District of Rhode Island • 1:26-cv-00542

#1

Aug 07, 2026

PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus ( Filing fee $ 5.00 receipt number ARIDC-2321363.), filed by Julio Jose Lopez Cruz. (Attachments: # 1 Civil Cover Sheet, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit)(McCaffrey, Ann) (Entered: 08/07/2026)

#3

Aug 07, 2026

ORDER re 1 PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by Julio Jose Lopez Cruz. To give the Court time to consider the pending petition, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the petitioner shall not be moved outside the District of Rhode Island without providing the Court with at least 72 hours advance notice of the move and the reason therefore. Any such 72- hour notice period shall commence at the date and time such notice is filed and expire 72 hours later, except [i]f the period would end on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period continues to run until the same time on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(2)(C). So Ordered by District Judge Mary S. McElroy on 8/7/2026. (Simoncelli, Michael) (Entered: 08/07/2026)

Aug 07, 2026

Order Directing Response to 2241 Habeas Petition (Immigration Cases)

Aug 07, 2026

TEXT ORDER re 1 PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by Julio Jose Lopez Cruz. Response to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus due by 8/12/2026. So Ordered by District Judge Mary S. McElroy on 8/7/2026. (Simoncelli, Michael)

Aug 07, 2026

Case assigned to District Judge Mary S. McElroy and Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan. (Simoncelli, Michael)

Aug 07, 2026

Case Assigned/Reassigned

#4

Aug 12, 2026

MOTION to Seal Filed. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Ex. 1 to Motion to Seal, # 2 Exhibit Ex. 2 to Motion to Seal)(Griffin, Trevor) This entry/document has been filed under seal pursuant to statute, rule or court order and access is restricted to the Court only. (Entered: 08/12/2026)

#5

Aug 12, 2026

RESPONSE IN OPPOSITION by Todd Blanche, Department of Homeland Security, Executive Office For Immigration Review, Markwayne Mullin, David T. Wesling . (Griffin, Trevor) (Entered: 08/12/2026)

#7

Aug 17, 2026

REPLY MEMORANDUM . (McCaffrey, Ann) (Entered: 08/17/2026)

Aug 19, 2026

Order on Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

Aug 19, 2026

TEXT ORDER. Before the Court is the Petitioner, Julio Jose Lopez Cruz', Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF No. 1 ). The Petitioner was inspected near Hidalgo, Texas and paroled into the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A) in October 2022, and has resided in Newport, Rhode Island since, where he was employed by a landscaping company. He was arrested by ICE in Newport on July 30, 2026, two days after a state arrest on a charge of driving under the influence, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The Respondents contend his parole lapsed in December 2022 under 8 C.F.R. § 212.5(e)(1)(ii), rendering him subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), and that the Petition is premature. First, as to whether the Petition is premature, exhaustion is not required. Custody determinations are separate from removal proceedings, 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(d). Ayala Casun v. Hyde, No. 25-cv-427-JJM-AEM, 2025 WL 2806769, at *3 (D.R.I. Oct. 2, 2025). On the merits, the Court finds the Petitioner is detained under § 1226(a), the default rule for noncitizens already present in this country. See Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281, 303 (2018). The Respondents did not act on the § 1225 authority they now invoke for nearly four years after the parole date, and the Notice to Appear charges the Petitioner as an alien present in the United States without admission or parole rather than as an arriving alien. (ECF No. 1-5.) In short, he was arrested in the interior, not at a port of entry, after years of settled residence. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Petitioner's habeas petition (ECF No. 1 ) as follows. The Respondents are ORDERED to provide the Petitioner with a bond hearing before an Immigration Judgment pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) no sooner than thirty (30) days from the date of this order. The Respondents are ordered to provide the Petitioner and his attorney with adequate notice of the date and time of that hearing. Further, the Court ORDERS the Respondents to release the Petitioner immediately pending the bond hearing. The Court permits the Petitioner's transfer to effectuate his release and the return of his property. The Respondents shall set minimal release conditions that will reasonably assure the Petitioner's appearance at the bond hearing. Finally, the Court ORDERS the Respondents to file a status report within seven (7) days of the Petitioner's bond hearing, stating whether he has been granted bond and, if his request for bond was denied, the specific reasons for that denial. So Ordered by District Judge Mary S. McElroy on 8/19/2026. (Potter, Carrie)