District of Rhode Island • 1:26-cv-00733

#1

Oct 07, 2026

Emergency PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus ( Filing fee $ 5.00 receipt number ARIDC-2349100.), filed by Jefferson Valdes Torriente. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit ODLS Screenshot (10/07/2026), # 2 Exhibit DHS Database Summary, # 3 Exhibit EOIR Automated Case Information Portal (10/07/2026), # 4 Civil Cover Sheet Civil Cover Sheet)(Bedoya, Juan) (Entered: 10/07/2026)

#3

Oct 07, 2026

ORDER re 1 Emergency PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by Jefferson Valdes Torriente. To give the Court time to consider the pending petition, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the petitioner shall not be moved outside the District of Rhode Island without providing the Court with at least 72 hours advance notice of the move and the reason therefore. Any such 72- hour notice period shall commence at the date and time such notice is filed and expire 72 hours later, except [i]f the period would end on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period continues to run until the same time on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(2)(C). So Ordered by District Judge Mary S. McElroy on 10/7/2026. (Simoncelli, Michael) (Entered: 10/07/2026)

Oct 07, 2026

Case assigned to District Judge Mary S. McElroy and Magistrate Judge Amy E. Moses. (Simoncelli, Michael)

Oct 07, 2026

Case Assigned/Reassigned

Oct 07, 2026

TEXT ORDER re 1 Emergency PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by Jefferson Valdes Torriente. Response to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus due by 10/13/2026. So Ordered by District Judge Mary S. McElroy on 10/7/2026. (Simoncelli, Michael)

Oct 07, 2026

Order Directing Response to 2241 Habeas Petition (Immigration Cases)

#4

Oct 13, 2026

MOTION to Seal Filed. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Sealed Document Gov't Resp. to Habeas Petition, # 2 Exhibit 1 to Gov't Resp. (Form I-862 Notice to Appear), # 3 Exhibit 2 to Gov't Resp. (DHS IC Motion to Reopen), # 4 Exhibit 3 to Gov't Resp. (Berks County Pennsylvania Court Summary), # 5 Exhibit 4 to Gov't Resp. (NCIC III), # 6 Exhibit 5 to Gov't Resp. (2023 Montgomery County, PA Criminal Complaint)(Griffin, Trevor) This entry/document has been filed under seal pursuant to statute, rule or court order and access is restricted to the Court only. (Entered: 10/13/2026)

Oct 14, 2026

Order on Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

Oct 14, 2026

TEXT ORDER. The Respondents assert that the Petitioner is subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c), but they rely on unsworn representations from ICE and do not include the documents under which the Petitioner was taken into custody on September 15, 2026. By the close of business on Friday, October 16, 2026, the Respondents shall file a sworn declaration from an individual(s) with personal knowledge establishing the statutory authority under which the Petitioner was arrested and is detained, and the current status of any removal proceedings against him. The declaration shall attach the following: (1) the Form I-200 on which the Petitioner was arrested; (3) the Form I-286; (3) the Form I-213; and (4) any order or record of the Immigration Court reflecting the disposition of DHS's July 15, 2016, motion to reopen and terminate asylum, or any other removal proceedings pending against the Petitioner. The Petitioner may file a response within five (5) days of the Respondents' filing.. So Ordered by District Judge Mary S. McElroy on 10/14/2026. (Potter, Carrie)

Oct 14, 2026

TEXT ORDER granting 4 Motion to Seal. So Ordered by District Judge Mary S. McElroy on 10/14/2026. (Potter, Carrie)

Oct 14, 2026

Order on Motion to Seal

#6

Oct 16, 2026

MOTION to Seal Exhibits 1, 4, and 5 to Respondents' Notice Filed. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1 - Declaration of Acting Assistant Field Office Director Brian E. Sullivan, # 2 Exhibit 4 - Form I213 (Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien), # 3 Exhibit 5 - October 13, 2026, Order of the Immigration Judge)(Griffin, Trevor) This entry/document has been filed under seal pursuant to statute, rule or court order and access is restricted to the Court only. (Entered: 10/16/2026)

#7

Oct 16, 2026

NOTICE by Todd Blanche, Markwayne Mullin, David Venturella, David Wesling of Filing of Sworn Declaration and Supporting Documents (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 2 - Form I-200, # 2 Exhibit 3 - Form I-286)(Griffin, Trevor) (Entered: 10/16/2026)

#8

Oct 19, 2026

REPLY MEMORANDUM to Respondents' Response to Habeas Petition. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit EOIR Automated Case Information (Oct. 19, 2026))(Bedoya, Juan) (Entered: 10/19/2026)

Oct 21, 2026

Order

Oct 21, 2026

TEXT ORDER. The Respondents arrested the Petitioner on September 15, 2026, on a Warrant for Arrest of Alien, Form I-200, issued under section 236 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1226, and served him with a Notice of Custody Determination, Form I-286, under that same authority. ECF Nos. 7-1; 7-2. The Respondents' own regulations limit when that authority may be used: a noncitizen "may be arrested and taken into custody under the authority of Form I-200" only "[a]t the time of issuance of the notice to appear, or at any time thereafter and up to the time removal proceedings are completed." 8 C.F.R. §§ 236.1(b)(1), 1236.1(b)(1); see also 8 C.F.R. § 236.1(g)(1) (same limit for Form I-286). The Petitioner's removal proceedings were completed on October 30, 2018, when an Immigration Judge granted him asylum. ECF No. 6-1 8. They were not reopened until October 13, 2026, four weeks after his arrest. ECF No. 6-3. Until his asylum was terminated, he could not be removed. 8 U.S.C. § 1158(c)(1)(A); 8 C.F.R. § 1208.22. The arrest therefore fell outside the period in which the Respondents' regulations permit an I-200 arrest. The Respondents' reliance on 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) does not cure the defect, because that provision governs detention "during removal proceedings," 8 C.F.R. § 236.1(c)(1)(i), and none were pending. ICE's failure to follow its own regulations renders its action invalid. See Hall v. Nessinger, No. 1:25-cv-667-JJM-PAS, 2026 WL 18583, at *9 (D.R.I. Jan. 2, 2026); Leon Maza v. Nessinger, No. 1:26-cv-00577-MSM-AEM, 2026 WL 2530099, at *1 (D.R.I. Aug. 27, 2026). The authority for detention must exist when the Respondents act. ICE may not detain first and supply the justification afterward. See Hall, 2026 WL 18583, at *8; Deng v. Nessinger, No. 26-cv-113-JJM-AEM, 2026 WL 643198, at *4 (D.R.I. Mar. 9, 2026). Whether the Respondents now have authority to detain the Petitioner does not bear on whether the September 15 arrest was valid. See de Souza Lima v. Warden, Wyatt Detention Center et al., No. 1:26-cv-00165-MSM-AEM (D.R.I. May 28, 2026). The Court does not review the Immigration Judge's October 13, 2026, order and addresses only the statutory authority for the Petitioner's present detention.Accordingly, the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, ECF No. 1, is GRANTED. The Respondents are ORDERED to release the Petitioner immediately. The Court permits the Petitioner's transfer to effectuate his release and the return of his property. The Respondents shall not re-detain the Petitioner without first providing him and his counsel seventy-two (72) hours' written notice identifying the statutory authority for the re-detention. The Respondents shall file a status report within two (2) days confirming the Petitioner's release. So Ordered by District Judge Mary S. McElroy on 10/21/2026. (Potter, Carrie)

#10

Oct 23, 2026

Status Report