Respondents SHALL NOT REMOVE Petitioner from the District of Colorado or the United States unless or until this Court or the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacates this Order. SO ORDERED by Judge S. Kato Crews on 3/17/2026. Text Only Entry (skclc4) (Entered: 03/17/2026)

Mar 17, 2026

Order

#6

Mar 20, 2026

CERTIFICATE of Mailing/Service re 2 MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction, 5 Order,,, 1 Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus, by Petitioner Kelia Daniela Bracho-Cortez. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B)(Congiu, Michael) (Entered: 03/20/2026)

#7

Mar 30, 2026

ORDER The Court has been made aware of a dispute over service of the Petition, TRO, and accompanying papers. It appears to the Court that Plaintiff attempted in good faith to serve Respondents by email and mail. And Respondents acknowledged service via email on March 19, 2026. Dkt. 6-2. Considering Plaintiff's good faith attempts at mailing the papers to Respondents, the fact that Respondents have acknowledged their receipt of the same by email, and thus, their actual notice of these proceedings as early as March 19, 2026, and considering the exigency of the circumstances, IT IS ORDERED that Respondents shall respond to the Petition by April 1, 2026, and SHOW CAUSE--in accordance with this Courts earlier order at Dkt. 5--why it should not be granted. SO ORDERED by Judge S. Kato Crews on 3/30/2026. Text Only Entry (skclc4) (Entered: 03/30/2026)

Mar 30, 2026

Order

#8

Mar 31, 2026

NOTICE of Entry of Appearance by Andrew M. Soler on behalf of Pamela Jo Bondi, Todd Lyons, Kristi Noem, George ValdezAttorney Andrew M. Soler added to party Pamela Jo Bondi(pty:res), Attorney Andrew M. Soler added to party Todd Lyons(pty:res), Attorney Andrew M. Soler added to party Kristi Noem(pty:res), Attorney Andrew M. Soler added to party George Valdez(pty:res) (Soler, Andrew) (Entered: 03/31/2026)

#9

Apr 01, 2026

RESPONSE to 7 Order,,, 5 Order,,, by Respondents Pamela Jo Bondi, Todd Lyons, Kristi Noem, George Valdez. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - Lopez Declaration)(Soler, Andrew) (Entered: 04/01/2026)

#10

Apr 02, 2026

ORDER The Court has reviewed Respondents' 9 Response to the Order to Show Cause. With respect to Respondents' argument that the Court should dismiss the Petition for failure to name Juan Baltazar as a party, Respondents indicated that Petitioner "informed undersigned counsel that they disagreed with Respondents' position, and that they were not in a position to amend the Petition prior to this response." Dkt. 9, p.5 n.2. Accordingly, Petitioner SHALL file a Reply by Tuesday, April 7, 2026. SO ORDERED by Judge S. Kato Crews on 4/02/2026.Text Only Entry (skclc4) (Entered: 04/02/2026)

Apr 02, 2026

Order

#11

Apr 07, 2026

REPLY to Response to 2 MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction filed by Petitioner Kelia Daniela Bracho-Cortez. (Congiu, Michael) (Entered: 04/07/2026)

#12

Apr 08, 2026

ORDER On April 2, 2026, this Court ordered Petitioner to file a Reply to address her failure to name Juan Baltazar as a party. Dkt. 10. The Court has reviewed the Reply and finds Petitioner's arguments unavailing. In habeas cases, "[t]he default rule is that the proper respondent is the warden of the facility where the prisoner is being held, not the Attorney General or some other remote supervisory official." Fuentes v. Choate, No. 24-cv-01377-NYW, 2024 WL 2978285, at *4 (D. Colo. Jun 13, 2024) (quoting Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 435 (2004)). The cases that Petitioner cites in support of her argument that we should not apply the default rule are inapplicable. Shahadhat v. Warden is not persuasive because the Petitioner in that case did in fact name the warden of the facility where he was detained. No. 1:26-cv-00696-MIS-SCY, 2026 WL 800678, at *1 (D.N.M. Mar. 23, 2026). And in Ozturk v. Trump, the District Court of Vermont found that the "unknown custodian exception" applied, and that exception does not apply here because Petitioner knows who the warden of the facility she is being detained at is. 779 F. Supp. 3d 462, 479 (D. Vt. 2025). Accordingly, Petitioner must name and serve Juan Baltazar, the warden of the Denver Contract Detention Facility, as a defendant to obtain relief from this Court. Respondents request the Court dismiss the case without prejudice, however, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15, Petitioner still may amend her Petition. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a) (party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course no later than 21 days after serving it). The Court believes that permitting Petitioner to amend her Petition without dismissing the case promotes the "just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding." Fed. R. Civ. P. 1.Accordingly, Petitioner is ORDERED to file an Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by April 9, 2026, naming and serving Juan Baltazar as a Defendant. SO ORDERED by Judge S. Kato Crews on 4/08/2026.Text Only Entry (skclc4) (Entered: 04/08/2026)

Apr 08, 2026

Order

#13

Apr 09, 2026

Withdraw as Attorney

Apr 09, 2026

Order on Motion to Withdraw as Attorney

Apr 10, 2026

Order