Khoury v. McAleenan
- David Doty
- 0:19-cv-02035
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 4
In Khoury v. McAleenan, Judge Doty dismissed Moses Khoury’s detention petition without prejudice because his removal made it moot.
Moses Khoury’s challenge to his detention was dismissed without prejudice after his removal from the United States; the court did not decide whether the detention was lawful.
What happened
In Khoury v. McAleenan, Moses Khoury challenged his continued detention after the government ordered him removed from the United States. He argued that the detention was unlawful and violated his due-process rights.
Before the court took further action, immigration officials removed Khoury from the United States. The respondents argued that his petition was moot because he was no longer in custody and the court could not order his release.
The court dismissed the petition without prejudice because Khoury’s removal meant it could no longer provide the relief he requested. Judge Doty treated the detention challenge as moot and did not decide whether the detention had been lawful.
The detailed version
- Khoury v. McAleenan · No. 0:19-cv-02035
- David Doty
- Sept. 23, 2019
Background
Moses Khoury, a native and citizen of Liberia, fled to the United States in 1999 during Liberia’s then-ongoing civil war. He was ordered removed from the United States on April 8, 2013, and taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on December 12, 2018.
On July 30, 2019, Khoury filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus—a request for a court order concerning unlawful custody. He challenged his detention after the removal period had ended, arguing that detention lasting more than six months was unlawful under Zadvydas v. Davis and violated his procedural and substantive due-process rights.
On August 13, 2019, before the court took further action on the petition, Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed Khoury from the United States. The respondents then requested dismissal.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that Article III of the Constitution permits federal courts to decide only actual, ongoing disputes. A case becomes moot when the issues no longer present a live controversy and the court can no longer grant effective relief.
Because Khoury had been removed and was no longer in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, a favorable decision could not provide the release from custody that his petition sought. The court relied on its prior decisions and an Eighth Circuit decision recognizing that release from custody generally makes a habeas challenge to detention moot.
The court therefore dismissed the petition as moot. It did not decide whether Khoury’s detention violated Zadvydas or his due-process rights.
Disposition
The court ordered that Khoury’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus be dismissed without prejudice and directed that judgment be entered.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.