Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Adan Villarreal-Grajeda, a federal inmate, pleaded guilty on February 17, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine hydrochloride. He was sentenced to 114 months imprisonment with a projected release date of August 6, 2031. Villarreal-Grajeda was initially held in local detention from August 19, 2023, until his transfer to a designated Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility on May 20, 2025.
Villarreal-Grajeda filed a pro se habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging the BOP’s calculation of his Good Time Credits (GTCs) and First Step Act Credits (FTCs). He claimed entitlement to FTCs for time spent in federal custody dating back to August 19, 2023, and sought Second Chance Act placement allowing him up to 365 days in a residential reentry center. Importantly, he had not submitted any administrative remedy request with the BOP prior to filing his federal petition.
Warden Edge responded that Villarreal-Grajeda failed to exhaust administrative remedies, was ineligible to earn FTCs before arriving at his designated facility, and was not yet eligible for prerelease custody. She argued the BOP should receive deference regarding transfer to prerelease custody.
The Court’s Holding
The court held that Villarreal-Grajeda failed to exhaust his administrative remedies, which is a prerequisite to filing a § 2241 habeas petition. The Fifth Circuit has consistently required prisoners to pursue all available administrative remedies before seeking federal habeas relief. While exceptions exist for extraordinary circumstances, the petitioner bore the burden of demonstrating such circumstances and failed to do so. The court found dismissal warranted on this ground alone.
On the merits, the court held that the BOP correctly calculated Villarreal-Grajeda’s sentence. The BOP properly awarded 640 days of jail credit for pretrial detention (August 19, 2023–May 19, 2025) and correctly determined he could earn up to 513 days of Good Time Credits, resulting in a conditional release date of September 23, 2031. Critically, the court held that First Step Act credits begin only after a prisoner arrives at his designated BOP facility, not during pretrial detention. The First Step Act requires the BOP to complete a risk and needs assessment (PATTERN score and SPARC-13) before assigning programming and awarding credits. As of December 17, 2025, Villarreal-Grajeda had accrued 120 program days equaling 40 FTCs, which adjusted his release date to August 14, 2031. The court further held that Second Chance Act placement is a discretionary BOP decision not subject to judicial review under § 2241 and does not create additional “credits.”
Key Takeaways
- Federal prisoners must exhaust all available administrative remedies through the BOP before filing § 2241 habeas petitions; failure to do so is grounds for dismissal without prejudice.
- First Step Act time credits begin only upon arrival at a designated BOP facility and require completion of a risk and needs assessment before programming can be assigned; pretrial detention does not count toward FSA credits.
- The BOP has broad discretion in calculating sentence credits and making prerelease custody decisions, which are entitled to deference and not reviewable under § 2241 habeas petitions.
- The Second Chance Act permits but does not require BOP placement of inmates in prerelease custody or home confinement and creates no enforceable “credits.”
Why It Matters
This decision reinforces the Fifth Circuit’s longstanding requirement that federal prisoners exhaust administrative remedies before seeking habeas relief, preventing premature federal court intervention. More substantively, it clarifies a critical distinction for federal inmates: time served in pretrial detention does not count toward First Step Act earned-time credits, only toward jail time credits. This means prisoners cannot backdate FSA credit accrual to their arrest or initial detention. Understanding when FSA credits actually begin—at arrival at the designated facility, after risk assessment—is essential for accurate release-date calculations.
The court’s holding also protects BOP discretion in two respects: (1) the agency’s authority to determine which evidence-based programs an inmate may participate in based on individualized risk assessment, and (2) its discretionary decision-making regarding prerelease placement. By holding that prerelease custody decisions are not cognizable under § 2241, the court channeled such challenges to Bivens actions or other remedies, reducing habeas litigation over conditions of confinement. For federal inmates and their counsel, the ruling underscores the importance of initiating administrative remedies promptly and understanding the statutory prerequisites for earning sentence reductions.