Western District of Pennsylvania • 3:26-cv-01375

#1

Jul 15, 2026

MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis by FAHEEM ABDUL JALEEL. (Attachments: # 1 Prisoner Authorization Form, # 2 Habeas Petition lodged pending disposition of IFP Motion, # 3 Civil Cover Sheet, # 4 Citation, # 5 Exhibit 1, # 6 Cover Letter, # 7 Envelope) (tla) (Entered: 07/16/2026)

#2

Jul 15, 2026

CONSENT to Trial/Jurisdiction by US Magistrate Judge OR District Judge Option, by FAHEEM ABDUL JALEEL. (Attachments: # 1 Envelope) (tla) (Entered: 07/16/2026)

#3

Jul 15, 2026

Prisoner Trust Fund Account Statement by FAHEEM ABDUL JALEEL. (Attachments: # 1 Envelope) (tla) (Entered: 07/16/2026)

Jul 15, 2026

Judge David S. Cercone added. (tla)

Jul 17, 2026

Order on Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis

#5

Jul 20, 2026

ATTORNEY Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Credit Card Required)

#7

Jul 21, 2026

Case Management Order

#8

Jul 21, 2026

Remark: 5 Petition and 7 Case Management Order were emailed to USAO for service this day, 07/21/2026. Further, 7 Case Management Order was mailed to Petitioner this day, 07/21/2026. Text-only entry. No PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter. (lyk) (Entered: 07/21/2026)

#9

Jul 21, 2026

ORDER REASSIGNING CASE. The Clerk of Court is directed to reassign this case to another member of the court for all further proceedings. Judge David S. Cercone no longer assigned to case. Signed by Judge David S. Cercone on 7/21/26. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter. (mwm) (Entered: 07/21/2026)

Jul 21, 2026

Order Reassigning Case

#10

Jul 22, 2026

NOTICE of Appearance by Michael Leo Ivory on behalf of TODD BLANCHE, BRIAN MCSHANE, MARKWAYNE MULLIN, LEONARD ODDO. (Ivory, Michael) (Entered: 07/22/2026)

#11

Jul 22, 2026

SCHEDULING ORDER: Response to 5 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus due 7/31/2026; Reply due 8/7/2026. Signed by Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand on 7/22/2026. Text-only entry; No PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter. (map) (Entered: 07/22/2026)

Jul 22, 2026

Order AND ~Util - Set Response

Jul 22, 2026

Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand added. (bgs)

#12

Jul 31, 2026

RESPONSE to 5 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, filed by TODD BLANCHE, BRIAN MCSHANE, MARKWAYNE MULLIN, LEONARD ODDO. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5, # 6 Exhibit 6, # 7 Exhibit 7, # 8 Exhibit 8, # 9 Exhibit 9, # 10 Exhibit 10, # 11 Exhibit 11, # 12 Exhibit 12, # 13 Exhibit 13, # 14 Exhibit 14) (Ivory, Michael) (Entered: 07/31/2026)

#13

Aug 03, 2026

ORDER DENYING 5 Petition for Habeas Corpus. Pro se Petitioner, a native and citizen of Afghanistan, was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to sixteen years in prison on April 27, 2012. See ECF No. 12-4. On March 27, 2025, an Immigration Judge ordered Petitioner removed to Afghanistan. See ECF No. 12-6. Petitioner did not appeal. That order of removal became final on April 27, 2025 following the expiration of the appeal period. See ECF No. 12-6 at 4. In a previous petition in another District, Jaleel v. Sage, No. 3:26-412, ECF No. 1 (M.D. Pa. 2026), Petitioner argued that his detention had become unconstitutionally prolonged and he was entitled to immediate release. See ECF No. 12-10. The Court disagreed and denied the petition. See ECF No. 12-12. Now, in a separate Petition, Petitioner again requests immediate release from detention. ECF No. 5 at 20-21. Petitioner asserts that the extended length of his detention pending his removal violates his rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. 8 U.S.C. § 1231 governs detention and removal of aliens ordered removed. Section 1231 does not include a temporal limitation on the government's ability to detain aliens prior to removal, but in Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 701 (2001), the Supreme Court held that the Immigration and Nationality Act's post-removal-period detention provision contains an implicit reasonableness limitation of six months, after which a noncitizen may not continue to be detained if there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future. Under Zadvydas, once the six-month period expires, a noncitizen seeking relief must first present the Court with good reason to believe that there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future[.] Alexander v. Atty Gen., 495 F. Appx 274, 276 (3d Cir. 2012) (quoting Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 701). Where a noncitizen meets this initial burden, the Government can establish its continued authority to detain the petitioner only if the Government can rebut his evidence and show that the noncitizen's removal remains likely in the reasonably foreseeable future. Id. And the longer an alien is detained, the less he must put forward to obtain relief. Id. Petitioner has now been detained for over fifteen months which, as Respondents acknowledge, exceeds the six-month presumptively reasonable period. ECF No. 12 at 10. Petitioner avers that the Afghanistan Consulate has not yet issued the travel documents necessary for his removal. ECF No. 5 para. 5. Respondents argue that the fact that the necessary travel document have not yet been issued is insufficient to show that there is no significant likelihood that Petitioner's removal will occur in the reasonably foreseeable future. ECF No. 11 at 11. Respondents state that they are actively engaged in efforts to obtain the required transportation letter[.] Id. At 12. Moreover, Respondents argue that Petitioner refused to complete a travel document packet necessary to obtain the required travel document for a period of five months and fifteen days. See ECF No. 12-8; ECF No. 12-7 paras. 8-9. The Court finds that Petitioner has failed to show that there is no significant likelihood of his removal in the reasonably foreseeable future. See Joseph v. United States, 127 F. App'x 79, 81 (3d Cir. 2005) (upholding detention pending removal of over two years where Petitioner failed to produce[] evidence... that travel documents will not be issued in the reasonably foreseeable future[.]); Bodnari v. Noem, No. CV 3:24-163, 2025 WL 317985, at *3 (W.D. Pa. Jan. 28, 2025) (Haines, J.) (In instances where an alien is unable to produce evidence demonstrating good cause to believe that there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future, courts have sustained continuing periods of detention pending removal well beyond the six-month time frame described as presumptively reasonable by the Supreme Court in Zadvydas.) (quoting Kamara v. Warden, Clinton Cnty. Corr. Facility, No. 1:21-CV-4, 2021 WL 1971502, at *9 (M.D. Pa. Apr. 12, 2021)). Here, Respondents aver that they are working diligently to obtain the necessary travel documents from the Afghan Consulate and that, once the Afghan Consulate provides those documents, Petitioners removal will be imminent. Petitioner does not provide any reason to think the Afghan Consulate will not issue the necessary travel documents in due course. Petitioner thus fails to show that his ongoing detention is unreasonable under Zadvydas. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 5 Petition is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Clerk is to mark this case CLOSED. Signed by Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand on 8/3/2026. Text-only entry; No PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter. (map) (Entered: 08/03/2026)

#14

Aug 03, 2026

FINAL JUDGMENT entered consistent with 13 ORDER DENYING 5 Petition for Habeas Corpus. Signed by Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand on 8/3/2026. Text-only entry; No PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter. (map) (Entered: 08/03/2026)

#15

Aug 03, 2026

MOTION to Extend Time to File Traverse in Support of 5 Petition by FAHEEM ABDUL JALEEL. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Envelope) (tla) (Entered: 08/03/2026)

#16

Aug 03, 2026

ORDER DISMISSING 15 MOTION to Extend Time to File Traverse as MOOT. In the 15 Motion, Petitioner seeks a 14-day extension of the deadline to file a reply to Respondents' 12 response in opposition to the 5 petition. "The Court, in its discretion, may rule... without waiting for a reply brief where the opening and opposition briefs fully frame the issues for the Court's decision." JPMorgan Chase Bank, Nat'l Ass'n v. Roggio, No. CV 19-6330 (RK) (TJB), 2024 WL 4800723, at *2 (D.N.J. Oct. 4, 2024), appeal dismissed sub nom. JP Morgan Chase Bank, Nat'l Ass'n v. Roggio, No. 24-3119, 2025 WL 1375538 (3d Cir. Mar. 13, 2025). On 8/3/2026, the Court denied the petition. See ECF No. 13. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the 15 Motion to Extend Time to file a reply is DISMISSED as MOOT. Signed by Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand on 8/3/2026. Text-only entry; no PDF document will issue. This text-only entry constitutes the Order of the Court or Notice on the matter. (mkn) (Entered: 08/03/2026)

Aug 03, 2026

Judgment (Rule 58)

Aug 03, 2026

Order

Aug 03, 2026

Order on Motion to Extend Time