Southern District of California • 3:26-cv-01641

#1

Mar 16, 2026

Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus against Pamlea Jo Bondi, Field Office Director, San Diego Field Office, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd M. Lyons, Warden, Otay Mesa Detention Center, Kristi Noem ( Filing fee $ 5 receipt number 167869.), filed by Axcel Eli Ramirez Escobedo. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Declaration, # 3 Exhibit - Identification Cards, # 4 Exhibit - U.S. Department of Homeland Security, # 5 Receipt)The new case number is 3:26-cv-1641-JO-JLB. Judge Jinsook Ohta and Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt are assigned to the case.(ggv) (Entered: 03/17/2026)

#2

Mar 16, 2026

MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order by Axcel Eli Ramirez Escobedo. (ggv) (Entered: 03/17/2026)

#3

Mar 17, 2026

Minute Order by Judge Jinsook Ohta: The Court adopts with the following modification the Standard Procedures for Immigration Habeas Petitions from Chief Judge Order No. 144, available on the court's website: Any optional reply will be due 3 days after the government's opposition. Further, the Court sets a hearing on the Petition for April 2, 2026 at 9:30 AM in Courtroom 4C. All parties may appear by videoconference for the hearing. The courtroom deputy will provide the videoconference information ahead of the hearing, which will proceed unless the Court issues a written decision on the merits ahead of the hearing date. Parties are directed to check the docket at 5:00 PM the day before the hearing. Signed by Judge Jinsook Ohta on 03/17/2026. (rh) (Entered: 03/17/2026)

Mar 17, 2026

Minute Order (No Time) AND ~Util - Set Motion and R&R Deadlines/Hearings

#4

Mar 20, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#5

Mar 20, 2026

Certificate of Service

#6

Mar 23, 2026

Return to Petition for Writ of H/C

#7

Mar 30, 2026

Minute Order by Judge Jinsook Ohta: Axcel Eli Ramirez Escobedo, a citizen of Guatemala, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his detention as a violation of due process. Dkt. 1 ("Pet."). The government filed a non-opposition to a bond hearing. Dkt. 6. 1. Petitioner entered the United States without inspection in July 2023 and has continuously resided in the country with no criminal history since. Pet. ¶¶ 2-3, 11; Dkt. 1-2 ("Decl.") ¶¶ 3, 7. On February 22, 2026, border patrol agents arrested Petitioner while he was driving and brought him to the Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Los Fresnos, Texas. Pet. ¶ 7; Decl. ¶ 8. Immigration officers subsequently transferred Petitioner to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, where he remains detained without a bond hearing. Pet. ¶¶ 8, 10.2. For the reasons stated in Pacheco v. LaRose, No. 3:25-CV-2421-JO-AHG, 2026 WL 242300, *2-*5 (S.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2026), the Court finds that (i) 8 U.S.C. §§ 1252(g), (a)(5), and (b)(9) do not bar Petitioner's collateral challenge to the constitutionality and legality of his current detention; and (ii) Petitioner is subject to the discretionary detention framework of § 1226, not § 1225(b)(2), because he was already residing in the United States at the time of his arrest. See Pet. ¶ 2-3; Decl. ¶ 3. 3. The Court further finds that the government violated Petitioner's Fifth Amendment due process rights by depriving him of his freedom from physical confinement without an individualized determination of flight risk or danger to the public. Mathews v. Elridge, 424 U.S. 319, 321 (1976) (due process analysis considers (1) "the private interest that will be affected by the [government] action"; (2) "the risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used, and the probable value, if any, of additional procedural safeguards"; and (3) "the Government's interest, including the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedures would entail."). In Hernandez v. Sessions, 872 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2017), the Ninth Circuit recognized that a noncitizen's interest in freedom from physical confinement itself constitutes a core liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause. The record contains no evidence that Petitioner has a criminal history, poses a danger to the community, or presents a flight risk, and the government has articulated no individualized justification for his continued detention. See 8 C.F.R. § 1236.1(c)(8). The absence of any individualized determination significantly risked erroneously depriving Petitioner of his liberty interest, and the government has offered no evidence that the burdens of providing such process would outweigh this substantial liberty interest. Therefore, the Court finds that Petitioner has been subjected to unconstitutional detention and orders his immediate release.4. Because Petitioner is entitled to a bond hearing to justify detention pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226, the Court further enjoins Respondents from redetaining him without first providing a bond hearing before an immigration judge to justify a deprivation of his liberty interest. See, e.g., Aceros v. Kaiser, No. 25-CV-06924-EMC (EMC), 2025 WL 2637503, at *12 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 12, 2025); Valencia Zapata v. Kaiser, 801 F. Supp. 3d 919, 938 (N.D. Cal. 2025); O.G. v. Albarran, No. 1:26-CV-00010-TLN-DMC, 2026 WL 19105, at *5 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 3, 2026). While § 1226 ordinarily provides for a bond hearing after detention, a pre-deprivation hearing is the more appropriate remedy for individuals like Petitioner who have already been subjected to unconstitutional detention. In order to prevent any further erroneous deprivation of his liberty interest and satisfy due process requirements, this hearing must take place prior to any detention. See Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723, 779-80 (2008) (while habeas relief commonly includes release from physical imprisonment, "depending on the circumstances, more [relief] may be required"); Rodriguez v. Hayes, 591 F.3d 1105, 1117 (9th Cir. 2010) (holding that petitioner's release--revocable at the government's discretion--did not provide complete relief where petitioner sought a legal ruling that he could only be redetained upon a bond hearing); Clark v. Martinez, 543 U.S. 371, 376 n.3 (2005) (despite release, petitioner's habeas claim challenging the statutory authority for his detention "continue[d] to present a live case or controversy" because the court could provide relief to prevent redetention on the same allegedly unlawful basis).The Court's order and injunctive terms are set forth at Dkt. 8. Signed by Judge Jinsook Ohta on 03/30/2026. (rh) (Entered: 03/30/2026)

#8

Mar 30, 2026

Order

#9

Mar 30, 2026

Judgment - Clerk

Mar 30, 2026

Minute Order (No Time) AND ~Util - Terminate Motion and R&R Deadlines/Hearings

#10

Mar 31, 2026

Declaration

#11

Apr 15, 2026

Mail Returned

#12

Apr 15, 2026

Mail Returned