Perez Baute v. Bradford — Court grants habeas petition, orders bond hearing for detainee held over 90 days

Reported / Citable

Background

Katia Perez Baute is a detainee in ICE custody at the Houston Contract Facility. She filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging her continued detention, alleging she was being held unlawfully. The government detained her under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), the statute governing expedited removal proceedings. The respondents filed a motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of the petition.

The critical fact was that Perez Baute had been in ICE custody for more than 90 days without a bond hearing. The court’s analysis turned on recent Fifth Circuit precedent establishing rights to bond hearings for detainees detained beyond that threshold.

The Court’s Holding

The court granted the habeas petition in part. Because Perez Baute had been detained for more than 90 days under § 1225(b)(2)(A), the court ruled she was entitled to a bond hearing based on the Fifth Circuit’s July 2, 2026 decision in Sosnava Rodriguez v. Ortega, 2026 WL 1906557.

The court ordered that the government must either release Perez Baute from custody or conduct a bond hearing by August 7, 2026. Critically, if the government proceeds with a hearing, it must “articulate an individualized justification for further detention without bond”—meaning the government cannot rely on categorical detention policies but must make case-specific findings. The government must provide at least 48 hours’ notice to the detainee and her counsel before any hearing or release. The court denied the government’s motion for summary judgment.

Key Takeaways

• Detainees held under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) for more than 90 days are entitled to a bond hearing as a matter of Fifth Circuit law.
• At any such hearing, the government must offer individualized justification for continued detention, not categorical rationales.
• The government must provide advance notice and comply with judicial deadlines or release the detainee.
• Summary judgment dismissal of habeas petitions is inappropriate where detention duration triggers bond-hearing rights.

Why It Matters

This order enforces the Fifth Circuit’s newly articulated standard that extended immigration detention (beyond 90 days) requires judicial scrutiny and an individualized showing of necessity. It signals that immigration authorities cannot rely on categorical detention policies when detention crosses the 90-day threshold but must affirmatively justify continued incarceration in each case. This limits the discretion of ICE in prolonged detention scenarios.

For detainees and immigration counsel, the decision confirms that relief may be available through habeas corpus when detention extends beyond 90 days without a bond hearing. The requirement for individualized justification may strengthen arguments against continued detention in cases where the government has not made specific factual showings about flight risk or danger.