Samolu v. DHS/ICE
- Wilhelmina Wright
- 0:18-cv-03021
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
Samolu v. DHS/ICE: Judge Wright denied the detention habeas petition as moot and dismissed the action without prejudice after Samolu was removed.
Akoi Samolu, whose detention challenge was denied as moot, and DHS/ICE, the respondent.
What happened
In Samolu v. DHS/ICE, Akoi Samolu challenged his continued detention while awaiting removal from the United States. The case returned to the district court after an appeals-court remand.
Before the remand, Samolu had been removed from the United States. Because he was no longer detained, the court concluded that his request for relief from detention was moot.
The court denied Samolu’s petition as moot and dismissed the action without prejudice. Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright entered the order.
The detailed version
- Samolu v. DHS/ICE · No. 0:18-cv-03021
- Wilhelmina Wright
- Dec. 17, 2019
Background
Akoi Samolu filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his continued detention pending removal from the United States. The matter came before the District of Minnesota on remand from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Before the Eighth Circuit issued its mandate remanding the case, Samolu was removed from the United States. The opinion states that he was therefore no longer detained.
Court’s Analysis
A petition under § 2241 can challenge detention associated with a removal order. But because Samolu was no longer detained, the court concluded that his request for habeas relief—a court order addressing unlawful detention—was moot.
Disposition
The court ordered that Samolu’s § 2241 petition was DENIED AS MOOT. It also ordered that the action was DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE, and directed that judgment be entered accordingly.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.