Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 YOUSEF ZIAD ALI ALSMADI, Case No.: 26-CV-3582 JLS (SBC)

12 Petitioner, ORDER GRANTING IN PART 13 v. PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS 14 CHRISTOPHER J. LAROSE, et al., 15 Respondents. (ECF No. 1) 16 17 18 Presently before the Court is Petitioner Yousef Ziad Ali Alsmadi’s Petition for Writ 19 of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (“Pet.,” ECF No. 1). Also before the Court 20 is Respondents’ Return to Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Ret.,” ECF No. 4). 21 Petitioner alleges that he has been detained by the United States Department of Homeland 22 Security’s (“DHS”) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) division at the Otay 23 Mesa Detention Center. Pet. at 2. Petitioner alleges that he was previously released from 24 custody on his own recognizance in April 2024 and has complied with the conditions of 25 his release. Id. at 5. Petitioner alleges that he was re-detained without notice or 26 justification in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Id. at 6–8. 27 / / / 28 / / / 1 Respondent states that Petitioner is subject to mandatory detention under 2 § 1225(b)(2); however, Respondent “acknowledges that this Court, and Courts in this 3 District, have repeatedly reached the opposite conclusion under the same and/or similar 4 facts.” Ret. at 1 (collecting cases). Respondents therefore “do[] not oppose the [P]etition 5 and defer[] to the Court on the appropriate relief.” Id. at 2. The Court finds that Petitioner 6 is entitled to release. See, e.g., Noori v. LaRose, 807 F. Supp. 3d 1146, 1163–67, 1169 7 (S.D. Cal. 2025) (granting release under similar facts); Tran v. LaRose, No. 26-CV-2653 8 JLS (GC), 2026 WL 1303166, at *1–3 (S.D. Cal. May 12, 2026) (same); Antonio v. LaRose, 9 No. 26-CV-2387-LL-MMP, 2026 WL 1215037, at *1–3 (S.D. Cal. May 4, 2026) (same). 10 Attorney’s Fees 11 Petitioner has requested costs and attorney’s fees in this action pursuant to the Equal 12 Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. Pet. at 15. The EAJA provides in part: 13 A party seeking an award of fees and other expenses shall, within thirty days of final judgment in the action, submit to the court an 14 application for fees and other expenses which shows that the 15 party is a prevailing party and is eligible to receive an award under this subsection, and the amount sought, including an 16 itemized statement from any attorney . . . representing or 17 appearing in behalf of the party stating the actual time expended and the rate at which fees and other expenses were 18 computed. The party shall also allege that the position of the 19 United States was not substantially justified. Whether or not the position of the United States was substantially justified shall be 20 determined on the basis of the record . . . which is made in the 21 civil action for which fees and other expenses are sought.

22 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B). 23 The Court will consider an application requesting reasonable fees and costs under 24 the EAJA that is filed within thirty (30) days of the judgment. 25 / / / 26 / / / 27 / / / 28 / / / I CONCLUSION 2 Accordingly, the Court GRANTS IN PART Petitioner’s Petition for a Writ of 3 || Habeas Corpus (ECF No. 1) and ORDERS Respondents to immediately release Petitioner 4 custody subject to the conditions of his preexisting release. The Court ORDERS, 5 || prior to any re-detention of Petitioner, that Petitioner is entitled to notice of the reasons for 6 ||revocation of his release and a hearing before a neutral decision maker to determine 7 || whether detention is warranted. The Government shall bear the burden of establishing, by 8 and convincing evidence, that Petitioner poses a danger to the community or a risk of 9 || flight. The Parties are ORDERED to file a Joint Status Report by July 6, 2026, confirming 10 Petitioner has been released. 11 Lastly, Petitioner’s attorney is directed to submit an attorney fee application and 12 corresponding billing records within thirty (30) days of this Order, and Respondents are 13 |/instructed to file any opposition within fourteen (14) days of Petitioner’s attorney fee 14 || application. 15 IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 Dated: June 25, 2026 18 United States District Judge 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28