Genus v. Decker
- James Oetken
- 1:19-cv-10647
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Genus v. Decker, Judge Oetken granted Genus’s detention petition and ordered a bond hearing within 14 days or immediate release.
Anthony Genus, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, received an order requiring the respondents to provide an individualized bond hearing within 14 days or immediately release him. The government must carry the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a flight risk or danger to the community.
What happened
Anthony Genus v. Thomas Decker et al. concerned Genus’s nearly year-long detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement without an individualized bond hearing. Genus argued that the detention violated his constitutional rights.
The court considered the length of detention, delays caused by Genus, his challenges to removal, the length of his criminal sentences, and the jail’s similarity to a criminal detention facility. The court found that these factors showed his continued detention without a bond hearing had become unreasonable.
Judge J. Paul Oetken granted Genus’s request. The respondents must bring him before an immigration judge within 14 days for an individualized bond hearing or immediately release him. At the hearing, the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that Genus presents a flight risk or danger to the community.
The detailed version
- Genus v. Decker · No. 1:19-cv-10647
- James Oetken
- Mar. 23, 2020
Background
Anthony Genus filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a federal law allowing a detained person to challenge the legality of detention. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Genus under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) on March 28, 2019. When he filed the petition, he had not received an individualized bond hearing. Genus argued that the length of his detention without such a hearing violated the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
Court’s Analysis
The court applied a fact-based test for deciding when mandatory immigration detention without a bond hearing becomes unreasonable. The factors included:
- How long the person had been detained;
- Whether the person caused the delay;
- Whether the person had asserted defenses to removal;
- Whether immigration detention exceeded the sentence for the criminal conviction that led to removability; and
- Whether the detention facility was meaningfully different from a criminal jail.
The court found that Genus had been detained for almost 12 months, which strongly supported his claim. Genus was responsible for about 10 weeks of delay because he requested two adjournments and a three-week extension for appellate briefing, but the remaining delay was not attributed to him. Genus had also challenged his removal, and the respondents did not argue that his defense was frivolous.
The convictions relevant to Genus’s removability involved weapon possession and marijuana possession. The weapon conviction carried a one-year sentence, while the marijuana conviction carried a sentence of time served. The court found that the prior one-year sentence roughly matched Genus’s detention. The court nevertheless concluded that this factor did not clearly defeat his claim, particularly because the convictions occurred 25 and 29 years earlier. Genus was held in a local county jail that was also used for criminal detention, and the respondents did not contest that the facility was similar to a criminal detention facility.
The court concluded that the factors demonstrated that continued detention without a bond hearing was unreasonable and unconstitutional. Because it resolved the petition under this fact-based test, it did not decide Genus’s alternative argument that the Constitution creates a presumption against detention lasting more than six months.
Bond-Hearing Requirements and Disposition
The court also rejected the respondents’ argument that Genus improperly sought to place the burden of proof on the government. The court held that, once detention has become unreasonable, the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the detained person poses a flight risk or danger to the community. The immigration judge must also consider Genus’s ability to pay and alternatives to detention when setting bond.
Judge J. Paul Oetken granted the petition. The respondents must take Genus before an immigration judge within 14 days for an individualized bond hearing. If they do not, they must immediately release him.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.