FIGUEROA v. NAPOLITANO et al
Filing
3
OPINION. Signed by Judge Stanley R. Chesler on 11/262013. (nr, )
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
CLOSED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
____________________________________
:
RAFAEL FIGUEROA,
:
:
Civil Action No. 13-3149 (SRC)
Petitioner,
:
:
v.
:
:
JANET NAPOLITANO, et al.,
:
:
OPINION
Respondents.
:
____________________________________:
Chesler, District Judge:
Petitioner, a pre-removal-period detainee confined at the Hudson County
Correctional Center in Kearny, New Jersey, has submitted a § 2241petition challenging
his mandatory detention during his immigration removal proceedings. 1 See ECF No. 1.
Petitioner seeks release or a bond hearing on the grounds that he was not taken into
immigration custody immediately upon completion of the penal term underlying his
removal proceedings. See id. at 1-14. To the extent Petitioner seeks release, his position
is meritless. See Hany El Sayed v. Holder, No. 11-7324, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16808,
at *13 (D.N.J. Feb. 9, 2012); Morrison v. Elwood, No. 12-4649, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
10917, at *3 (D.N.J. Jan. 18, 2013) (“[A district court’s] power to entertain habeas
applications . . . with respect to the claims raised by pre-removal-order alien detainees . . .
Petitioner named various federal officials as Respondents but not his Warden. The
sole proper respondent is the Warden of the Hudson County Correctional Center, where
Petitioner is in custody. See Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426 (2004); Yi v. Maugans,
24 F.3d 500 (3d Cir. 1994). Accordingly, all Respondents shall be dismissed from this
action with prejudice. However, in light of the substantive invalidity of Petitioner’s
claims, the Court finds it unnecessary to direct Petitioner’s filing of an amended pleading
naming the appropriate Respondent.
1
1
allows relief limited to a directive of a bond hearing” as opposed to an order of release)
(citations omitted). Moreover, to the extent Petitioner seeks a bond hearing, his position
is too without merit. See Sylvain v. Attorney General of U.S., 714 F.3d 150 (3d Cir.
2013) (rejecting the argument that mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) did not
apply when there was a gap between an alien’s release from criminal custody and his/her
arrest by the immigration authorities). Therefore, the Petition, ECF No. 1, will be
dismissed. Petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel, ECF No. 1-2, will be denied
as moot. An appropriate Order follows.
s/ Stanley R. Chesler
Stanley R. Chesler
United States District Judge
Dated: November 26, 2013
2
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?