Opinion ID: 3150212
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Entitlement to a Bond Hearing

Text: With this well-established precedent of the Supreme Court and our Court in mind, we review the district court’s grant of summary judgment and entry of a permanent injunction. We consider, in turn, whether individuals detained under §§ 1226(c), 1225(b), 1226(a), and 1231(a) are entitled to bond hearings after they have been detained for six months.
Section 1226(c) requires that the Attorney General detain any non-citizen who is inadmissible or deportable because of 7 As we noted in Rodriguez II, this holding does not conflict with the Supreme Court’s decision in Demore, 538 U.S. 510, which approved only “brief period[s]” of detention without individualized determinations as to dangerousness and flight risk. Demore, 538 U.S. at 513, 523. RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 33 his criminal history upon that person’s release from imprisonment, pending proceedings to remove him from the United States.8 Detention under § 1226(c) is mandatory. Individuals detained under that section are not eligible for release on bond or parole, see 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a); they may be released only if the Attorney General deems it “necessary” for witness protection purposes, id. § 1226(c)(2). An individual detained under § 1226(c) may ask an IJ to reconsider whether the mandatory detention provision applies to him, see 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(h)(2)(ii), but such review is limited in scope and addresses only whether the individual is properly included in a category of non-citizens subject to mandatory detention based on his criminal history. See generally In re Joseph, 22 I. & N. Dec. 799 (BIA 1999). At a “Joseph hearing,” a detainee “may avoid mandatory detention by demonstrating that he is not an alien, was not 8 Mandatory detention under § 1226(c) applies to non-citizens who are inadmissible on account of having committed a crime involving moral turpitude or a controlled substance offense; having multiple criminal convictions with an aggregate sentence of five years or more of confinement; having connections to drug trafficking, prostitution, commercialized vice, money laundering, human trafficking, or terrorism; having carried out severe violations of religious freedom while serving as a foreign government official; or having been involved in serious criminal activity and asserting immunity from prosecution. It also applies to noncitizens who are deportable on account of having been convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude, an aggravated felony, a controlled substance offense, certain firearm-related offenses, or certain other miscellaneous crimes; having committed a crime of moral turpitude within a certain period of time since their date of admission for which a sentence of one year or longer has been imposed; or having connections to terrorism. See 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) (cross-referencing 8 U.S.C. §§ 1182(a)(2), 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), 1227(a)(2)(B), 1227(a)(2)(C), 1227(a)(2)(D), 1227(a)(2)(A)(i), 1182(a)(3)(B), 1227(a)(4)(B)). 34 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS convicted of the predicate crime, or that the [DHS] is otherwise substantially unlikely to establish that he is in fact subject to mandatory detention.” Demore, 538 U.S. at 514 n.3. “A determination in favor of an alien” at a Joseph hearing “does not lead to automatic release,” Joseph, 22 I. & N. Dec. at 806, because the government retains discretionary authority to detain the individual under § 1226(a). Instead, such a determination allows the IJ to consider granting bond under the § 1226(a) standards, namely, whether the detainee would pose a danger or flight risk if released. See id.; see also Demore, 538 U.S. at 532 (Kennedy, J., concurring). As a result of § 1226(c)’s mandatory language and the limited review available through a Joseph hearing, individuals are often detained for years without adequate process. See, e.g., Tijani, 430 F.3d at 1242 (lawful permanent resident detained for more than two and a half years). Members of the § 1226(c) subclass also tend to be detained for longer periods than other class members: The longestdetained class member was confined for 1,585 days and counting as of April 28, 2012, and the average subclass member faces detention for 427 days. These lengthy detention times bear no relationship to the seriousness of class members’ criminal history or the lengths of their previously served criminal sentences. In several instances identified by class counsel, a class member was sentenced to one to three months in prison for a minor controlled substances offense, then endured one or two years in immigration detention. Nor do these detention durations bear any relation to the merits of the subclass members’ claims: Of the § 1226(c) subclass members who apply for relief from removal, roughly 40% are granted such relief, a rate even higher than that of the overall class. RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 35 In Rodriguez II, we held that “the prolonged detention of an alien [under § 1226(c)] without an individualized determination of his dangerousness or flight risk would be constitutionally doubtful.” 715 F.3d at 1137–38 (quoting Casas, 535 F.3d at 951). To avoid these “constitutional concerns, § 1226(c)’s mandatory language must be construed ‘to contain an implicit reasonable time limitation.’” Id. at 1138 (quoting Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 682). Accordingly, at the six-month mark, “when detention becomes prolonged, § 1226(c) becomes inapplicable,” and “the Attorney General’s detention authority rests with § 1226(a).” Id. (citation omitted). Under Casas, those detainees are then entitled to a bond hearing. See id. (discussing Casas, 535 F.3d at 951). Contrary to the government’s argument, this holding is consistent with the text of § 1226(c), which requires that the government detain certain non-citizens but does not mandate such detention for any particular length of time. See id. at 1138–39 (The government “does not argue that reading an implicit temporal limitation on mandatory detention into the statute is implausible. Indeed, it could not do so, because such an argument is foreclosed by our decisions in Tijani and Casas.”) (alterations in original) (citation omitted). Our holding is also consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Demore, which turned on the brevity of the detention at issue. See Demore, 538 U.S. at 513 (holding that Congress may require detention “for the brief period necessary for [a non-citizen’s] removal proceedings”); id. at 526 (discussing the “longstanding view that the Government may constitutionally detain deportable aliens during the limited period necessary for their removal proceedings”); id. at 530 n.12 (emphasizing the “very limited time of the detention at stake under § 1226(c)”). 36 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS Since Rodriguez II, no intervening changes in the law have affected our conclusions. Neither the Supreme Court nor our Circuit has had occasion to reexamine these issues, and the Third and Sixth Circuits have not changed the positions they adopted in Diop and Ly, respectively. See Chavez-Alvarez v. Warden, York Cnty. Prison, 783 F.3d 469, 478 (3d Cir. 2015) (finding petitioner’s detention unreasonable under the Diop framework); cf. Hernandez v. Prindle, No. 15-10, 2015 WL 1636138, at  (E.D. Ky. Apr. 13, 2015) (citing Ly for the proposition that a “short” period of detention “to effectuate effective removal,” “does not raise due process concerns”), appeal dismissed (6th Cir. 2015). Moreover, district courts have relied on Rodriguez II in resolving numerous habeas petitions filed by immigration detainees. See, e.g., Castaneda v. ICE Field Office Dir., No. 14-1427, 2015 WL 71584, at –3 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 6, 2015) (addressing whether the petitioner’s bond hearing complied with the requirements of Rodriguez II); Garcia-Perez v. Kane, No. 13-01870, 2014 WL 3339794, at  (D. Ariz. July 8, 2014) (noting that, under Rodriguez II, “detention always becomes prolonged at six months,” but denying a habeas petition because petitioner “has not been detained for longer than six months”); Lopez v. Napolitano, No. 12-01750, 2014 WL 1091336, at –6 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 18, 2014) (extending Rodriguez II to a non-citizen detained under § 1226(a) pending reinstatement of a previously issued removal order); Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder, No. 10-02211, 2013 WL 3674492, at –13 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 23, 2013) (applying Rodriguez II in holding that a class of non-citizens detained under §§ 1225(b), 1226, and 1231 are entitled to bond hearings after six months of detention). RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 37 Thus, Rodriguez II is law of the case and law of the circuit. As we recently explained, the “law of the case doctrine” provides that “a court will generally refuse to reconsider an issue that has already been decided by the same court or a higher court in the same case.” Gonzalez v. Arizona, 677 F.3d 383, 389 n.4 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc), aff’d sub nom. Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc., 133 S. Ct. 2247 (2013); see also Gonzales v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Sec., 712 F.3d 1271, 1278 (9th Cir. 2013); Bernhardt v. Los Angeles County, 339 F.3d 920, 924 (9th Cir. 2003). Likewise, pursuant to the “‘law of the circuit’ rule,” “a published decision of this court constitutes binding authority which ‘must be followed unless and until overruled by a body competent to do so.’” Gonzalez, 677 F.3d at 389 n.4 (quoting Hart v. Massanari, 266 F.3d 1155, 1170 (9th Cir. 2001)); see also United States v. Johnson, 256 F.3d 895, 914 (9th Cir. 2001) (en banc) (“[W]here a panel confronts an issue germane to the eventual resolution of the case, and resolves it after reasoned consideration in a published opinion, that ruling becomes the law of the circuit . . . .”). The “‘general rule’ is that our decisions ‘at the preliminary injunction phase do not constitute the law of the case.’” Stormans, Inc. v. Wiesman, 794 F.3d 1064, 1075 n.5 (9th Cir. 2015) (quoting Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of Am. v. Dep’t of Agric., 499 F.3d 1108, 1114 (9th Cir. 2007)). Because preliminary injunction decisions are often “made hastily and on less than a full record,” they “may provide little guidance as to the appropriate disposition on the merits.” Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Salazar, 706 F.3d 1085, 1090 (9th Cir. 2013) (citations omitted); see also S. Or. Barter Fair v. Jackson County, 372 F.3d 1128, 1136 (9th Cir. 2004). However, “there is an exception to the general rule for ‘conclusions on 38 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS pure issues of law.’” Stormans, 794 F.3d at 1075 n.5 (quoting Alpha Delta Chi–Delta Chapter v. Reed, 648 F.3d 790, 804–05 (9th Cir. 2011)); see also Ranchers Cattlemen, 499 F.3d at 1114 (“Any of our conclusions on pure issues of law, however, are binding.”). The question resolved in Rodriguez II—whether noncitizens subject to prolonged detention under § 1226(c) are entitled to bond hearings—is a pure question of law. We interpreted the statute by applying the canon of constitutional avoidance, and were bound to do so by our prior precedent. The decision was not made “hastily”; it provided a “fully considered appellate ruling” on the legal issues. Ranchers Cattlemen, 499 F.3d at 1114 (quoting 18 Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 4478.5 (2002)). We therefore follow Rodriguez II as law of the case and law of the circuit.9
Section 1225(b) applies to “applicants for admission” who are stopped at the border or a port of entry, or who are “present in the United States” but “ha[ve] not been admitted.” 8 U.S.C. § 1225(a)(1). The statute provides that asylum 9 The government’s primary arguments regarding § 1226(c) are that we misconstrued Demore and other Supreme Court precedent, that the permanent injunction is inconsistent with the language and purpose of § 1226(c), and that bond hearings following six months of incarceration are not necessary and are an inappropriate “one size fits all” remedy. These arguments are foreclosed by Rodriguez II. The government also argues that any challenges to detention under § 1226(c) must be addressed through individual as-applied claims. This argument is foreclosed by Rodriguez I, which reversed the district court’s denial of class certification. RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 39 seekers “shall be detained pending a final determination of credible fear of persecution and, if found not to have such a fear, until removed.” Id. § 1225(b)(1)(B)(iii)(IV). As to all other applicants for admission, the statute provides that “if the examining immigration officer determines that an alien seeking admission is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted, the alien shall be detained” for removal proceedings. Id. § 1225(b)(2)(A). Under DHS regulations, non-citizens detained pursuant to § 1225(b) are generally not eligible for release on bond. 8 C.F.R. § 236.1(c)(2). If there are “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit[s]” at stake,10 however, the Attorney General has discretion to temporarily parole such an individual into the United States, provided that the individual presents neither a danger nor a risk of flight. 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A). Because parole decisions under § 1182 are purely discretionary, they cannot be appealed to IJs or courts. This lack of review has proven especially problematic when immigration officers have denied parole based on blatant errors: In two separate cases identified by the petitioners, for example, officers apparently denied parole because they had confused Ethiopia with Somalia. And in a third case, an officer denied parole because he had mixed up two detainees’ files. As with § 1226(c), the government often cites § 1225(b)’s mandatory language to justify indefinite civil detention without an individualized determination as to whether the 10 Under this standard, detainees are eligible for parole if they have serious medical conditions, are pregnant, are juveniles who meet certain conditions, or will be witnesses in judicial, administrative, or legislative proceedings. See 8 C.F.R. § 212.5(b). 40 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS detainee would pose a danger or flight risk if released. See, e.g., Nadarajah, 443 F.3d at 1071, 1076 (asylum seeker detained for nearly five years). Section 1225(b) subclass members have been detained for as long as 831 days, and for an average of 346 days each. These individuals apply for and receive relief from removal at very high rates: 94% apply, and of those who apply, 64% are granted relief. In illustrative cases identified by the petitioners, non-citizens fled to the United States after surviving kidnapping, torture, and murder of their family members in their home countries. Upon arrival, these individuals were detained under § 1225(b), and they remained in detention until the government granted their asylum applications hundreds of days later. In Rodriguez II, we extended Casas and held that to avoid serious constitutional concerns, mandatory detention under § 1225(b), like mandatory detention under § 1226(c), must be construed as implicitly time-limited. Rodriguez II, 715 F.3d at 1144. Accordingly, “the mandatory provisions of § 1225(b) simply expire at six months, at which point the government’s authority to detain the alien shifts to § 1226(a), which is discretionary and which we have already held requires a bond hearing.” Id. (citing Casas, 535 F.3d at 948). In so holding, we recognized that many members of the § 1225(b) subclass are subject to the “entry fiction” doctrine, under which non-citizens seeking admission to the United States “may physically be allowed within its borders pending a determination of admissibility,” but “are legally considered to be detained at the border and hence as never having effected entry into this country.” Id. at 1140 (quoting Barrera-Echevarria, 44 F.3d at 1450). Such non-citizens therefore “enjoy very limited protections under the United States constitution.” Id. (quoting Barrera-Echevarria, 44 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 41 F.3d at 1450). However, even if the majority of prolonged detentions under § 1225(b) are constitutionally permissible, “the Supreme Court has instructed that, where one possible application of a statute raises constitutional concerns, the statute as a whole should be construed through the prism of constitutional avoidance.” Id. at 1141 (citing Clark, 543 U.S. at 380). Section 1225(b) applies to several categories of lawful permanent residents who are not subject to the entry fiction doctrine but may be treated as seeking admission under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(13)(C). See id. at 1141–42.11 11 Section 1101(a)(13)(C) provides that: An alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States shall not be regarded as seeking an admission into the United States for purposes of the immigration laws unless the alien—

continuous period in excess of 180 days, (iii) has engaged in illegal activity after having departed the United States, (iv) has departed from the United States while under legal process seeking removal of the alien from the United States, including removal proceedings under this chapter and extradition proceedings, (v) has committed an offense identified in section 1182(a)(2) of this title, unless since such offense the alien has been granted relief under section 1182(h) or 1229b(a) of this title, or (vi) is attempting to enter at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers or has not been 42 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS Because those persons are entitled to due process protections under the Fifth Amendment, prolonged detention without bond hearings would raise serious constitutional concerns. See id. at 1142–43; see also Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 682 (holding that indefinite detention of a once-admitted noncitizen “would raise serious constitutional concerns”). We therefore construed the statutory scheme to require a bond hearing after six months of detention under § 1225(b). Rodriguez II, 715 F.3d at 1144. The government now argues that “[d]espite years of discovery, petitioners have not identified any member of the Section 1225(b) subclass who is a [lawful permanent resident].” Petitioners represent that they have found lawful permanent residents who have been detained for more than six months under § 1225(b), although their submissions do not identify any specific individuals who fit that description. The question, however, is whether “one possible application of [the] statute raises constitutional concerns.” Rodriguez II, 715 F.3d at 1141. Because the government concedes that detention of lawful permanent residents under § 1225(b) is possible under § 1101(a)(13)(C), “the statute as a whole should be construed through the prism of constitutional avoidance.” Rodriguez II, 715 F.3d at 1141; see also Clark, 543 U.S. at 380 (“It is not at all unusual to give a statute’s ambiguous language a limiting construction called for by one of the statute’s applications, even though other of the statute’s applications, standing alone, would not support the same limitation. The lowest common denominator, as it were, must govern.”). admitted to the United States after inspection and authorization by an immigration officer. RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 43 The government also argues that lawful permanent residents treated as seeking admission are entitled to lesser due process protections than other lawful permanent residents. But the government has not provided any authority to support that proposition: The cases cited in the government’s brief address statutory and regulatory distinctions between lawful permanent residents treated as applicants for admission and other lawful permanent residents; they do not reflect any constitutional distinction between those groups. See Gonzaga-Ortega v. Holder, 736 F.3d 795, 8014 (9th Cir. 2013) (holding that lawful permanent residents treated as applicants for admission are not entitled to counsel under 8 C.F.R. § 292.5(b)); Toro-Romero v. Ashcroft, 382 F.3d 930, 936 (9th Cir. 2004) (explaining that different statutes govern exclusion of inadmissible non-citizens and removal of deportable noncitizens); Raya-Ledesma v. INS, 55 F.3d 418, 420 (9th Cir. 1994) (holding that “the INS limitation of § 212 relief [from deportation] to legal permanent residents who have held that status for more than seven years” does not violate an ineligible non-citizen’s equal protection rights). Finally, the government argues that, instead of requiring bond hearings, we could avoid constitutional concerns by interpreting § 1225(b) not to apply to lawful permanent residents. This argument relies on an implausible construction of the statutes at issue. Section 1225(b) applies to “applicants for admission,” and § 1101 defines six categories of lawful permanent residents as “seeking an admission into the United States for purposes of the immigration laws.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(13)(C); see also Gonzaga-Ortega, 736 F.3d at 801 (“Ordinarily a returning [lawful permanent resident] is not treated as an ‘applicant for 44 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS admission.’ But the statute that so provides includes six exceptions . . . .”). The Supreme Court’s decision in Kwong Hai Chew v. Colding, 344 U.S. 590 (1953), is not to the contrary. Chew involved a pre-IIRIRA immigration regulation that applied to “excludable” non-citizens. Id. at 591 n.1. Because the regulations were silent as to whether that category included lawful permanent residents returning from voyages abroad, the Court distinguished between the “exclusion” of newly arriving non-citizens and the “expulsion” of lawful permanent residents, thereby holding that the regulation did not authorize the Attorney General to detain arriving lawful permanent residents without hearings. Id. at 598–99. Section 1101(a)(13)(C) forecloses an analogous construction of § 1225(b) because it provides that “applicants for admission” includes several groups of lawful permanent residents. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(13)(C). In any event, the government’s alternative construction of § 1225(b) was never raised before the district court; the argument is therefore forfeited. See Munns v. Kerry, 782 F.3d 402, 412 (9th Cir. 2015); Saldana v. Occidental Petrol. Corp., 774 F.3d 544, 554 (9th Cir. 2014). Accordingly, we adhere to Rodriguez II’s holding regarding the § 1225(b) subclass as law of the case and law of the circuit. See Gonzalez, 677 F.3d at 390 n.4. The government’s attempts to re-litigate Rodriguez II are unavailing.12 12 The government argues, among other things, that the permanent injunction entered by the district court is inconsistent with § 1225(b), DHS regulations, the political branches’ plenary control of the borders, the limited constitutional protections afforded to non-citizens seeking RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 45
Section 1226(a) authorizes detention “pending a decision on whether the alien is to be removed from the United States.” 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). The statute expressly authorizes release on “bond of at least $1,500” or “conditional parole.”13 Id. § 1226(a)(2). Following an initial custody determination by DHS, a non-citizen may apply for a review or redetermination by an IJ, and that decision may be appealed to the BIA. See 8 C.F.R. §§ 236.1, 1003.19. At these hearings, the detainee bears the burden of establishing “that he or she does not present a danger to persons or property, is not a threat to the national security, and does not pose a risk of flight.” Guerra, 24 I. & N. Dec. at 38. “After an initial admission to the United States, and Supreme Court precedent. The government also argues that bond hearings are unnecessary because noncitizens detained under § 1225(b) can be released on parole. We considered and rejected these arguments in Rodriguez II, and we decline to address them here. The government also argues that we should reconsider the holding in Rodriguez II in light of new evidence, including as to the rates at which non-citizens abscond or commit crimes after release, and the efficacy of the parole process. Because Rodriguez II involved pure questions of law, this new evidence is not material and does not alter our conclusions. 13 “‘[C]onditional parole’ under §1226(a)(2)(B) is a ‘distinct and different procedure’ from ‘parole’ under § 1182(d)(5)(A)).” Garcia v. Holder, 659 F.3d 1261, 1268 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting In re Castillo-Padilla, 25 I. & N. Dec. 257, 258 (BIA 2010)). As discussed above, § 1182(d)(5)(A) authorizes the Attorney General to temporarily release non-citizens detained under § 1225(b) “for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” Conditional parole under § 1226(a), by contrast, provides for release from detention if the non-citizen “would not pose a danger to property or persons” and “is likely to appear for any further proceeding.” 8 C.F.R. § 236.1(c)(8). 46 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS bond redetermination,” a request for another review “shall be considered only upon a showing that the alien’s circumstances have changed materially since the prior bond redetermination.” 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(e). The government has taken the position that additional time spent in detention is not a “changed circumstance” that entitles a detainee to a new bond hearing. Although § 1226(a) provides for discretionary, rather than mandatory, detention and establishes a mechanism for detainees to seek release on bond, non-citizens often face prolonged detention under that section. See, e.g., Casas, 535 F.3d at 944 (lawful permanent resident detained for seven years); Singh, 638 F.3d at 1203 (lawful permanent resident detained for nearly four years). In an extreme case identified by the petitioners, a non-citizen with no criminal record entered the United States on a tourist visa and affirmatively applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture shortly after that visa expired. ICE detained him throughout the ensuing proceedings before the IJ, the BIA, and the Ninth Circuit. At the time petitioners generated their report, he had been detained for 1,234 days with no definite end in sight. The district court’s decision regarding the § 1226(a) subclass was squarely controlled by our precedents. In Casas, we held that a non-citizen subjected to prolonged detention under § 1226(a) is entitled to a hearing to establish whether continued detention is necessary because he would pose a danger to the community or a flight risk upon release. 535 F.3d at 949–52. Since deciding Casas, we have repeatedly affirmed its holding. See Cole v. Holder, 659 F.3d 762, 769 n.7 (9th Cir. 2011); Singh, 638 F.3d at 1200; Aguilar-Ramos v. Holder, 594 F.3d 701, 704 n.3 (9th Cir. RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 47 2010); Makaj v. Crowther, 294 F. App’x 328, 329–30 (9th Cir. 2008) (non-precedential memorandum disposition). The government does not contest that Casas is the binding law of this circuit or that individuals detained under § 1226(a) are entitled to bond hearings. Instead, the government argues that § 1226(a) affords detainees the right to request bond hearings, see 8 C.F.R. § 236.1, so there is no basis for requiring the government to automatically provide bond hearings after six months of detention. This argument is foreclosed by Casas, which held that “§ 1226(c) must be construed as requiring the Attorney General to provide the alien with [a bond] hearing.” 535 F.3d at 951; see also Rodriguez II, 715 F.3d at 1135 (citing Casas for the proposition that under § 1226(a), “a bond hearing is required before the government may detain an alien for a ‘prolonged’ period”). The record evinces the importance of Casas’s holding on this point: Detainees, who typically have no choice but to proceed pro se, have limited access to legal resources, often lack English-language proficiency, and are sometimes illiterate. As a result, many class members are not aware of their right to a bond hearing and are poorly equipped to request one. Accordingly, we conclude that class members are entitled to automatic bond hearings after six months of detention. We address the other procedural requirements for these hearings in Section IV.B, infra.
Section 1231(a) governs detention of non-citizens who have been “ordered removed.” 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a). The statute provides for mandatory detention during a ninety-day removal period. Id. § 1231(a)(2). Under the statute: 48 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS The removal period begins on the latest of the following:
administratively final.
and if a court orders a stay of the removal of the alien, the date of the court’s final order.
(except under an immigration process), the date the alien is released from detention or confinement. Id. § 1231(a)(1)(B). The removal period may be extended beyond ninety days if a detainee “fails or refuses” to cooperate in his removal from the United States. Id. § 1231(a)(1)(C). “If the alien does not leave or is not removed within the removal period,” he “shall be subject to supervision,” but detention is no longer mandatory. Id. § 1231(a)(3). Rather, the Attorney General has discretion to detain certain classes of non-citizens and to impose conditions of release on others. Id. § 1231(a)(3), (a)(6).14 Before releasing a detainee, the government must conclude that removal is “not practicable or not in the public interest,” that the detainee is “non-violent” and “not likely to pose a threat to the community following 14 To avoid “serious constitutional concerns,” we have previously “construe[d] § 1231(a)(6) as requiring an individualized bond hearing, before an immigration judge, for aliens facing prolonged detention under that provision.” Diouf II, 634 F.3d at 1086 (quoting Casas, 535 F.3d at 950). RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS 49 release,” and that the detainee “does not pose a significant flight risk” and is “not likely to violate the conditions of release.” 8 C.F.R. § 241.4(e); see also id. § 241.4(f) (enumerating factors the review panel should “weigh[] in considering whether to recommend further detention or release of a detainee”). Here, the class is defined, in relevant part, as non-citizens who are detained “pending completion of removal proceedings, including judicial review.” The class therefore by definition excludes any detainee subject to a final order of removal. Petitioners describe the § 1231(a) subclass as individuals detained under that section who have received a stay of removal from the BIA or a court. However, if a non-citizen has received a stay of removal from the BIA pending further administrative review, then the order of removal is not yet “administratively final.” 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(B)(i). The non-citizen has not been “ordered removed,” and the removal period has not begun, so § 1231(a) is inapplicable. See Owino v. Napolitano, 575 F.3d 952, 955 (9th Cir. 2009) (“[W]hile administrative proceedings are pending on remand, Owino will not be subject to a final order of removal, so § 1231 cannot apply.”). Similarly, as long as a non-citizen’s removal order is stayed by a court pending judicial review, that non-citizen is not subject to “the court’s final order.” 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(B)(ii). In such circumstances, § 1231(a) is, again, inapplicable. See Prieto-Romero v. Clark, 534 F.3d 1053, 1059 (9th Cir. 2008) (“[Section] 1231(a) does not provide authority to detain an alien . . . whose removal has been stayed by a court of appeals pending its disposition of his petition for review.”); Casas, 535 F.3d at 947 (“If an alien has filed a petition for review with this 50 RODRIGUEZ V. ROBBINS court and received a judicial stay of removal, the ‘removal period’ under § 1231(a) does not begin until this court ‘denies the petition and withdraws the stay of removal.’”) (quoting Prieto-Romero, 534 F.3d at 1060).15 Simply put, the § 1231(a) subclass does not exist. The district court’s grant of summary judgment and permanent injunction are therefore reversed to the extent they pertain to individuals detained under § 1231(a).