Decisions

C.D. Cal. May 26, 2026 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115713; 2026 WL 1471864

The court adjudged the revocation of the order of supervision and the re-detention unlawful and permanently enjoined re-detention without an individualized pre-detention hearing before a neutral arbiter and third-country removal without notice and an opportunity to be heard.

Redetention Notice Third-country designation CAT deferral

Caution Entered over objections after de novo review of a magistrate judge's report that is not in the supplied file, so the reasoning behind the 'neutral arbiter' requirement has not been read; the brief notes these requirements go further than any other order in the collection.

D. Md. October 24, 2025 2025 WL 2687354 Third country: United Kingdom

Because the government produced no evidence of any step taken to effectuate removal to the United Kingdom or anywhere else, there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future and the writ issues.

Redetention Zadvydas Withholding Third-country designation

Caution The earlier September 19, 2025 opinion in the same case, which held the court had jurisdiction and denied relief at that time, is not in the file; this order does not bar removal and does not address what process is due before a third-country removal; no reporter or unofficial citation is printed for this document; the supplied file name carries the date 20251025 although the document is dated October 24, 2025.

N.D. Cal. October 10, 2025 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201666; 2025 WL 2899220 Third country: Jordan

Serious questions exist that the petitioner may not be detained without notice and a hearing before an immigration judge, or removed to a third country without notice and an opportunity to apply for fear-based relief.

Redetention Notice Third-country designation CAT deferral Zadvydas Jurisdiction 1252(g) Jurisdiction 1252(a)(5) Jurisdiction 1252(b)(9)

Caution Preliminary injunction on a 'serious questions' showing, not a final merits ruling; issued by a magistrate judge, and the file does not state whether the parties consented; the supplied file is named for the July 26, 2025 temporary restraining order but contains the October 10, 2025 order.

S.D. Tex. September 26, 2025 2025 WL 2774610

ICE re-detained the petitioner without a shown lawful revocation, notice of reasons, or the required informal interview, and his removal is not reasonably foreseeable; release was ordered with notice required once a third country is identified.

Redetention Informal interview Notice Zadvydas Withholding Third-country designation Jurisdiction 1252(g)

Caution The third-country notice claim was held premature even as summary judgment on it was denied, and no fixed notice period was set; final judgment was to be entered separately and is not in the file; the government produced no copy of any order revoking supervision; the court noted a split on whether the six-month period resets on re-detention.

D. Md. September 19, 2025 2025 WL 2687354 Third country: United Kingdom

The court held that it had jurisdiction, that the petitioner had not yet carried his burden to show a Zadvydas violation, and ordered the government to produce information about efforts to effectuate his removal.

Redetention Zadvydas Withholding Third-country designation

Caution Not read directly; known only as summarised in the October 24, 2025 opinion in the same case, which later granted the writ. The brief does not separately name the judge for this order, describing it as 'this Court's' prior opinion.

E.D. Cal. September 18, 2025 2025 WL 2675760 Third country: Kenya, Eritrea, Somalia, or Benin (mentioned to the petitioner; none secured)

The court enjoined third-country removal without written notice, a minimum of ten days to raise a Convention Against Torture claim, and reopening or fifteen days to seek reopening, but declined to order release under Zadvydas.

Notice Third-country designation CAT deferral Withholding Zadvydas Bond hearing Jurisdiction 1252(g) Assurances

Caution Preliminary injunction converted from a temporary restraining order with merits briefing to follow, although the decretal paragraph says 'permanently enjoined'; the bond hearing within 30 days, which the government requested, appears in the analysis but not in the numbered decretal paragraphs; the judge is not named anywhere in the printout; the assurances material comes from the court's quotation of ICE's July 9, 2025 policy, not from any assurance in this case.

D. Md. September 8, 2025 2025 WL 2592543 Third country: Australia and Romania

Detention is not authorized by section 1231(a)(6) because, with withholding granted as to Iran and no response from Australia or Romania, there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.

Redetention Zadvydas Withholding Third-country designation Notice Jurisdiction 1252(g)

Caution The six-month Zadvydas presumption was assumed without deciding to apply; the third-country notice claim was stayed because the petitioner is a D.V.D. class member, so the court did not rule on what process is due before a third-country removal; the separate order carrying the decretal terms of release is not in the file.

C.D. Cal. September 3, 2025 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171809; 2025 WL 4666804

The revocation notice was not individualized and stated no reasons, and ICE's belief that removal was now possible was no changed circumstance; release was ordered and re-detention or removal barred without notice and an opportunity to be heard.

Redetention Notice Informal interview CAT deferral Third-country designation

Caution Temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on a preliminary record; the Form I-294 account reaches the court through a declaration by the petitioner's brother relaying a telephone call and is the record before the court, not a judicial finding; the brief warns that the 'border on the Kafkaesque' quotation in this order follows an ambiguous 'Id.' and is now traced to Roble v. Bondi at 772.

D. Mass. August 28, 2025 778 F. Supp. 3d 355; 2025 WL 1142968

Granting the plaintiffs' motion under Rule 62.1, the court stated that it would dissolve its April 18, 2025 preliminary injunction if the First Circuit remanded the appeal for that purpose.

Notice Third-country designation CAT deferral Class relief

Caution An interlocutory indicative ruling that does not itself dissolve the injunction; whether the First Circuit remanded, and whether the injunction was later dissolved, is not stated in the file; the disposition fits none of the listed categories, so 'Other' is used.

C.D. Cal. August 28, 2025 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168233; 2025 LX 356195

The court set a briefing schedule and enjoined the government from removing the petitioner to Iran or to any third country.

Redetention Third-country designation Notice

Caution The brief describes this order only through its identification of the three decisions in the case and the Form I-294 account it records; it names Walter, D.J. and Bristow, M.J. for the case without attributing this order to either, so the judge field is left empty.

D. Minn. August 25, 2025 803 F. Supp. 3d 766

ICE's notice merely parroted the regulation and gave no individualized reasons for re-detention, and the government bore and failed to carry the burden of showing changed circumstances; release ordered.

Redetention Notice CAT deferral Third-country designation

Caution The court declined a forward-looking injunction against future re-detention and declined class-wide relief because the petitioner had not sued as a class. The brief establishes that the 'border on the Kafkaesque' quotation belongs to this decision at 772 and not to Nouri v. Herrera or Gonzalez v. Noem.

W.D. Wash. August 21, 2025 2025 WL 2419288

The court found the petitioner likely to succeed on his Zadvydas claim and ordered his release, rejected the argument that detention must be consecutive, and found ICE's third-country removal policy likely inconsistent with Ninth Circuit precedent.

Redetention Zadvydas Third-country designation Notice

Caution Not read directly; described and quoted in the printouts of Tang v. Bondi, Villanueva v. Tate, and Y.T.D. v. Andrews, and in the D.V.D. indicative ruling. Tang distinguished it. Evidence recited in Tang indicates Vietnam issued a travel document for this petitioner on September 3, 2025, after the order.

E.D. Cal. August 20, 2025 2025 WL 2791778

The re-detention was unlawful because ICE gave no informal interview and showed no changed circumstances making removal to China reasonably foreseeable; release was ordered and re-detention barred without notice and a pre-detention hearing before an immigration judge.

Redetention Informal interview Notice Zadvydas Third-country designation Jurisdiction 1252(g)

Caution Temporary restraining order granted in part on a preliminary record, with a preliminary-injunction schedule to follow; the request to enjoin third-country removal was denied without prejudice as not ripe; the order introduces 'five claims' and then lists six, and several regulatory citations are printed irregularly.

S.D. Fla. August 8, 2025 2025 WL 2280485; 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153228 Third country: Guatemala

The emergency motion was denied: section 241.4(l)(2) required no notice or interview and both were in fact given, the Zadvydas claim was premature, and the regulatory stay barred removal to Mexico only.

Redetention Informal interview Notice Zadvydas CAT deferral Third-country designation Jurisdiction 1252(g) Transfer out of district Bond hearing

Caution The brief records that this decision resolves the project's ledger claim 10 against the version previously carried: the motion was denied, and no appellate stay is supported, only the district court's interim order of June 12, 2025 staying transfer and removal. The decision splits from Grigorian, Zhu, Ceesay and Torres on whether section 241.4(l)(1) process attaches to an (l)(2) revocation, and from Gonzalez v. Noem and Zhu on jurisdiction to restrain a transfer.

N.D. Cal. August 6, 2025 2025 WL 2243616

Serious questions exist that due process bars detention or removal to any third country without notice and an opportunity to present a fear-based claim; sections 1252(g), (a)(5), (b)(9) and FARRA do not bar review.

Redetention Notice Third-country designation CAT deferral Zadvydas Jurisdiction 1252(g) Jurisdiction 1252(a)(5) Jurisdiction 1252(b)(9)

Caution Preliminary injunction on the 'serious questions' standard, converted from a temporary restraining order by consent; every merits finding is framed as a serious question and none is final; no third country is identified anywhere in the file, and the court did not identify the governing detention statute by number.

W.D. Wash. July 30, 2025 2025 WL 2165995

The court restrained removal to any country other than Vietnam pending a preliminary-injunction ruling, relief the government did not oppose, and denied immediate release as falling outside the limited purpose of a temporary restraining order.

Redetention Zadvydas Third-country designation

Caution Interim order that replaced a July 25, 2025 ex parte order and was to last only until a written order on the preliminary injunction; the court expressly declined to elaborate on the merits of the third-country claims and gave the government more time to rebut the Zadvydas showing; the government conceded that its revocation notice was incorrect; the Tang order cites this decision as decided July 20, 2025 although the document reads 'Signed July 30, 2025'.

W.D. Wash. July 25, 2025 2025 WL 2097979

Finding serious questions about the legality of his detention and a threat of severe irreparable harm, the court entered an ex parte order prohibiting removal to a third country pending a full hearing.

Third-country designation

Caution Not read directly; known only from the July 30, 2025 order, which replaced it; the Westlaw citation comes from the Westlaw history page appended to that printout, which is editorial matter rather than the court's text.

N.D. Cal. June 26, 2025 2025 WL 1771438

The court granted a temporary restraining order against arrest, detention, and third-country removal without notice and a hearing, while giving the government an opportunity for further briefing and a hearing.

Redetention Notice Third-country designation

Caution Not read directly; known from the recital in the August 6, 2025 preliminary-injunction order in the same case and from a parenthetical description in the Nguyen v. Scott printout. It ran until July 10, 2025, was extended by stipulation, and was superseded by the August 6 injunction.

U.S. June 23, 2025 145 S. Ct. 2153; 2025 WL 1732103

The Supreme Court stayed the district court's classwide preliminary injunction pending appeal, with no member of the majority offering analysis.

Notice Third-country designation CAT deferral Class relief

Caution Not read directly; an emergency-docket order granting a stay to the government, described only in later opinions. A subsequent Supreme Court opinion, 145 S. Ct. 2627, is said to have implied the injunction was erroneously issued, but the briefs give no date or disposition for it, so it is not registered here.

D. Mass. April 18, 2025 778 F. Supp. 3d 355; 2025 WL 1142968

The court certified a class and preliminarily enjoined the government from removing class members to third countries without notice and a meaningful opportunity to seek relief under the Convention Against Torture.

Notice Third-country designation CAT deferral Class relief

Caution Not read directly; described in later opinions. The injunction was stayed by the Supreme Court on June 23, 2025, and on August 28, 2025 the issuing court stated it would dissolve it if the First Circuit remanded. The briefs do not name the judge for this order and do not print the class definition in full.

W.D. Wash. December 6, 2019 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210865; 2019 WL 6683512 Third country: Somalia

The government's position was not substantially justified, and the court awarded $36,720 in fees and $2,170 in expenses at $450 per hour under the Equal Access to Justice Act.

Attorney fees Notice Third-country designation

Caution Fees were denied for the unsuccessful motion-to-enforce phase. The brief notes that a Fifth Circuit decision cited elsewhere in the collection holds the Act does not authorize fees for successful section 2241 motions, so fee recovery depends on the circuit.

W.D. Wash. June 20, 2019 409 F. Supp. 3d 998; 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103569; 2019 WL 2548137 Third country: Somalia

DHS may designate a removal country outside removal proceedings, but designating Somalia without notice or an opportunity to be heard violated due process, so proceedings must be reopened before any removal there.

Redetention Notice Third-country designation Withholding CAT deferral Jurisdiction 1252(a)(5) Bond hearing Zadvydas

Caution The four-step notice procedure often attributed to this case comes from subsection D of the magistrate judge's report, which the district judge did not adopt; the court's statement that failing to advise of the right to apply for asylum or withholding is itself a due process violation is hedged as what Ninth Circuit case law 'suggests'; the court held detention was not indefinite under Zadvydas and granted only a bond hearing on that score. Any account presenting the case as forbidding administrative designation misstates it.

W.D. Wash. January 23, 2019 409 F. Supp. 3d 998; 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 200381; 2019 WL 5790904 Third country: Somalia

The magistrate judge recommended relief and set out four procedural requirements DHS must satisfy before removing a person to an undesignated country.

Redetention Notice Third-country designation Withholding

Caution This is a report and recommendation, not a decision of the court, and it was adopted only in part: the district judge adopted the Background section and subsections A, B, C and F, and did not adopt subsection D, which contains the four-step procedure, or subsection E. The report's statement that DHS has failed to notify other noncitizens before removing them to undesignated countries, and its description of the facts as 'alarming to say the least', are the magistrate judge's characterisations in an unadopted portion.

E.D. Va. August 28, 2006 446 F. Supp. 2d 604

The petition was premature because the six-month post-removal period had not run, and ICE's active steps to secure a third country defeated the claim that removal was not significantly likely.

Zadvydas CAT deferral Third-country designation

Caution Adverse authority, and the brief carries it as such. Pre-removal custody does not count toward the six months. The petitioner was cooperating with ICE's efforts and consented to removal to a third country, so nothing in the case addresses removal over objection, without notice, or to a state where the person fears harm. The brief describes the grant only as 'CAT relief' without specifying withholding or deferral, and it does not print the decretal disposition.

9th Cir. June 11, 1999 180 F.3d 1033 Third country: Armenia

Denying asylum on firm resettlement in Armenia, a country added as an alternative destination after the evidence closed, was error, because the regulation permits denial only where a third country has offered resettlement without harm or persecution.

Notice Third-country designation Withholding

Caution The frequently quoted notice passage at 1041 addressed a point the INS had conceded and was not the dispositive ground; the court decided the case on 8 C.F.R. section 208.13(d) (1999), whose current text should be confirmed before quoting. The brief corrects the year: this decision is 1999, not 2000.