Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Marvin Josue Santos Paz, a Honduran citizen, entered the United States without inspection in March 2018. Immigration authorities took him into custody on August 14, 2026, and served him with a Notice to Appear charging him as inadmissible because he was present without having been admitted or paroled.
Santos Paz petitioned for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, arguing that his continued detention without a bond hearing violated the Immigration and Nationality Act and due process. The respondents sought summary judgment, maintaining that he was an applicant for admission subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2).
The Court’s Holding
The court held that Santos Paz was an applicant for admission because he was present in the country without having been admitted. Relying on the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, the court concluded that § 1225(b)(2) therefore required his detention while the applicable immigration proceedings remained pending.
The court also held that mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2) did not violate substantive or procedural due process. It reasoned that detention during removal proceedings is constitutionally permissible and that an applicant for admission has only the admission-related rights Congress has provided by statute. The court granted the respondents’ motion for summary judgment, denied the habeas petition, and stated that it would enter final judgment for the respondents.
Key Takeaways
- A noncitizen present in the United States without admission may be treated as an applicant for admission under Fifth Circuit precedent.
- Section 1225(b)(2) mandates detention of such an applicant while the specified immigration proceedings remain unresolved.
- The court found no substantive or procedural due-process right to a bond hearing under these circumstances.
Why It Matters
The decision applies recent Fifth Circuit authority to reject statutory and constitutional challenges to detention without a bond hearing under § 1225(b)(2). For habeas petitioners in the Southern District of Texas, the ruling indicates that entering without inspection can place a noncitizen within the mandatory-detention framework for applicants for admission.