Court
D. Nev.
Decided
October 28, 2026
Docket
2:26-cv-00973-GMN-EJY (ECF No. 29)
Judge
Gloria M. Navarro, District Judge.
Outcome
Relief granted
Disposition
First amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus granted; motion for a temporary restraining order denied as moot. Release ordered no later than 29 October 2026, subject to the conditions of his prior order of supervision. The same bars as in Santander v. Blanche on re-detention without proof of changed circumstances and on removal to a third country without notice and an opportunity to seek to reopen his immigration court proceedings.
Nationality
Citizen of Cuba. Arrived in the United States on 18 April 2016 seeking asylum; ordered removed to Cuba on 31 January 2018 and later released on an order of supervision; the respondents did not dispute that he complied with its conditions. Arrested on 23 March 2026 “on a case of mistaken identity” and transferred to ICE custody, which revoked his release the same day.
Third country
Mexico. ICE issued a Notice of Removal on 3 April 2026, and he “refused to consent to deportation to Mexico.”
The court held the re-detention unlawful under 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i): “Because there is no indication that an informal interview was provided to Petitioner, nor an opportunity for him to respond to the reasons for revocation, the Court finds that Petitioner’s re-detention is unlawful”. Removal to Cuba or Mexico was not reasonably foreseeable: he does not consent to removal to Mexico, and “Respondents submit no evidence that DHS has attempted to coordinate a transfer to Mexico”, such as travel documents or communications with Mexican officials.
On removal to a third country: “Respondents do not respond to Petitioner’s argument that he has a right to due process before third-country removal.” It held that he “has a due process right to receive meaningful notice and opportunity to present a fear-based claim to an IJ before DHS deports him to a third country.”
Caution
The order records no grant of protection to the petitioner. The companion order of 22 October 2026 in Santander v. Blanche, by the same judge, is recorded separately in this register.
Third-country removal
Revocation of supervision
Informal interview
Detention
Zadvydas
Notice
Due process
Fear-based claim
Mexico
Consent
Habeas jurisdiction
The court's own text
Public copy
Read from the public federal court record.
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