Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Yailin Villares Fernandez, a Cuban citizen in removal proceedings, filed a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 seeking release from immigration custody. She was not subject to a final removal order when the action was filed.
The district court recognized that it had jurisdiction to consider a § 2241 challenge to pre-removal-order detention. The petition asserted that Villares Fernandez was entitled to a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and that her mandatory detention violated due process.
The Court’s Holding
The court denied the habeas petition. Applying the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, it held that Villares Fernandez was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) because she had not shown that she was “clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted.” That precedent foreclosed her argument that she was entitled to a bond hearing under § 1226(a).
The court also held that the Fifth Circuit’s en banc decision in Sosnava Rodriguez v. Vergara foreclosed the claim that mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2)(A) violated due process. The court denied all pending motions as moot and ordered the case closed. It separately noted that if Villares Fernandez had received a final removal order, been removed, or been released after filing, the petition was denied as moot.
Key Takeaways
- A federal district court may exercise § 2241 jurisdiction over a constitutional or statutory challenge to pre-removal-order immigration detention.
- Under binding Fifth Circuit precedent, a noncitizen who is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to admission is subject to mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2)(A), rather than discretionary detention and a bond hearing under § 1226(a).
- Fifth Circuit precedent also foreclosed the petitioner’s due-process challenge to mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2)(A).
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the immediate effect of the Fifth Circuit’s 2026 immigration-detention rulings on habeas petitions in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. District courts within the circuit are bound to reject claims for § 1226(a) bond hearings and due-process challenges where § 1225(b)(2)(A) governs the petitioner’s detention.