Reported / Citable
Background
Jonathan Jose Romero Chacon, proceeding pro se, filed a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He had been in ICE custody since December 17, 2025. An immigration judge ordered his removal on February 23, 2026, and he did not appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Romero Chacon filed his petition on July 30, 2026, alleging that his detention was unlawfully prolonged under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6) and the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Relying on Zadvydas v. Davis, he sought release from ICE custody.
The Court’s Holding
Magistrate Judge R. Rutherford recommended that the district judge summarily dismiss the petition without prejudice as premature. Because Romero Chacon did not appeal the immigration judge’s decision, his removal order became administratively final on March 25, 2026, thirty days after it was entered.
Under Zadvydas, post-removal-order detention is presumptively reasonable for six months. When Romero Chacon filed his petition, fewer than six months had passed since his removal order became administratively final. The magistrate judge therefore concluded that his challenge had been filed too early, without reaching whether continued detention after the presumptively reasonable period would be lawful.
Key Takeaways
- The relevant post-removal-order detention period began when Romero Chacon’s unappealed removal order became administratively final on March 25, 2026.
- A Zadvydas challenge filed before expiration of the presumptively reasonable six-month detention period is premature.
- The recommended dismissal is without prejudice, leaving Romero Chacon able to pursue a later challenge if legally warranted.
Why It Matters
The recommendation underscores that the timing of a § 2241 petition matters in challenges to post-removal-order immigration detention. Detention extending beyond the statutory ninety-day removal period is not, by itself, enough to establish entitlement to release under Zadvydas.
It also illustrates that courts calculate the six-month presumptively reasonable period from the date the removal order becomes administratively final, rather than from the date ICE custody originally began.