Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_15-cv-00396/USCOURTS-azd-2_15-cv-00396-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 463
Nature of Suit: Habeas Corpus - Alien Detainee
Cause of Action: 28:2241 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Federal)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Maria Socorro Molina-Alejos,

Petitioner, 

vs.

Eric Himpton Holder, et al., 

Respondents. 

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CIV-15-396-PHX-JJT (MHB)

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

TO THE HONORABLE JOHN J. TUCHI, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE:

Petitioner Maria Socorro Molina-Alejos has filed a Amended Petition Under 28

U.S.C. § 2241 for a Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in Federal Custody (Doc. 16).

According to the Amended Petition, Petitioner is a native and citizen of Mexico who has

lived in the United States for approximately eighteen years. An I-130 petition filed on

Petitioner’s behalf by her husband, a legal permanent resident, was approved in 2005. A

subsequently-filed I-485 application to adjust Petitioner’s immigration status was denied,

however, and on July 11, 2013, Petitioner was removed from the United States pursuant to

a reinstated expedited order of removal.

On September 30, 2013, Petitioner presented herself at a port of entry in California

to seek entry into the United States through a grant of asylum. After being taken into United

States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) custody, Petitioner was found to have

a reasonable fear of returning to Mexico, and her case was referred to an Immigration Judge.

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On April 17, 2014, the Immigration Judge denied Petitioner’s request for a redetermination

of her custody status based on a finding that Petitioner presented a flight risk. Petitioner

appealed, and on October 7, 2014, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) issued an

order affirming the Immigration Judge’s decision.

Petitioner then sought review of the BIA’s decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of

Appeals. After determining that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s bond appeal order,

see 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1), the Court of Appeals construed Petitioner’s petition for review as

a Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 for a Writ of Habeas Corpus and transferred the case to

this District.

In her Amended Petition, Petitioner names Warden Chuck DeRosa, Acting ICE

Director Sarah R. Saldana, and Assistant Phoenix Field Office Director Micheal Zackowski

as Respondents and raises three grounds for relief. In Ground One, Petitioner argues that her

due process rights were violated when the Immigration Judge failed to properly weigh the

factors used to determine whether an alien should be released on bond and that she afforded

undue weight to Petitioner’s past illegal entries. In Ground Two, Petitioner alleges the

Immigration Judge erred by failing to consider whether any amount of bond could reasonably

ensure Petitioner’s compliance with court orders. In Ground Three, Petitioner argues that the

Immigration Judge erroneously determined that Petitioner lacked sufficient motivation to

reappear before the Immigration Court because Petitioner had “very limited relief available

to her.” According to Petitioner, her pending applications for asylum, withholding of

removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture Act gave her “every incentive

to comply with the orders of the [Immigration] Court.”

On June 22, 2015, Petitioner, through counsel, filed a Motion to Voluntarily Dismiss

Petition (Doc. 24). Petitioner’s Motion indicates that she was released from custody on June

12, 2015, on parole without bond. Thus, Petitioner states that the instant habeas petition is

now moot.

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Accordingly, it appearing that Petitioner is no longer in custody, that there is no longer

a live case or controversy in this matter, and that the habeas petition is now moot and should,

therefore, be dismissed, the Court will recommend that Petitioner’s Amended Petition for a

Writ of Habeas Corpus be dismissed.

IT IS THEREFORE RECOMMENDED that Petitioner’s Amended Petition for a

Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (Doc. 16) be DISMISSED as moot and

without prejudice.

This recommendation is not an order that is immediately appealable to the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals. Any notice of appeal pursuant to Rule 4(a)(1), Federal Rules of

Appellate Procedure, should not be filed until entry of the district court’s judgment. The

parties shall have fourteen days from the date of service of a copy of this recommendation

within which to file specific written objections with the Court. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1);

Rules 72, 6(a), 6(b), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Thereafter, the parties have fourteen

days within which to file a response to the objections. Pursuant to Rule 7.2, Local Rules of

Civil Procedure for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, objections

to the Report and Recommendation may not exceed seventeen (17) pages in length. Failure

timely to file objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation may result

in the acceptance of the Report and Recommendation by the district court without further

review. See United States v. Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir. 2003). Failure

timely to file objections to any factual determinations of the Magistrate Judge will be

considered a waiver of a party’s right to appellate review of the findings of fact in an order

or judgment entered pursuant to the Magistrate Judge’s recommendation. See Rule 72,

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

DATED this 26th day of June, 2015.

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