Hosam Ghanem, a Syrian citizen detained at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, filed a pro se petition challenging his immigration detention after failing to comply with a voluntary departure order. Ghanem entered the U.S. without inspection in 2014, was briefly released on recognizance in 2024, but was re-arrested in November 2025 when he reported for a check-in at the Cincinnati Enforcement and Removal Office. He agreed to voluntary departure by February 17, 2026, but failed to leave, converting his case to a removal order.
Judge Jarbou found that Ghanem's detention challenge was not yet ripe for review under Supreme Court precedent in Zadvydas v. Davis, which established a six-month presumption of reasonable detention following a final removal order. "In order to state an excessive detention claim pursuant to Zadvydas, a petitioner must have been in ICE custody for six months on the date the petition is filed," Jarbou wrote, noting that Ghanem had been detained since November 5, 2025, but filed his petition on February 23, 2026.
The case follows standard immigration detention procedures under 8 U.S.C. § 1231, which requires detention during the initial 90-day removal period and allows continued detention for a presumptively reasonable six-month period thereafter. Ghanem's removal order became final on March 17, 2026, triggering the statutory detention framework.
The court denied the petition without prejudice, allowing Ghanem to refile once the six-month detention period has elapsed. The ruling reflects ongoing tensions between immigration enforcement priorities and constitutional limits on prolonged detention, particularly for individuals from countries like Syria where removal may prove difficult.