Abi v. Barr
- Paul Magnuson
- 0:19-cv-01033
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 5
In Abi v. Barr, Judge Magnuson denied Abi’s temporary restraining order because habeas relief was available and no irreparable harm was shown.
Abshir Hassan Abi, who remained in immigration detention while his separate petition challenging that detention proceeded; the named federal, immigration, and local respondents were affected as opposing parties to the motion.
What happened
In Abi v. Barr, Abshir Hassan Abi asked for immediate release from immigration detention or a hearing before an immigration judge to decide whether detention should continue. He argued that his continued detention caused irreparable harm while his challenge to the detention was pending.
The court rejected that request. It found that continued detention, without an imminent removal or change in status, did not establish the required irreparable harm. It also found that Abi’s habeas petition was an adequate way to seek the same relief and that a temporary restraining order would improperly change the existing detention status.
Judge Magnuson overruled Abi’s objections, adopted the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, and denied the motion for a temporary restraining order. The court did not conduct an in-depth review of whether Abi was likely to win his underlying detention challenge.
The detailed version
- Abi v. Barr · No. 0:19-cv-01033
- Paul Magnuson
- June 13, 2019
Background
Abshir Hassan Abi is a citizen and native of Somalia who became a lawful permanent resident in 2008. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him in February 2018 and began removal proceedings based on his 2010 felony conviction for aggravated witness tampering. He remained in mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c).
Abi filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging the constitutionality of his continued detention. One day later, he filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, asking for essentially the same relief: immediate release or a bond hearing before an immigration judge.
Report and Recommendation and Objections
United States Magistrate Judge Tony Leung recommended denying the temporary restraining order. The recommendation concluded that Abi had not shown irreparable harm—the type of harm that cannot be adequately remedied later—and that his habeas petition provided an adequate legal remedy. Abi objected, arguing that his detention itself established irreparable harm and that the recommendation did not properly analyze his likelihood of success under the preliminary-injunction factors.
Court’s Analysis
After reviewing the objections independently, the court held that Abi had not shown irreparable harm. Although detention was a harm, the court found that continued detention while the already-briefed habeas petition was being decided did not show harm that was certain, great, and imminent. The court noted that Abi was not subject to a final removal order and that his removal was not otherwise imminent.
The court also concluded that a temporary restraining order was not the proper vehicle for the requested relief. The existing status quo was Abi’s mandatory detention while his removal proceedings continued. Abi was seeking to change that status by obtaining immediate release or a bond hearing, rather than preserve the existing situation until the habeas petition could be decided.
Because the habeas petition sought the same relief, the court found that it was an adequate legal remedy and that the heightened burden for extraordinary injunctive relief was not met. The court said an extensive analysis of Abi’s likelihood of success was unnecessary because the absence of irreparable harm independently supported denial. It nevertheless stated that the other relevant factors favored denying the request.
Disposition
Judge Paul A. Magnuson overruled Abi’s objections, adopted the report and recommendation, and denied Abi’s motion for a temporary restraining order. This order addressed the temporary restraining-order request; it did not decide the merits of Abi’s underlying habeas petition.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.