Augustin v. Decker

Background

Daniel W. Augustin, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, New Jersey, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his detention. He alleged that the spread of COVID-19 at the jail unlawfully endangered his life without due process. He also filed an emergency application for a show-cause order, preliminary injunction, and temporary restraining order.

The respondents moved to transfer the case to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Augustin argued that Thomas Decker, the New York Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office director, was his immediate custodian. He contended that the Bergen County Jail warden merely operated as an employee or agent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under a contract.

Court’s reasoning

The court aligned with the majority of similar decisions in the Southern District of New York and with the respondents. It held that the Bergen County Jail warden was Augustin’s immediate physical custodian. The court reasoned that the District of New Jersey had the power to order the warden to produce Augustin, respond to the habeas petition, or release him, regardless of the contractual relationship between the jail and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The court relied on the rule that, in a challenge to present physical confinement, the immediate physical custodian is the proper respondent. It further reasoned that statutory authority under 28 U.S.C. § 2243 could not be limited by agency regulations or by an agreement between federal and state authorities.

Disposition

Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the respondents’ motion to transfer venue. The court canceled all previously scheduled deadlines and conferences, waived the seven-day waiting period under Local Civil Rule 83.1, and directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the case to the District of New Jersey as soon as possible.