Huanga Huanga v. Decker

Background

Luis Klever Huanga Huanga filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his immigration detention and seeking substantially the same relief in a request for a temporary restraining order. He asked the court to: (1) prevent Thomas Decker, Alejandro Mayorkas, Merrick Garland, and Carl E. Dubois from removing him from the court’s jurisdiction; (2) require his release on his own recognizance; and (3) prevent the respondents from arresting him for civil immigration detention during his immigration proceedings. Alternatively, he requested a new bond hearing.

Legal standard

The court held that a heightened standard applied because the requested temporary order would alter the existing situation and provide the ultimate relief sought in the underlying action. To obtain that relief, Huanga Huanga had to make a clear showing that he was entitled to it or that denying preliminary relief would cause extreme or very serious damage. The court also explained that temporary relief generally should preserve the existing situation until a full hearing on the merits, rather than provide the ultimate relief requested.

Ruling

The court found that Huanga Huanga had not satisfied the heightened standard for the requested temporary restraining order, except as to the need to prevent his movement to a different facility. The court therefore granted the request only to the extent that the respondents were enjoined from moving him from Orange County Correctional Facility in Orange County, New York, pending the court’s decision on his habeas petition, and denied the request in all other aspects. The court stated that it would consider the remaining requests when resolving the petition and would resolve that petition in due course. The order did not decide the merits of the detention challenge.