Southern District of California • 3:26-cv-01872

#1

Mar 24, 2026

Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus against Gregory J. Archambeault, Pamela Bondi, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Christopher J. Larose, Todd Lyons, Kristi Noem ( Filing fee $ 5 receipt number ACASDC-20941058.), filed by Cornelio Carmona-Reyes. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Case Cover Sheet)The new case number is 3:26-cv-1872-JO-DEB. Judge Jinsook Ohta and Magistrate Judge Daniel E. Butcher are assigned to the case. (Hilts, Murray)(tac) (sjt). (Entered: 03/24/2026)

#2

Mar 24, 2026

Minute Order by Judge Jinsook Ohta: The Court adopts the Standard Procedures for this Immigration Habeas Petition from Chief Judge Order No. 144, which is available on the court's website with the following modification: Any optional reply will be due 3 days after the government's opposition. Further, the Court sets a hearing on the Petition for April 9, 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 3/24/2026. (mk) (Entered: 03/24/2026)

Mar 24, 2026

Minute Order (No Time)

#3

Mar 31, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#4

Apr 02, 2026

Return to Petition for Writ of H/C

#5

Apr 02, 2026

Supplemental Document

#6

Apr 03, 2026

Withdrawal of Document

#7

Apr 03, 2026

Return to Petition for Writ of H/C

#8

Apr 07, 2026

Minute Order by Judge Jinsook Ohta: The Court orders the parties to submit supplemental briefing addressing whether Petitioner is properly classified under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) or § 1226(c). The parties shall attach, as exhibits, the complete record of Petitioner's criminal history, including any relevant warrants, arrests, and convictions; Department of Homeland Security records, including any custody determinations; immigration court documents, including any custody redetermination requests and decisions; and any other materials bearing on Petitioner's classification under § 1226(a) or § 1226(c). The parties shall also address whether any outstanding arrest warrant qualifies Petitioner for mandatory detention under § 1226(c)(1)(E)(ii).Petitioner's supplemental briefing should address arguments raised in Respondents' return to the petition (Dkt. 7) and is due by April 14, 2026. Respondents' supplemental briefing is due by April 21, 2026. The Court will take the matter under submission upon the filing of Respondents' briefing.In light of the Court's order requiring supplemental briefing, the hearing set for April 9, 2026 is vacated.Signed by Judge Jinsook Ohta on 4/7/2026. (mk) (Entered: 04/07/2026)

Apr 07, 2026

Minute Order (No Time)

#9

Apr 14, 2026

Traverse to Petition for Writ of H/C

#10

Apr 21, 2026

Amended Document (NOT Motion)

#11

Apr 22, 2026

Supplemental Document

#12

Apr 27, 2026

Minute Order by Judge Jinsook Ohta: Cornelio Carmona-Reyes, a Mexican national, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, challenging his detention as a violation of due process. See Dkt. 1. 1. Petitioner entered the United States without inspection on July 30, 2006 and has resided here without a criminal history since then. Dkt. 11-1 at 4. Almost twenty years later, on March 22, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Petitioner while he was doing yard work and initiated removal proceedings under § 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Id. at 4; Dkt. 1 P. 17. Petitioner has since been detained without a bond hearing at the Otay Mesa Detention Center. Dkt. 1 P. 3, 9.2. 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 because he was already residing in the United States at the time of his arrest. See Dkt. 11-1 at 2. 3. The Court further finds that the government violated Petitioner's Fifth Amendment due process rights by continuing to deprive 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. Although Petitioner has been detained for over a month, the record contains no evidence that he 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 risks 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 his 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. 13. Signed by Judge Jinsook Ohta on 4/27/2026. (mk) (Entered: 04/27/2026)

#13

Apr 27, 2026

Order

Apr 27, 2026

Minute Order (No Time)

#14

Apr 29, 2026

Declaration