Zhuiko v. Tellez

Background

Oleg Zhuiko, who was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, filed a self-represented petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his immigration detention. The respondents included Heriberto Tellez, identified as warden of the detention center, the ICE New York Field Office Director, and Alejandro Mayorkas. The opinion notes that Zhuiko did not pay the $5 filing fee or submit an application to proceed without paying it.

Reason for Transfer

The court explained that a federal court hearing a detention petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 generally must have authority over the person’s custodian. For a petition challenging physical confinement, that authority generally exists in the federal district where the person is confined. Zhuiko was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, which is in the Eastern District of New York. The court therefore determined that transferring the petition to that district was in the interest of justice under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). The opinion states that Zhuiko had believed the detention center was in the Southern District of New York.

Order

Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York immediately, without the usual seven-day waiting period. The court closed the case in the Southern District of New York. It left the decision about whether Zhuiko could proceed without paying the filing fee to the receiving court.

The court did not decide whether Zhuiko’s immigration detention was lawful. It stated that Zhuiko had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied, so it would not issue a certificate of appealability. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.