Cruz-Zavala v. Barr

Background

Walter Cruz-Zavala, who was in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a law allowing a person to challenge unlawful custody. He argued that his prolonged detention violated the Fifth Amendment's procedural and substantive due process protections. He also moved for a temporary restraining order seeking immediate release or release after a constitutionally proper bond hearing.

Cruz-Zavala had received a bond hearing on May 1, 2019. The Immigration Judge placed the burden on Cruz-Zavala to show that he was not dangerous to the community. The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed. The respondents did not dispute that Cruz-Zavala was entitled to an initial bond hearing under the immigration detention statute governing his custody, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).

Court's Analysis

The court held that the government bears the burden at a § 1226(a) bond hearing. It must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the person is a flight risk or danger to the community to justify denying bond. The court concluded that the prior hearing used the wrong burden of proof.

The court rejected the respondents' argument that Cruz-Zavala had to prove that using the correct burden would have changed the hearing's outcome. The court found that the error was not harmless because the record included evidence supporting both detention and release, including expert evidence that Cruz-Zavala presented a very low risk of reoffending. The court therefore concluded that he had not yet received a constitutionally compliant bond hearing.

The court also held that the Immigration Judge must consider the length of a noncitizen's detention when deciding whether continued detention without bond is justified. The Immigration Judge could also consider that Cruz-Zavala withdrew one request for a bond hearing and waived another because of an outstanding state warrant.

The court did not decide Cruz-Zavala's separate claim that detention conditions increased his risk of COVID-19 exposure because it found that he was entitled to relief on his procedural due process claim.

Disposition

The court granted in part and denied in part the habeas petition. It ordered the respondents to provide Cruz-Zavala with a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge within 30 days. At that hearing, the government must meet the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard, and the Immigration Judge must consider the length of detention.

The court did not order immediate release because it lacked a sufficient basis to decide whether Cruz-Zavala was a flight risk or danger to the community. It denied his other requested forms of habeas relief and denied the temporary restraining-order motion as moot.