Luis S. R. v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Background

Luis S. R. sought relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, which allows a person in custody to challenge detention that violates federal law or the Constitution. He is subject to a final removal order and has been detained since July 2025 after immigration officials revoked his order of supervision. Cuba would not accept him, and the government was considering removal to Mexico through a third-country process.

Luis S. R. is 68 years old and, according to the petition, has serious medical conditions. The record states that he was transferred from Minnesota to Louisiana in March 2026 in preparation for a possible transfer to a border facility and removal to Mexico. Judge Jerry W. Blackwell later ordered the government to return him to Minnesota while the amended petition was resolved. The record indicated that he was at the Sherburne County Facility in Minnesota as of March 26, 2026.

Claims and legal standard

Luis S. R. raised two challenges to his continued detention. First, he argued that there was no significant likelihood of his removal in the reasonably foreseeable future. Second, he argued that the government violated due process by failing to provide a written decision following his 180-day post-order custody review.

The court applied the rule from Zadvydas v. Davis: detention after the removal period is not authorized once removal is no longer reasonably foreseeable. After six months, detention is no longer presumed reasonable, but release is not automatic. The detainee must first provide good reason to believe that removal is not significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future; the government must then respond with sufficient evidence.

Court’s analysis

The court agreed that removal to Cuba was not significantly likely, but focused on whether removal to Mexico was reasonably foreseeable. The government submitted evidence that, since October 2025, Mexico had accepted two and denied one Cuban national nominated for third-country removal by the relevant immigration office. The government also stated that third-country removals to Mexico occurred weekly at several southern border offices and that presenting Luis S. R. to Mexico was expected to take place within one to two weeks after the transfer restriction was lifted.

Based on the current record, the court concluded that the government had shown a significant likelihood of removing Luis S. R. to Mexico in the reasonably foreseeable future. The court noted that Luis S. R. had not argued that he was less likely than other Cuban nationals to be accepted by Mexico. The court also noted that if Mexico denied him, the current record might no longer show a significant likelihood of removal, and it identified an apparent impasse concerning the transfer needed to present him to Mexican officials.

Regarding the written custody-review decision, the court acknowledged that immigration officials had not issued a decision letter after the January 2026 review. But it found that the delay did not clearly violate a regulation in light of the government’s active removal efforts. The court therefore concluded that the lack of a written decision did not provide a basis for habeas relief.

Recommendation and next steps

Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright recommended that the amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus be denied. The filing is a report and recommendation rather than a final district court order or judgment, and it stated that it was not directly appealable to the Court of Appeals. Objections were due on or before April 2, 2026, with responses due within three business days after objections were filed.