District of New Jersey • 2:26-cv-07549

#1

Jun 17, 2026

PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2241. (Filing Fee $ 5.00, Receipt Number ANYSDC-33010018) Request for emergency relief to be separately filed..Document filed by Victor Lopez Perez..(Reiff, Lauren) (Entered: 06/17/2026)

#2

Jun 17, 2026

CIVIL COVER SHEET filed..(Reiff, Lauren) (Entered: 06/17/2026)

#3

Jun 17, 2026

PROPOSED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WITH EMERGENCY RELIEF. Document filed by Victor Lopez Perez..(Reiff, Lauren) Proposed Order to Show Cause to be reviewed by Clerk's Office staff. (Entered: 06/17/2026)

#4

Jun 17, 2026

NOTICE OF APPEARANCE OF PRO BONO COUNSEL by Melissa Lim Chua on behalf of Victor Lopez Perez.(Chua, Melissa) (Entered: 06/17/2026)

#5

Jun 17, 2026

ORDER TO ANSWER: The Clerk of Court shall electronically notify the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York of this Order. By June 19, 2026, Respondents shall file a letter with the Court with the information described in this order. Respondents shall file an answer to the Petition by June 23, 2026. Petitioner shall file any reply by June 29, 2026. The matter shall be heard by the Court on July 6, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, Courtroom 20B, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007. Respondents shall produce Petitioner at the conference. SO ORDERED. Todd Blanche answer due 6/23/2026; Kenneth Genalo answer due 6/23/2026; Markwayne Mullin answer due 6/23/2026; David Venturella answer due 6/23/2026.( Replies due by 6/29/2026., Status Conference set for 7/6/2026 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 20B, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007 before Judge Jennifer L. Rochon.) (Signed by Judge Jennifer L. Rochon on 6/17/2026) (jjc) (Entered: 06/17/2026)

Jun 17, 2026

Case Designated ECF. (vf)

Jun 17, 2026

***NOTICE TO COURT REGARDING PROPOSED ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WITH EMERGENCY RELIEF. Document No. 3 Proposed Order to Show Cause With Emergency Relief was reviewed and approved as to form. (km)

Jun 17, 2026

Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger is designated to handle matters that may be referred in this case. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73(b)(1) parties are notified that they may consent to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge. Parties who wish to consent may access the necessary form at the following link: https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2018-06/AO-3.pdf. (vf)

Jun 17, 2026

***NOTICE TO ATTORNEY REGARDING PARTY MODIFICATION. Notice to attorney Lauren M. Reiff. The party information for the following party/parties has been modified: Kenneth Genalo, Todd Blanche, Markwayne Mullin,David Venturella. The information for the party/parties has been modified for the following reason/reasons: party text was omitted. (vf)

Jun 17, 2026

CASE OPENING INITIAL ASSIGNMENT NOTICE: The above-entitled action is assigned to Judge Jennifer L. Rochon. Please download and review the Individual Practices of the assigned District Judge, located at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/judges/district-judges. Attorneys are responsible for providing courtesy copies to judges where their Individual Practices require such. Please download and review the ECF Rules and Instructions, located at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/rules/ecf-related-instructions..(vf)

#6

Jun 23, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#7

Jun 23, 2026

Letter

#8

Jun 23, 2026

ICMS - converted docket entry

#9

Jun 24, 2026

Stipulation and Order

#10

Jun 24, 2026

Case Transferred In - District Court Transfer

#11

Jun 24, 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 6/24/2026. (jjc, ) (Entered: 06/24/2026)

#12

Jun 24, 2026

Letter: Attorney Not Admitted

#13

Jun 24, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#14

Jun 24, 2026

TEXT ORDER : This matter is before the Court on the Petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (D.E. No. 1 ("Petition" or "Pet.")). The Petition was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on June 17, 2026 (No. 26-5107). (Id.). On the same date, the Southern District of New York ordered Respondents to answer the Petition and to file a letter indicating whether Petitioner was located in the Southern District of New York at the time the Petitioner was filed and, if not, what District the Petitioner was in at the time of filing and whether the Petition should be transferred to another District. (D.E. No. 5 at 1). The Southern District of New York also enjoined Petitioner's removal from the United States, and from transferring Petitioner except to a facility within the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, or the District of New Jersey, absent further order of the Southern District of New York. (D.E. No. 5 at 2). On June 23, 2026, Respondents submitted a letter stating that Petitioner was located in the District of New Jersey (at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey) at the time the Petition was filed and that he was subsequently transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York on June 22, 2026. (D.E. No. 7 at 1-2). On June 24, 2026, the Southern District of New York entered a Stipulation and Order of Transfer of Venue to the District of New Jersey, (D.E. No. 9 ), the matter was assigned to the Undersigned, and Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb entered a Text Order enjoining Respondents from transferring Petitioner from New Jersey pending further Order of the Court, (D.E. No. 11 ). Pursuant to the All Writs Act, see 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a), Respondents SHALL NOT TRANSFER Petitioner except to a facility within the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, or the District of New Jersey, and SHALL NOT REMOVE Petitioner from the United States, pending further order of this Court. Chief Judge Bumb's Text Order, (D.E. No. 11 ), enjoining transfer from New Jersey is LIFTED. Petitioner, a native and citizen of Honduras, allegedly entered the United States on or about September 2, 2017 through the U.S.-Mexico border and was apprehended by Customs and Border Patrol, found to have a credible fear of return, released from detention, and charged as an alien present in the United States who has not been admitted or paroled. (Pet. at 5). Petitioner filed for asylum in 2018, he attended all immigration court hearings, and the removal proceedings remain pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. (Id.) Petitioner is the primary breadwinner for his family, supporting his wife, five-year old U.S. citizen daughter, nine-year old U.S. citizen stepdaughter, his sister, and his sister's two children. (Id.). Petitioner has never been convicted of any crime, and "he has been arrested only once [following his entry and release in 2018], after which arrest all charges were dismissed by the criminal court." (Id.; see also id. at 2 (claiming he was arrested once for "a non-violent, non-theft related offense in which all charges were dismissed").) On June 16, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Petitioner in front of his Staten Island home in the presence of his family (while mocking the language capacity of his family and violently shoving his niece and sister as they attempted to advocate for his rights). (Id.). Based on Petitioner's allegations and this Court's recent decision in Diaz Rudecindo v. Florentino, No. 25-16942, 2025 WL 3470299 (D.N.J. Dec. 3, 2025), the Court holds that Petitioner is subject to detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and that it appears Respondents have unlawfully detained Petitioner without a bond hearing under § 1225(b) in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act and her Fifth Amendment right to due process. See also Rivera Zumba v. Bondi, No. 25-14626, 2025 WL 2753496 (D.N.J. Sept. 26, 2025); Vasquez Lucero v. Soto, No. 25-16737, 2025 WL 3240895 (D.N.J. Nov. 20, 2025); Quintanar Hernandez v. Bondi, No. 26-04096, D.E. No. 4 (D.N.J. Apr. 17, 2026). Given Petitioner's criminal history, the Court concludes that, in accordance with § 1226(a), within ten (10) days of the date of entry of this Text Order, Respondents shall provide Petitioner with an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge who shall assess whether Petitioner presents a flight risk or a danger to the community, pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 236.1(c)(8), (d)(1). Respondents shall provide Petitioner's counsel notice of the bond hearing as well as a reasonable opportunity to prepare for the hearing and to reschedule the hearing without seeking this Court's intervention. Within three (3) days of that bond hearing, Respondents shall file a written notice of the outcome of that hearing with this Court. Alternatively, if Respondents contend that Petitioner's case is legally distinguishable from those cited herein, they shall file an expedited answer within seven (7) days of the date of entry of this Text Order, and Petitioner may file a reply within five (5) days of the date of filing of Respondents' expedited answer. The Clerk of Court shall forward a copy of the Petition, (D.E. No. 1 ), 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 Esther Salas on 6/24/2026. (ek) (Entered: 06/24/2026)

Jun 24, 2026

Judge Esther Salas added. (jjc, )

Jun 24, 2026

CASE TRANSFERRED OUT ELECTRONICALLY from the U.S.D.C. Southern District of New York to the United States District Court - District of District of New Jersey. (jjc)

Jun 24, 2026

Add and Terminate Judges

Jun 24, 2026

Case Transferred Out - District Court Transfer

Jun 24, 2026

Text Order

Jun 24, 2026

Emergent Immigration Habeas Non-transfer Order

#15

Jun 26, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#16

Jun 30, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#17

Jun 30, 2026

Appear Pro Hac Vice

#18

Jul 01, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#19

Jul 01, 2026

Letter

Jul 01, 2026

Set/Reset Motion and R&R Deadlines/Hearings

#21

Jul 02, 2026

Notice of Appearance

#22

Jul 02, 2026

Letter

#23

Jul 02, 2026

Letter

Jul 02, 2026

Text Order

#24

Jul 10, 2026

Letter