Shaaban v. Aviles

Background

Amir S. Shaaban filed a habeas petition challenging his detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c). In July 2015, Judge Hellerstein granted the petition and ordered the government to provide a prompt individualized bond hearing. The court reasoned that the statute required the government to place certain people in immigration detention immediately after their release from federal criminal custody and that Shaaban’s continued detention without a bond hearing violated due process.

The government appealed. In February 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and sent back the order granting habeas relief for further consideration in light of Supreme Court decisions that questioned the earlier reasoning. The opinion identifies those decisions as Jennings v. Rodriguez and Nielsen v. Preap.

Bond Hearing and Current Status

In August 2015, while the appeal was pending, an immigration judge held the bond hearing Shaaban had sought. The immigration judge denied bond after finding that Shaaban was a flight risk. His case before the Board of Immigration Appeals remained pending.

Ruling

Judge Hellerstein dismissed the case without prejudice because the record showed that Shaaban had received the requested bond hearing and that he was detained for reasons beyond the statutory rationale initially relied on by the government. The dismissal did not prevent the continuing proceedings before the Board of Immigration Appeals or any later judicial proceedings challenging rulings by that Board. The Clerk was directed to keep the case closed.