Kamara v. Lowe et al
Filing
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MEMORANDUM (Order to follow as separate docket entry) Signed by Honorable Julia K Munley on 1/27/25. (sm)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
No. 3:24cv2249
MALVIN SEDEKI KAMARA,
Petitioner
(Judge Munley)
v.
WARDEN LEONARD ODDO,
Respondent
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MEMORANDUM
Petitioner Malvin Sedeki Kamara ("Kamara") is an immigration detainee in
the custody of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration
and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"). Kamara commenced this action , when
housed at the Pike County Correctional Facility, by filing a petition for a writ of
habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C . § 2241 . (Doc. 1). He seeks immediate release
from custody or, in the alternative, an individualized bond hearing. (~ at 7). For
the reasons set forth below, the court will deny habeas relief.
I.
Background
Kamara is a citizen and native of Liberia. (Doc. 11-1 , at 4). On July 8,
2016, Kamara was admitted to the United States at John F. Kennedy
International Airport in New York, New York, on a J-1 Visa. 1 (kl at 4-6; Doc. 112, at 1). Kamara was granted leave to stay within the United States until October
31 , 2016. (Doc. 11 -1, at 6; Doc. 11 -2, at 1). Kamara stayed within the United
States beyond November 1, 2016. (Doc. 11 -1, at6 ; Doc.11-2 , at2).
On July 26, 2016 , Kamara married a United States citizen , Kai ma
Johnson , in Norfolk, Virginia . (Doc. 11 -3, Declaration of Deportation Officer
Zachary Phillips ("Phillips Deel. "), 117). Kamara and Ms. Johnson subsequently
divorced on December 18, 2017 , in Norfolk, Virginia . (kl 119).
Kamara then married another United States citizen , Courtney Rae
Johnson , on January 3, 2018, in Norfolk, Virginia . (kl 1110). On May 14, 2018 ,
Ms. Johnson filed a Form 1-130, Petition for Alien Relative , with the United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS"), and Kamara filed a Form 1-485,
Application to Register for Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. (kl 1111 ). On
December 19, 2018 , Kamara appeared for his interview with USCIS; however,
Ms. Johnson did not appear. (19..: 1112). On January 16, 2019 , Kamara filed a
Form 1-360, Petition for Amerasian , Widow(er) or Special Immigrant with USCIS.
1
Accord ing to the United States Department of State website , the J-1 Visa "enable[s]
foreign nationals to come to the U.S. to teach , study, conduct research , demonstrate special
skills or receive on the job training for periods ranging from a few weeks to several years."
https://j1visa.state.gov/programs (visited Jan . 27 , 2025) .
2
(kl 1113). On October 20, 2020, USCIS denied Kamara's petition. (kl_). USCIS
then denied the 1-485 and 1-130 applications on January 23, 2023. (kl 1120).
From February of 2021 , through January of 2023, Kamara was arrested on
several occasions and charged with various crimes. (19..: 111114-19).
On April 11 , 2023, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations ("ERO")
encountered Kamara when he was detained by law enforcement officials in the
state of Vermont. (Doc. 11-1 , at 5-6). ICE ERO officials determined that Kamara
was removable from the United States due to overstaying his visa. (19..:). Kamara
was therefore taken into ICE custody on April 11 , 2023. (19..:; Doc. 11-3, Phillips.
Deel . 1121 ). He was charged as removable under Section 237(a)(1 )(B) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1 )(B).2 (Doc. 11 -1, at 5-6;
Doc. 11 -3, Phillips Deel. 1123). Kamara challenged his removal , but an
immigration judge denied his claim on September 27, 2023, and he was ordered
removed to Liberia . (Doc. 11-8). Kamara appealed this decision to the Board of
Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). (Doc. 11 -9). On February 29, 2024, the BIA
dismissed Kamara 's appeal. (Doc. 11 -10). His removal order became final on
that date- February 29, 2024. See INA§ 1241 .1(a).
2
INA§ 237(a)(1 )(B) (8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(1 )(B)) states : "Any alien who is present in the
United States in violation of this chapter or any other law of the United States, or whose
nonimmigrant visa (or other documentation authorizing admission into the United States.as a
nonimmigrant) has been revoked under section 1201 (i) of this title, is deportable. "
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On July 10, 2024, Kamara filed a motion to reopen with the BIA. (Doc. 1111 ). And , on July 30, 2024, Kamara filed a motion to stay his removal. (Doc. 1112). On November 21 , 2024, the BIA issued an order denying Kamara's motion
for a stay. (Doc. 11 -13). On December 6, 2024, the BIA denied Kamara's
motion to reopen . (Doc. 11 -3, Phillips. Deel. ,I 43).
ICE has been working with officials from the Embassy of Liberia since June
of 2024 to effectuate Kamara 's removal. (.!J;L ,i,i 30-33 , 40-42 , 44-48). On June
20, 2024, Kamara underwent a verification interview with officials from the
Government of Liberia . (kl ,I 32). On July 10, 2024, the Government of Liberia
issued a travel document for Kamara with an expiration date of July 11 , 2025.
(kl ,I 33). Kamara is scheduled for removal to Liberia on a date in the
reasonably foreseeable future . (kl ,i,i 47-48).
Kamara is being detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1231 (a). His removal
period commenced when the BIA dismissed his appeal on February 29, 2024.
The gravamen of Kamara's habeas petition is that his removal to Liberia is not
reasonably foreseeable and therefore he should be released from ICE detention.
(Doc. 1).
11.
Legal Standard
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (c), a prisoner or detainee may receive habeas
relief only if he "is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of
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the United States." See 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (c)(3); Maleng v. Cook, 490 U.S. 488,
490 (1989). Because Kamara filed the instant petition while he was detained
within the jurisdiction of this court, is still currently detained by ICE, and asserts
that his continued detention violates due process, this court has jurisdiction over
his Section 2241 petition. See Zadvydas v. Davis , 533 U.S. 678 , 699 (2001 );
Spencer v. Kemna , 523 U.S. 1, 7 (1998).
Ill.
Discussion
ICE is detaining Kamara under the post-removal detention provision of the
INA, which is codified at§ 1231(a).3 Section 1231(a) of Title 8 of the United
States Code "governs the detention , release, and removal of individuals 'ordered
removed. "' Johnson v. Arteaga-Martinez, 596 U.S. 573 (2022). Section
1231 (a)(1 )(A) provides that "when an alien is ordered removed , the Attorney
General shall remove the alien from the United States within a period of 90
days." 8 U.S.C . § 1231 (a)(1 )(A). The noncitizen must be detained during this
90-day timeframe, & § 1231 (a)(2) ("During the removal period , the Attorney
General shall detain the alien" (emphasis added)), which is "referred to as the
'removal period."' 1fl § 1231 (a)(1 )(A). That 90-day period begins to run , for
noncitizens who are detained or confined for criminal offenses , on "the date the
3
Kamara does not dispute that his detention falls under Section 1231 (a) . (See Doc. 1,
at 6 (citing Section 1231 (a) (6) and Zadvydas v. Davis , 533 U.S. 678 (2001 )) ; & at 6 (" I am an
alien detained under 8 U.S.C. Section 1231 (a)")) .
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alien is released from [non-immigration] detention or confinement." lli_ §
1231 (a)(1 )(B)(iii).
Following expiration of the 90-day removal period , certain noncitizens
"may" be detained if they fall into one of four distinct categories: "(1) those who
are 'inadmissible' on certain specified grounds; (2) those who are 'removable' on
certain specified grounds; (3) those [determined] 'to be a risk to the community';
and (4) those [determined] to be 'unlikely to comply with the order of removal. "'
Arteaga-Martinez, 596 U.S. at 578-79 (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1231 (a)(6)). There is
no dispute that Kamara falls within one of the categories of noncitizens covered
by§ 1231 (a)(6) and that he is being detained under this provision of the INA.
The text of§ 1231 (a)(6) does not contain an express limit on the duration a
noncitizen can be detained under its authority. In 2001 , the Supreme Court
decided Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001 ), which held that post-removal
detention for six months is "presumptively reasonable." kl at 701 . Beyond six
months, if removal is no longer reasonably foreseeable , continued detention is no
longer authorized under§ 1231(a)(6). At that point, the Supreme Court
explained , noncitizens detained under Section 1231 (a)(6) past the six-month
presumptively constitutional period may bring a claim in a federal habeas petition
asserting that ICE no longer has the statutory authority for continued detention.
Id. at 699-701 . In such a proceeding , the Supreme Court instructed , the
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noncitizen must show there is "good reason to believe that there is no significant
likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future[. ]" 19..: at 701. If the
noncitizen does so, the burden would then shift to the government to produce
"evidence sufficient to rebut that showing. " .!.ft
Thereafter, in Johnson v. Arteaga-Martinez, the Supreme Court abrogated
the Third Circuit's holding in Guerrero Sanchez v. Warden York Cnty. Prison , 905
F.3d 208 (3d Cir. 2019), that Section 1231(a)(6) presumptively "requires the
Government to offer detained noncitizens bond hearings after six months of
detention in which the Government bears the burden of proving by clear and
convincing evidence that a noncitizen poses a fl ight risk or a danger to the
community. " Arteaga-Martinez, 596 U.S. at 576. Importantly, however, the Court
did not address the merits of the petitioner's individualized Due Process Clause
challenge or hold that such a claim could not be pursued. See & at 583-84.
Moreover, the government reassu red the Arteaga-Martinez Court that "as-applied
constitutiona l challenges" to prolonged detention under Section 1231 (a)(6)
"remain available. " Id. at 583 .
Here, Kamara brings an as-applied procedural due process challenge. He
claims that his unreasonably prolonged detention under§ 1231 (a)(6) without a
bond hearing at which the government bears the burden of justifying his
continued detention violates his rights under the Due Process Clause. (Doc. 1,
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at 6). In support, Kamara contends that there is reason to believe that there is no
significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future . (kL).
Respondent asserts that Kamara is not entitled to habeas relief under
Zadvydas because he stands to be deported to Liberia . (Doc. 10). Respondent
posits that Kamara failed to offer any evidence to suggest that his removal will
not take place within the reasonably foreseeable future. (kL at 10). Thus ,
respondent argues that the burden cannot shift to the Government to justify his
continued detainment. (kL; see also Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 701 ).
The court finds that Kamara's detention under Section 1231 (a)(6) has not
become unconstitutionally prolonged . He has failed to establish "good reason to
believe" that there is not a "significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably
foreseeable future. " Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, 594 U.S. 523 , 529 (2021 ).
Kamara's unsupported arguments are insufficient to substantiate a constitutional
violation . Thus, his due process claim fails at the first step.
Even if Kamara had carried his burden, respondent has rebutted that
showing . ICE is actively working to effectuate Kamara's removal to Liberia . On
June 20, 2024, Kamara underwent an interview with the Embassy of Liberia.
(Doc. 11-3, Phillips Deel. 1J 32). On July 10, 2024, the Government of Liberia
issued a travel document for Kamara with an expiration date of July 11 , 2025.
(kt 1J 33). Kamara was scheduled to be removed to Liberia on December 16,
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2024, but the escorting officer fell ill, and the removal was postponed. (~ ,I 44).
Kamara has been rescheduled for removal to Liberia on a date in the reasonably
foreseeable future. (!ii 1l1l 4 7-48). Respondent represents that Kamara's flight
has been scheduled and he is currently scheduled to be removed before the end
of February 2025. (Doc. 10, at 8, 10-11 ).
In addition , ICE ERO conducted an administrative custody review on
December 27, 2024, as required by 8 C.F.R. § 241.4. (Doc. 11 -3 ,I 45).
Following this review , ICE has continued Kamara 's detention because "he had
not established that he was not a flight risk or a danger to the community" and
because his removal will take place "in the reasonably foreseeable future where
ERO is in possession of a valid travel document. " (~).
The court, therefore, will deny Kamara's Section 2241 petition .
Ill.
Conclusion
Based on the foregoing , the court will deny Kamara's petition for a writ of
habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 . (Doc. 1).
An appropriate order shall issue.
Date: January
&:j___,2025
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