Jauregui-Garcia v. Barr

Filing 49

ORDER - Petitioner's Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (Doc. 38 ) is denied and this action is dismissed without prejudice. Petitioner's Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 39 ) is denied as moot. The Clerk of Court shall enter judgement accordingly and terminate this case. Signed by Senior Judge James A Teilborg on 9/9/20. (EJA)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Ramon Angel Jauregui-Garcia,

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Petitioner,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-20-00876-PHX-JAT (JFM)

William Barr, et al.,

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Respondents.

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Petitioner Ramon Angel Jauregui-Garcia (A# 215-881-425) has filed, through

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counsel, an Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and

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Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (Doc. 38) and a Motion for Temporary

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Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction (Doc. 39). This action will be dismissed as

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moot.

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I.

Background

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Petitioner is a native and citizen of Mexico. He entered the United States without

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inspection in 2000, and in January 2019, he was taken into the custody by the United States

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Department of Homeland Security and referred for removal proceedings. (Doc. 29-2 at 3-

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4.) Petitioner was subsequently detained in the CoreCivic La Palma Correctional Center

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(“LPCC”) in Eloy, Arizona. Petitioner sought a redetermination of his custody status, and

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following a hearing on June 17, 2019, an immigration judge denied his request for release

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from custody, finding that he posed a danger to the community. (Id. at 19-21.)

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On June 27, 2019, an immigration judge ordered Petitioner removed from the

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United States and denied his application for relief from removal. (Id. at 4.)1 Petitioner

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appealed the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and then to the Ninth Circuit

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Court of Appeals, which remains pending. See Jauregui-Garcia v. Barr, No. 19-73243

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(9th Cir. Dec. 19, 2019).

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Petitioner, through counsel, filed a motion with the Ninth Circuit seeking his release

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from custody due to risks associated with the spread of COVID-19 in his detention facility.

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The Ninth Circuit construed the motion as a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28

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U.S.C. § 2241 and transferred the matter to this Court. (Docs. 28-31.) Following transfer,

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Petitioner filed the instant Amended Petition and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order

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and Preliminary Injunction.

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Petitioner subsequently filed a motion for a redetermination of his custody status

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with the immigration court, “arguing that the government could not show by clear and

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convincing evidence that he was a danger or flight risk such that his continued detention

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was justified.” (Doc. 47.) Following a hearing, an immigration judge granted Petitioner’s

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request for release on bond, and on August 8, 2020, Petitioner’s appellate counsel filed a

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“Notice of Release from ICE Custody” with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Jauregui-

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Garcia v. Barr, No. 19-73243, Doc. 36 (9th Cir. Aug. 8, 2020). This Court then ordered

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Petitioner to show cause why this action should not be dismissed as moot. (Doc. 46.)

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II.

Amended Petition

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In his Amended Petition, Petitioner claims that his continued detention violates the

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Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment on three grounds. In Ground One, Petitioner

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claims Respondents have affirmatively placed Petitioner in danger by detaining him in

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conditions that risk his exposure to COVID-19 and have acted with deliberate indifference

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to that known and obvious danger. In Ground Two, Petitioner claims that Respondents,

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who have a “special relationship” with Petitioner that requires Respondents to provide him

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with reasonable medical care and safety, have detained Petitioner in conditions that put

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Executive Office for Immigration Review Automated Case Information System,
https://portal.eoir.justice.gov/InfoSystem/CourtInfo.

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him at substantial risk of exposure to COVID-19 and of suffering serious harm. In Ground

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Three, Petitioner claims that the conditions under which he is detained amount to

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punishment.

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Petitioner asks the Court to: (1) issue a writ of habeas corpus ordering his immediate

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release from detention or, in the alternative, issue an injunction enjoining Respondents

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from detaining him; (2) declare that his continued detention violates the Due Process

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Clause of the Fifth Amendment; (3) grant any other and further relief that the Court deems

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just and proper.

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III.

Discussion

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“Article III of the Constitution limits the judicial power of the United States to the

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resolution of ‘Cases’ and ‘Controversies,’ and ‘Article III standing . . . enforces the

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Constitution’s case-or-controversy requirement.’” Hein v. Freedom from Religion Found,

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Inc., 551 U.S. 587, 597-98 (2007) (quoting DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, 547 U.S. 332,

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342 589 (2006)). A party invoking federal jurisdiction bears the burden of demonstrating,

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at all stages of litigation, standing for each claim alleged and for each form of relief sought.

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Davis v. FEC, 554 U.S. 724, 734 (2008); Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs.,

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Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 185 (2000); Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 7 (1998); Lujan v. Defenders

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of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561 (1992).

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“To establish Article III standing, [the party] must show (1) an ‘injury in fact,’ (2)

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a sufficient ‘causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of,’ and (3)

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a ‘likelihood’ that the injury ‘will be redressed by a favorable decision.’” Susan B. Anthony

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List v. Driehaus, 573 U.S. 149, 157-58 (2014) (quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560-61) (internal

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bracket omitted). “An injury sufficient to satisfy Article III must be ‘concrete and

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particularized’ and ‘actual or imminent,’ not ‘conjectural’ or ‘hypothetical.’” Id. “An

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allegation of future injury may suffice if the threatened injury is ‘certainly impending,’ or

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there is a ‘substantial risk’ that the harm will occur.” Id. at 158 (quoting Clapper v.

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Amnesty Int’l USA, 568 U.S. 398, 414 (2013)). Likewise, to demonstrate redressability, “it

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must be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a

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favorable decision.” Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561.

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Petitioner lacks standing to challenge his detention and seek habeas corpus relief.

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Petitioner is no longer detained in LPCC and has been released through a process unrelated

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to this case. He has not shown that there is a reasonable expectation that if Respondents

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were to take him into custody again, they would detain him in LPCC, or that they would

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do so while the alleged unconstitutional conditions in LPCC persist. Therefore, there is

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not a substantial risk that the harm alleged in the Amended Petition will occur, nor can the

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Court provide Petitioner with the relief requested—his release from LPCC. See Campbell-

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Ewald Co., 577 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 663, 669 (2016); Pride v. Correa, 719 F.3d 1130,

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1138 (9th Cir. 2013) (“When an inmate challenges prison conditions at a particular

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correctional facility, but has been transferred from the facility and has no reasonable

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expectation of returning, his claim is moot . . . because he no longer is subjected to the

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allegedly unconstitutional policies.” (quotations and brackets omitted)); cf. Basank v.

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Decker, 20 Civ. 2518, 2020 WL 1953847, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 23, 2020) (“a live case or

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controversy exists as to the remaining Petitioners . . . But for the Court’s order restraining

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Respondents from rearresting Petitioners, Respondents would presumably seek to detain

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Petitioners anew.”). Should Respondents again detain Petitioner before the threat of

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exposure and infection has passed, he is not precluded from filing a new habeas corpus

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petition based on the conditions that exist in his detention facility at that time. Accordingly,

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this action will be dismissed as moot. See Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, 569 U.S.

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66, 72 (2013).

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IT IS ORDERED:

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(1)

Petitioner’s Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 2241 (Doc. 38) is denied and this action is dismissed without prejudice.

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(2)

Petitioner’s Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary

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Injunction (Doc. 39) is denied as moot.

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....

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....

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(3)

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Dated this 9th day of September, 2020.

The Clerk of Court shall enter judgement accordingly and terminate this case.

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