The government placed Paula Sofia Ramirez Clavijo in full removal proceedings and released her on her own recognisance. It then sought to move her into expedited removal, a track with far fewer protections. The court held that having put her in full proceedings and released her, the government had given her a protected liberty interest and could not retroactively switch her to the expedited track. It enjoined the government from re-detaining her without notice and a hearing before a neutral decisionmaker, and from transferring or removing her while the case runs.
Caution A district court decision, binding on the parties only. It is about which removal track a person may be placed in and about re-detention. It is not about removal to a third country, and the phrase does not appear in the decision.
Redetention Due process Expedited removal Liberty interest Custody hearing Transfer
The court's own text
Read from the preliminary injunction of 21 August 2025, obtained free from CourtListener. This decision reached the Coalition through a secondary research memorandum that listed it among decisions about removal to a third country. It is not one. It is recorded here as what it is, a decision about re-detention, because that is the step that immediately precedes a third-country removal and the register would be incomplete without this line of cases. The mislabelling is noted rather than repeated.
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