Marlon Bismarck Espinoza-Diaz, a Nicaraguan national detained at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, challenged his detention after ICE arrested him during a March 5 immigration interview where his wife's I-130 family petition was approved. Espinoza-Diaz entered the U.S. near Hidalgo, Texas in February 2022 without inspection and was initially released on his own recognizance, but was detained by ICE when he appeared for the interview with his U.S. citizen wife regarding her petition on his behalf.
Judge Beckering rejected the government's argument that Espinoza-Diaz should be held under mandatory detention provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), finding instead that § 1226(a) governs noncitizens who were already residing in the U.S. when apprehended. "The Court concludes that § 1226(a), not § 1225(b)(2)(A), governs noncitizens, such as Petitioner, who have resided in the United States and were already within the United States when apprehended," Beckering wrote, citing her analysis in several similar recent cases.
The government had argued that Espinoza-Diaz failed to exhaust administrative remedies by not first pursuing a bond hearing before immigration authorities, but Beckering declined to enforce the exhaustion doctrine. She also dismissed arguments that the ICE Detroit Field Office Director was the only proper respondent, retaining that official while dismissing the Department of Homeland Security, Attorney General, and Executive Office for Immigration Review as defendants.
The ruling adds to a series of similar decisions by Beckering challenging ICE's use of mandatory detention for immigrants who were living in the U.S. when arrested, citing both statutory interpretation and Fifth Amendment due process concerns. ICE must now provide Espinoza-Diaz with a bond hearing under § 1226(a) within five business days or release him, and file a status report within six days certifying compliance.