De La Cruz v. Department of Homeland Security

Background

Altagracio De La Cruz filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a statute allowing a person in federal custody to challenge that custody. He asked the court to release him from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and stay, or pause, his removal while related immigration proceedings continued.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, De La Cruz is a native citizen of the Dominican Republic and had allegedly entered or reentered the United States unlawfully four times over approximately three decades. After his most recent reentry, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him on March 6, 2020, for illegal reentry and reinstated his prior removal order. He told Immigration and Customs Enforcement that he could not safely return to the Dominican Republic, leading to a scheduled reasonable-fear interview with an asylum officer. That interview was intended to assess whether he should receive limited proceedings before an immigration judge concerning possible withholding or deferral of removal.

The Department later informed the court that De La Cruz withdrew his request for a reasonable-fear determination. The Department submitted a signed withdrawal and a transcript in which De La Cruz confirmed that he intended to withdraw the request and understood that he would be deported. The Department then informed the court that De La Cruz was removed from the United States on June 2, 2020.

Court’s analysis

The court explained that a case becomes moot when the issues are no longer live or the parties no longer have a legally recognized interest in the result. In that situation, the Constitution’s requirement of a live case or controversy is not satisfied, and the federal court lacks authority to continue deciding the action.

The court applied the rule that an immigration detention challenge under § 2241 becomes moot when the petitioner is removed because the petitioner is no longer in custody. De La Cruz’s request for release was moot because he was no longer in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. His request to pause removal was also moot because he had already been deported.

Disposition

Judge Alison J. Nathan dismissed De La Cruz’s petition as moot. The order resolved the petition filed as Docket No. 1 and directed the clerk to close the case. The court stated that De La Cruz had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied, so it would not issue a certificate of appealability. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.