Aadasdeep Singh, an asylum seeker from India, entered the United States near Lakeville, Arizona in March 2023 and was initially released with reporting requirements. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March 2026 for reporting violations and is currently detained at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, California.
Judge Thurston rejected the government's position that Singh's detention was mandatory under expedited removal procedures, calling it a "legal position that this Court has rejected repeatedly." The judge noted that respondents "offer little to rebut Petitioner's due process claim and do not provide any justification for detaining Petitioner," citing seven similar cases where she ruled against mandatory detention arguments.
Singh filed his habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 along with a request for a temporary restraining order. The government responded arguing that Singh was subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), but provided no effort to distinguish the case from Thurston's previous rulings finding such detention unlawful.
The ruling requires the government to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Singh is a flight risk or danger to the community to justify denying bond. If officials fail to provide the bond hearing within 14 days, they must immediately release Singh. The decision continues a pattern of Eastern District of California judges pushing back against indefinite immigration detention without individualized hearings.