District of New Jersey • 3:26-cv-05480

#1

May 14, 2026

Emergency PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus ( Filing fee $ 5 receipt number ANJDC-17422976.), filed by ALVARO JAVIER AMAYA TOLOZA. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G, # 8 Exhibit H, # 9 Brief, # 10 Certificate of Service, # 11 Supplement Notice of Appearance, # 12 Supplement Order to Show Cause, # 13 Civil Cover Sheet)(SANTAMARIA, STERLING) (Entered: 05/14/2026)

#2

May 14, 2026

TEXT ORDER. Respondents are hereby enjoined from transferring Petitioner from New Jersey pending further Order of the Court. So Ordered by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 5/14/2026. (jml, ) (Entered: 05/14/2026)

May 14, 2026

Notice of Judicial Preferences

May 14, 2026

Add and Terminate Judges

May 14, 2026

Emergent Immigration Habeas Non-transfer Order

May 14, 2026

Notice of Judicial Preferences. Click here for the Judge's Individual Procedure Requirements. (jml, )

May 14, 2026

Judge Georgette Castner added. (jml, )

#3

May 15, 2026

TEXT ORDER: This matter is before the Court on the Petitioner's petition (Petition) for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (ECF No. 1 .) Petitioner, a native and citizen of Colombia, entered the United States without inspection on May 6, 2024, at the Tecate, California port of entry and was released on his own recognizance and served with a Notice to Appear. (Id. Paras. 1, 20.) Petitioner has been living in New Jersey since his arrival in the United States, and he is a "derivative" in an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. (Id. Paras. 2, 21.) Petitioner has no arrests apart from his brief detention upon entry and has no criminal history in Colombia or elsewhere. (Id. Para. 22.) In early May 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") detained Petitioner at a scheduled check-in (allegedly on the grounds that he had missed check-ins that they refused to specify) and have detained him at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey. (Id. Paras. 3, 10.) Based on Petitioner's allegations and this Court's recent decisions in Chen v. Soto, No. 25-17198, 2025 WL 3527239 (D.N.J. Dec. 9, 2025), Marcilla Flores v. Rokosky, No. 25-18998, 2026 WL 84434 (D.N.J. Jan. 12, 2026), and Mistry v. Rokosky, No. 25-17647, ECF No. 15 (D.N.J. Jan. 28, 2026), the Court holds that Petitioner is subject to detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and that Respondents have unlawfully detained Petitioner under § 1225(b) in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act and his Fifth Amendment right to due process. See also Rivera Zumba v. Bondi, No. 25-14626, 2025 WL 2753496 (D.N.J. Sept. 26, 2025); Quintanar Hernandez v. Bondi, No. 26-4096, ECF No. 4 (D.N.J. Apr. 17, 2026). "Moreover, although 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) permits discretionary detention of noncitizens based on flight risk or dangerousness, it appears that Respondents have detained Petitioner under a flawed interpretation of § 1225(b)(2), which has been rejected by numerous Courts in this District; this Court will not correct Respondents' unlawful detention under § 1225(b)(2) by converting Petitioner's detention to a 'potentially lawful alternate form under a different statute with different procedural requirements and rules.'" Alvarez Hererra v. Soto, No. 26-2482, ECF No. 6 (D.N.J. Apr. 22, 2026) (quoting Fajardo-Nugra v. Soto, No. 26-975, 2026 WL 579192, at *2 (D.N.J. Mar. 2, 2026) (granting petitioner's habeas petition and ordering his release based on respondents' flawed application of § 1225(b)(2))); see also Beteta Beteta v. Blanche, No. 26- 4132, ECF No. 4 (D.N.J. Apr. 20, 2026) (same). The Court thus GRANTS the Petition (ECF No. 1 ), and ORDERS that, within forty-eight (48) hours of the time of entry of this Text Order, Respondents SHALL RELEASE Petitioner under the same conditions, if any, that existed prior to his detention. Within twenty-four (24) hours of Petitioner's release, Respondents shall file a status report confirming the time of Petitioner's release. Alternatively, if Respondents contend that Petitioner's case is legally distinguishable from those cases cited herein, or that Petitioner's detention is pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) as Petitioner has misrepresented his criminal history, they shall file an expedited answer within twenty-four (24) hours of the time of entry of this Text Order. Petitioner may file a reply within forty-eight (48) hours of the time of filing of Respondents' expedited answer. Petitioner's request for an order to show cause (ECF No. 1 -12) is DENIED as moot. The Clerk of the Court shall forward a copy of the Petition (ECF No. 1 ), the attachments to the Petition (ECF Nos. 1 -1 through 1 -13), and this Text Order to the Chief, Civil Division, United States Attorney's Office, at the following email address: USANJ-HabeasCases@usdoj.gov. So Ordered by Judge Georgette Castner on 5/15/2026. (jmh) (Entered: 05/15/2026)

#4

May 15, 2026

NOTICE of Appearance by KEVIN JAMES MAGGIO on behalf of TODD BLANCHE, JONATHAN FLORENTINO, TODD LYONS, MARKWAYNE MULLIN, LUIS SOTO (MAGGIO, KEVIN) (Entered: 05/15/2026)

#5

May 15, 2026

Letter from Respondents re: Petitioner's Release from ICE Custody. (MAGGIO, KEVIN) (Entered: 05/15/2026)

May 15, 2026

3 Text Order and ECF No 1 sent to USANJ-HabeasCases@usdoj.gov on 5/15/2026. (jmh)

May 15, 2026

Text Order

May 15, 2026

Docket Annotation (public)

May 18, 2026

Order of Dismissal AND Text Order