Reported / Citable
Background
Mayerling Sarahi Osejo-Andrade, detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, petitioned for habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Through counsel, she challenged her continued detention.
The record showed that Osejo-Andrade had not been admitted to the United States. The court therefore treated her as an applicant for admission subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b).
The Court’s Holding
Judge Andrew S. Hanen granted the respondents’ motion for summary judgment and denied the habeas petition. The court held that Fifth Circuit decisions in Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi and Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara foreclosed Osejo-Andrade’s claims for habeas relief.
The court dismissed the case and denied all remaining pending motions as moot.
Key Takeaways
- An unadmitted noncitizen is an applicant for admission subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b).
- The court held that controlling Fifth Circuit precedent foreclosed this detainee’s habeas challenge to continued detention.
- The respondents obtained summary judgment, and the § 2241 petition was denied and dismissed.
Why It Matters
The order applies recent Fifth Circuit authority to reject a habeas challenge by an applicant for admission held under § 1225(b). It underscores that district courts in the circuit will treat those appellate decisions as dispositive of comparable challenges to mandatory immigration detention.