Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 AYDIN ABBASOV, Case No.: 26-cv-1867-BJC-DDL 12 Petitioner, ORDER GRANTING AMENDED PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS 13 v. CORPUS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 14 JEREMY CASEY, 2241 15 Respondent. 16 17 Petitioner is a citizen of Azerbaijan who entered the United States on March 19, 18 2025. ECF No. 19 at 2. Petitioner was injured when entering the United States and was 19 admitted to a hospital. Id. Ex. A ¶1. After Petitioner’s injuries healed, he was taken into 20 custody and he has remained at the Imperial Regional Detention Center since that time. Id. 21 On April 23, 2025, Petitioner was found to have a credible fear during the interview 22 conducted by ICE. Id. ¶ 2. Petitioner filed an application for asylum that was denied on 23 February 5, 2026. Id. Petitioner seeks his release, or in the alternative, a bond hearing. 24 I. LEGAL STANDARD 25 Courts may grant habeas corpus relief to those “in custody in violation of the 26 Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241; see also Hamdi v. 27 Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507, 525, 124 S. Ct. 2633, 2644, 159 L. Ed. 2d 578 (2004) (“[T]he writ 28 of habeas corpus remains available to every individual detained within the United States.”). 1 Courts are authorized to grant writs pursuant to § 2241 to noncitizens in custody in 2 violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States. Magana-Pizano v. 3 I.N.S., 200 F.3d 603, 609 (9th Cir. 1999). 4 The Ninth Circuit has held that immigration detainees “facing prolonged detention” 5 are “entitled to a bond hearing before a neutral immigration judge.” Singh v. Holder, 638 6 F.3d 1196, 1200 (9th Cir. 2011). In these hearings, the government must meet their burden 7 by clear and convincing evidence due to the “substantial liberty interest at stake.” Id. 8 Detainees are also entitled to a transcript or audio recording of their bond hearings to 9 comport with due process. Id. at 1208. The holding in Singh was abrogated in part in 10 Rodriguez Diaz v. Garland, 53 F.4th 1189, 1204 (9th Cir. 2022) where the Ninth Circuit 11 declined to extend the standard to bond hearings for people detained under 8 U.S.C. § 12 1226(a), however, the holding did not overturn the application of the standard to hearings 13 for those held under § 1225(b). In addition to the above standards, an IJ must “consider 14 [petitioner’s] ability to pay and alternatives to detention when setting any bond amount.” 15 Black v. Decker, 103 F.4th 133, 158 (2nd Cir. 2024); Sandesh v. LaRose, 2026 WL 622690, 16 *4 (S.D. Cal. Mar. 5, 2026). 17 II. DISCUSSION 18 Petitioner argues that his detention violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth 19 Amendment and that his detention has become prolonged. Petitioner seeks his release, or 20 in the alternative, a bond hearing. In response to the Petition, Respondents “acknowledge 21 that courts in this District have repeatedly inferred a constitutional right against prolonged 22 mandatory detention” and concede that “this Court should order that Petitioner receive a 23 bond hearing, where the government would bear the burden of proof of establishing by 24 clear and convincing evidence that Petitioner poses a danger to the community or a risk of 25 flight.” Response at 2, ECF No. 20. 26 In light of Respondent’s concession that Petitioner is entitled to a bond hearing, the 27 Court grants the Amended Petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Court directs the IJ to 28 follow proper legal standards to “effectuate this Court’s order for a bond hearing.” | || Sandesh, 2026 WL 622690, * 5. 2 Hl. CONCLUSION AND ORDER 3 Based on the foregoing, the Court GRANTS Petitioner’s Amended Petition for writ 4 ||of habeas corpus and ORDERS Respondents to conduct a bond hearing no later than July 5 10,2026. At the bond hearing, 6 (1) the government SHALL BEAR the burden of showing by clear and convincing 7 evidence that Petitioner is a flight risk or danger; 8 □□□ □□□ IJ SHALL consider alternative conditions of release and Petitioner’s ability 9 to pay bond if he or she determines bond 1s appropriate; and 10 (3) Respondents SHALL make a complete record of the bond hearing available to 11 Petitioner and his counsel. 12 || The Clerk of Court is ORDERED to CLOSE the case. 13 IT IS SO ORDERED. 14 Dated: June 29, 2026 15 i Honorable Benjamin J. Cheeks 18 United States District Judge 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28