District of Massachusetts • 1:26-cv-13376

#1

Jul 23, 2026

PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241), filed by Gregorio Castro Soc. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit)(FC) (Entered: 07/23/2026)

#2

Jul 23, 2026

ELECTRONIC NOTICE of Case Assignment. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin assigned to case. If the trial Judge issues an Order of Reference of any matter in this case to a Magistrate Judge, the matter will be transmitted to Magistrate Judge Paul G. Levenson. (MBM) (Entered: 07/23/2026)

#3

Jul 23, 2026

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ORDER entered. Procedural Order regarding resolution of filing fee. Plaintiff must respond within 21 days. (jm) (Entered: 07/23/2026)

#4

Jul 23, 2026

General Order 19-02, dated June 1, 2019 regarding Public Access to Immigration Cases Restricted by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c). (FGD) (Entered: 07/23/2026)

#5

Jul 23, 2026

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ORDER entered. ORDER CONCERNING SERVICE OF PETITION AND STAY OF TRANSFER OR REMOVAL. (FGD) (Entered: 07/23/2026)

#6

Jul 23, 2026

Copy re 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241), 5 Service Order - 2241 Petition, 3 PSSA Order 2, and AO 240 IFP Form mailed to Gregorio Castro Soc on 7/23/2026. (FGD) (Entered: 07/23/2026)

#7

Jul 23, 2026

Copy re 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241), 5 Service Order - 2241 Petition emailed to Duty AUSA and mailed to Respondents and USAO on 7/23/2026. (FGD) (Entered: 07/23/2026)

Jul 23, 2026

Copy Mailed

Jul 23, 2026

Notice of Case Assignment

#8

Jul 24, 2026

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. The respondents shall include, with their answer to the petition, a copy of any written decision by the immigration judge who denied Petitioner bond, as well as a transcript or audio recording of the bond proceeding referenced in the petition.(FGD) (Entered: 07/24/2026)

#9

Jul 24, 2026

Copy re 8 Order, emailed to Duty AUSA and mailed to Respondents and USAO on 7/24/2026. Copy also mailed to Gregorio Castro Soc. (FGD) (Entered: 07/24/2026)

Jul 24, 2026

Order

Jul 24, 2026

Copy Mailed

#10

Jul 27, 2026

NOTICE of Appearance by Erica McMahon on behalf of D.H.S Department of Homeland Security, Antone Muniz, Plymouth County Jail Facility (McMahon, Erica) (Entered: 07/27/2026)

#11

Jul 28, 2026

RESPONSE/ANSWER to 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (2241) by D.H.S Department of Homeland Security, Antone Muniz, Plymouth County Jail Facility. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4)(McMahon, Erica) (Entered: 07/28/2026)

#12

Jul 28, 2026

NOTICE of Appearance by Daniela Hargus on behalf of Gregorio Castro Soc (Hargus, Daniela) (Entered: 07/28/2026)

#13

Jul 29, 2026

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. ORDER REASSIGNING CASE. Under Local Rule 40.1(g)(1), this matter is related to an earlier case assigned to Judge Kobick, Castro Coc v. Hyde, No. 26-cv-11839-JEK (D. Mass. filed Apr. 22, 2026). Both District Judges consent to the designation of relatedness and to the reassignment of this case. The Clerk shall reassign this case to Judge Kobick.(FGD) (Entered: 07/29/2026)

#14

Jul 29, 2026

ELECTRONIC NOTICE of Reassignment. District Judge Julia E. Kobick added. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin no longer assigned to case. (MBM) (Entered: 07/29/2026)

#15

Jul 29, 2026

District Judge Julia E. Kobick: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. The petitioner is ORDERED to file a reply brief in support of his petition on or before August 7, 2026. Counsel for the respondents is ORDERED, on or before August 4, 2026, to provide counsel for the petitioner with the audio recording of the May 4, 2026 bond hearing. (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 07/29/2026)

Jul 29, 2026

Notice of Reassignment

Jul 29, 2026

Order

Jul 29, 2026

Order Reassigning Case

#16

Aug 03, 2026

MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis by Gregorio Castro Soc.(FGD) (Entered: 08/03/2026)

#17

Aug 07, 2026

RESPONSE TO COURT ORDER by Gregorio Castro Soc . (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Exhibit 1)(Hargus, Daniela) (Entered: 08/07/2026)

#18

Aug 07, 2026

RESPONSE TO COURT ORDER by D.H.S Department of Homeland Security, Antone Muniz, Plymouth County Jail Facility re 15 Order, . (McMahon, Erica) (Entered: 08/07/2026)

#19

Aug 17, 2026

District Judge Julia E. Kobick: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. On April 28, 2026, the Court granted petitioner Gregario Castro Soc's petition for a writ of habeas corpus and ordered the respondents to provide him with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) within seven days. ECF 8, Castro Coc v. Hyde, No. 26-cv-11839-JEK (D. Mass. Apr. 28, 2026). At the bond hearing a week later, Immigration Judge ("IJ") Luciana Dubuc found that he was "a danger to the community by clear and convincing evidence" and denied him bond. ECF [11-1], at 1. These findings were based solely on Castro Soc's arrest and charge on January 6, 2026 for assault and battery on a family/household member. See ECF 11, at 1-2. On June 23, 2026, after bond was denied, the New Bedford District Court dismissed the assault and battery charge against Castro Soc. ECF [1-1], at 3; ECF 11, at 4. Contending that his May 4, 2026 bond hearing was constitutionally inadequate, Castro Soc has now filed another petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 seeking to enforce the Court's prior order and requesting that he be released. ECF 1 ; ECF 17 . For the reasons that follow, the Court will GRANT the petition and order his immediate release. The respondents argue, as a threshold matter, that the Court lacks jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(e). In pertinent part, that statute prohibits courts from reviewing "[t]he Attorney General's discretionary judgment regarding the application of" 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and from "set[ting] aside any action or decision by the Attorney General under this section regarding the... denial of bond." 8 U.S.C. § 1226(e). While "the government maintains discretion in each case to grant or deny bond," such discretion is limited by "the constitutional restraints applicable to all government action." Hernandez-Lara v. Lyons, 10 F.4th 19, 34 (1st Cir. 2021). Where, as here, a habeas petitioner asserts that "his detention resulted from constitutionally defective procedures," he may "challenge those procedures." Brito v. Garland, 22 F.4th 240, 253 (1st Cir. 2021).The respondents also contend that, by failing to appeal the IJ's denial of bond to the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") or requesting a second bond hearing in light of changed circumstances, Castro Soc has not exhausted his administrative remedies. Exhaustion may be excused, however, where a petitioner could "'suffer irreparable harm if unable to secure immediate judicial consideration of his claim.'" Portela-Gonzalez v. Sec'y of the Navy, 109 F.3d 74, 77 (1st Cir. 1997) (quoting McCarthy v. Madigan, 503 U.S. 140, 147 (1992)). This includes situations where "the petitione[r] remains detained" pending the exhaustion of administrative remedies. Brito, 22 F.4th at 256. Waiver of the exhaustion requirement is warranted here because Castro Soc, who remains in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is likely to experience irreparable harm if he is unable to seek habeas relief until the BIA decides any appeal of the IJ's denial of bond or he gets another bond hearing, where the respondents have not specifically committed to a timeline for holding a further bond hearing. See Gomes v. Hyde, 804 F. Supp. 3d 265, 272-73 (D. Mass. 2025); Sampiao v. Hyde, 799 F. Supp. 3d 14, 25-26 (D. Mass. 2025).On the merits, Castro Soc argues, and the Court agrees, that the May 4, 2026 bond hearing violated his due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. To continue detaining Castro Soc based on a finding of dangerousness, due process requires the government to "prove by clear and convincing evidence that [he] poses a danger to the community." Hernandez-Lara, 10 F.4th at 41. An uncorroborated police report describing Castro Soc's arrest for alleged assault and battery is insufficient, as a matter of law, to constitute clear and convincing evidence of dangerousness. See Zamora Luna v. Moniz, No. 26-cv-12190-JEK, ECF 15 (D. Mass. June 29, 2026) (granting motion to enforce and ordering immediate release after IJ Dubuc denied bond based on an arrest and collecting cases); Alcantara Guerrero v. Wesling, No. 26-cv-10928-JEK, ECF 26 (D. Mass. July 2, 2026) (same); Miti v. Moniz, No. 26-11327-BEM, 2026 WL 884639, at *1 (D. Mass. Mar. 31, 2026) (granting habeas petition and ordering release where IJ denied bond based only on "a police report describing a delayed allegation of misdemeanor assault, where the officers observed no physical injuries"); cf. Maurice v. Bondi, 154 F.4th 15, 22 (1st Cir. 2025) ("[A] police report, absent a conviction, must be corroborated before the [IJ] may give the report substantial weight[.]"); Rosa v. Garland, 114 F.4th 1, 17 (1st Cir. 2024) (in adjudicating adjustment of status cases, "the agency may not give 'substantial weight' to a police report in the absence of 'a conviction or corroborating evidence of the allegations contained' in the report" (quoting In Re Arreguin De Rodriguez, 21 I. & N. Dec. 38, 42 (BIA 1995))). Also insufficient is the state court record reflecting that the assault and battery charge remains pending because reliance on that charge "is simply additional reliance on the police report." Rosa, 114 F.4th at 21. The respondents recognize that since the bond hearing, Castro Soc's charge has been dismissed. ECF 11, at 9 (citing ECF [1-1], at 3). In addition, IJ Dubuc failed to consider or discuss Castro Soc's evidentiary submissions at the bond hearing, including his declaration and several letters of support. See ECF [17-1], at 3-35, 99-104; Mijango Velasco v. Wesling, No. 26-cv-11355-LTS, ECF 19, at 6 (D. Mass. Apr. 24, 2026) (granting motion to enforce and ordering immediate release where IJ relied "exclusively on an uncorroborated police report without supplying even the briefest of explanations to show how (or even whether) she had evaluated the fulsome record amassed by [petitioner] to counter the government's dangerousness argument and support his request for release"). The IJ also failed to consider affidavits of support from petitioner's partner, the alleged victim of the January 6, 2026 incident, and petitioner's stepson, who called the police. ECF [17-1], at 19-35; see Alcantara Guerrero, No. 26-10928-JEK, ECF 26 ("IJ Dubuc failed to consider or discuss Alcantara Guerrero's evidentiary submissions at the bond hearing, including his declaration and his family's affidavits. This is particularly problematic because that sworn testimony, at a minimum, contextualizes the January 19, 2026 incident that led to his arrest.").Nor did the IJ adequately consider alternatives to detention. See Hernandez-Lara, 10 F.4th at 45 ("IJs must consider... alternative conditions of release during section 1226(a) bond hearings" (citing Hernandez v. Sessions, 872 F.3d 976, 990-91 (9th Cir. 2017))). The fact that Castro Soc did not present any alternatives to detention at the bond hearing is irrelevant because due process requires such considerations. See Costa v. McDonald, No. 25-cv-13469-AK, 2026 WL 371198, at *3 (D. Mass. Feb. 10, 2026). Under the circumstances, IJ Dubuc did not afford Castro Soc a constitutionally adequate bond hearing. See Atariguana-Buele v. Warden, Plymouth Corr. Facility, No. 26-cv-12168-LTS, 2026 WL 1825934, at *2-3 (D. Mass. June 25, 2026) (discussing prior cases in which IJ Dubuc violated petitioners' due process rights in bond hearings by failing, among other things, to consider alternatives to detention). Accordingly, Castro Soc's habeas petition, ECF 1, is GRANTED. The respondents are ORDERED to release Castro Soc by no later than 6:00 p.m. on August 18, 2026. The respondents must also file a status report by August 19, 2026 confirming their compliance with this Order.(BEL) (Entered: 08/17/2026)

Aug 17, 2026

Order

#20

Aug 18, 2026

STATUS REPORT by D.H.S Department of Homeland Security, Antone Muniz, Plymouth County Jail Facility. (McMahon, Erica) (Entered: 08/18/2026)

#21

Aug 18, 2026

District Judge Julia E. Kobick: ELECTRONIC ORDER granting 16 MOTION for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 08/18/2026)

#22

Aug 18, 2026

District Judge Julia E. Kobick: JUDGMENT entered. (Currie, Haley) (Entered: 08/18/2026)

Aug 18, 2026

Order on Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis