Brayan Ariel Ramirez Baten, an immigration detainee held at California City Correctional Center, filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. ยง 2241. The petitioner also sought emergency relief through what was initially filed as a motion for a temporary restraining order.
The district court converted Ramirez Baten's TRO motion to a preliminary injunction motion and granted the relief on April 2. Judge Drozd ordered the petitioner's 'immediate release' and referred the matter to a magistrate judge for further proceedings. The court required prison officials to file a status report within seven days confirming compliance with the release order.
Respondents, including the warden of California City Correctional Center, filed their response to the petition and opposition to the injunctive relief motion on April 1. The case was then assigned to Magistrate Judge Carolyn S. Kittredge for case management following the preliminary injunction ruling.
The court gave Ramirez Baten 10 days to file a reply brief if additional briefing is needed to decide the petition on its merits. If no reply is filed by the deadline, the petition will be deemed submitted on the current record. The case represents another challenge to immigration detention practices in federal court.