District of New Jersey • 2:26-cv-08349

PATEL v. SOTO

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Case Information

Filed: July 07, 2026
Assigned to: Julien Xavier Neals
Referred to:
Nature of Suit: Habeas Corpus - Alien Detainee
Cause: 28:2241 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (federa
Active
Last Activity: July 16, 2026
Parties: View All Parties →

Docket Entries

#1
Jul 07, 2026
PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus ( Filing fee $ 5 receipt number ANJDC-17629191.), filed by HARSHBHAI PATEL. (Attachments: # 1 Certificate of Service, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(DESHMUKH, AMIT) (Entered: 07/07/2026)
Main Document: Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
#2
Jul 08, 2026
TEXT ORDER. Respondents are hereby enjoined from transferring Petitioner from New Jersey pending further Order of the Court. So Ordered by Chief Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 7/8/2026. (mfr) (Entered: 07/08/2026)
Jul 08, 2026
QC - Attorney Case Opening
Jul 08, 2026
CLERK'S QUALITY CONTROL MESSAGE - The case you electronically filed has been processed, however, the following deficiencies were found: Cause of Action: Cause of action for this type of case must be 28:2241 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Federal). The Clerk's Office has made the appropriate changes. Please refer to the Attorney Case Opening Guide for processing electronically filed cases. (mfr)
Jul 08, 2026
Case Assigned to Judge Julien Xavier Neals. (mfr)
Jul 08, 2026
Case Assigned/Reassigned
Jul 08, 2026
Emergent Immigration Habeas Non-transfer Order
#3
Jul 13, 2026
TEXT ORDER - Before the Court is Petitioner Harshbhai Patel's ("Petitioner") Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus ("Petition") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, challenging his continued detention by immigration authorities without an individualized bond hearing. (ECF No. 1 ). Petitioner, a non-citizen who was detained within the interior of the country, contends he is unlawfully detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b). (See generally ECF No. 1 .) Based on this Court's statutory interpretation in Caiza Guevara v. Tsoukaris, No. 26-967 (JXN) and in Fuentes Velasquez v. Noem, No. 25-16797, 2025 WL 3653657 (D.N.J. Dec. 17, 2025), the Court finds the facts asserted in the Petition establish that Petitioner cannot be mandatorily detained under the plain text of § 1225(b)(1) or (b)(2), as he entered the country and has been detained on the interior of the country. As such, his continued detention under that statute is unlawful. Although Respondents may have been able to lawfully detain Petitioner under a different statute, they instead detained him under § 1225(b). Accordingly, it is ORDERED that, subject to the following, Petitioner's Petition (ECF No. 1 ) is GRANTED and Respondents shall RELEASE Petitioner within twenty-four (24) hours of the entry of this Text Order, under the same conditions, if any, that existed prior to his detention. It is further ORDERED that Respondents shall return to Petitioner all personal property belonging to Petitioner - including but not limited to any driver's license, passport, immigration documents, currency, or cellphone - that was seized at the time of detention. It is further ORDERED that Respondents are permanently enjoined from detaining Petitioner under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1) or (b)(2), which the Court has found inapplicable to him. It is further ORDERED that Respondents shall not arrest, detain, or otherwise take Petitioner into custody under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) for a period of 14 days following his release, to ensure full effectuation of this Court's judgment and to prevent circumvention of the relief granted. It is finally ORDERED that if Respondents contend that this matter is factually distinguishable from Caiza Guevara and Fuentes Velasquez, or if Petitioner has an undisclosed criminal history, they shall file an expedited answer to the Petition within three (3) days of the date of this Text Order, and Petitioner may file a reply within three (3) days of receipt of the expedited answer. So Ordered by Judge Julien Xavier Neals on 7/13/2026. (kd) (Entered: 07/13/2026)
Jul 13, 2026
Text Order
#4
Jul 15, 2026
Enforce Judgment
Main Document: Enforce Judgment
#5
Jul 16, 2026
Letter
Main Document: Letter
Jul 16, 2026
Set/Reset Motion and R&R Deadlines/Hearings
Jul 16, 2026
Set Deadlines as to 4 MOTION to Enforce Judgment . Motion set for 8/17/2026 before Judge Julien Xavier Neals. Unless otherwise directed by the Court, this motion will be decided on the papers and no appearances are required. Note that this is an automatically generated message from the Clerk`s Office and does not supersede any previous or subsequent orders from the Court. (sm)

Parties

PATEL
Party
SOTO
Party