Kamel v. Joyce
- James Oetken
- 1:25-cv-06249
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Kamel v. Joyce, Judge Oetken transferred Mariam Kamel’s petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to New Jersey, finding jurisdiction and venue there and preserving her removal injunction.
Mariam Kamel and the named respondents; the case moves from the Southern District of New York to the District of New Jersey, while the existing removal injunction remains in effect unless the New Jersey court orders otherwise.
What happened
Kamel v. Joyce involved Mariam Kamel’s petition under a federal law that allows a person to challenge certain forms of confinement. The Southern District of New York found that the case belonged in the District of New Jersey because Kamel was confined there when she filed the petition.
The court transferred the case to the District of New Jersey under the federal venue statute. It directed the clerk to make the transfer immediately and waived the usual seven-day waiting period.
Judge Oetken also ordered that the existing order blocking Kamel’s removal from the United States would remain in effect unless the New Jersey court later ordered otherwise. The opinion did not decide the underlying petition.
The detailed version
- Kamel v. Joyce · No. 1:25-cv-06249
- James Oetken
- July 31, 2025
Background
Mariam Kamel brought a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a federal procedure for challenging certain forms of confinement, against William P. Joyce, Todd Lyons, and Kristi Noem in their official capacities. The Southern District of New York had previously entered an order enjoining Kamel’s removal from the United States.
Jurisdiction and Venue
The court stated that jurisdiction and venue properly belonged in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey because Kamel was confined there when she filed the petition. The opinion relied on decisions cited as Ozturk v. Hyde and Khalil v. Joyce.
Ruling
Judge Oetken ordered that the case be transferred under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), the federal statute allowing transfer when a case is filed in the wrong district. The clerk was directed to transfer the case immediately, and the court waived the seven-day waiting period under Local Rule 83.1.
The court further ordered that the existing order blocking Kamel’s removal would remain in effect unless and until the District of New Jersey ordered otherwise. The opinion addressed jurisdiction and venue and did not decide the merits of Kamel’s petition.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.