Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Jarol Almora Sierra, a noncitizen detained at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his ongoing detention. The matter was initially referred to a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302, which would ordinarily have placed the case on a track for a report and recommendation before the assigned district judge.
While the petition was pending, the record showed that Sierra had been ordered removed on September 16, 2026, and that he did not file an appeal within the thirty-day window. Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b)(2) and 8 C.F.R. § 1241.1(c), an order of removal becomes final upon expiration of the time allotted for an appeal when the respondent does not appeal. His detention was therefore governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(2), subjecting him to mandatory detention during the ninety-day removal period as set forth in 8 U.S.C. §§ 1231(a)(1)(A) and (a)(2)(A).
In the interest of justice and to promote judicial efficiency, the district judge withdrew the reference to the magistrate judge and resolved the petition directly, rather than awaiting a recommendation.
The Court’s Holding
The court held that the petition was moot. Because Sierra's removal order had become final, his detention authority had shifted from the discretionary framework of 8 U.S.C. § 1226 to the mandatory framework of 8 U.S.C. § 1231. Quoting Baires v. Lynch, the court explained that a petition challenging detention under section 1226 is rendered moot when detention authority shifts to section 1231, and it cited Gregorio v. Warden, a recent Eastern District of California decision denying habeas relief to a petitioner who likewise failed to appeal and was subject to mandatory detention under a final removal order.
The court expressly declined to decide whether Sierra's initial detention was governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) or whether that earlier detention violated due process, citing Ortega v. Warden of Golden State Annex ICE Detention Facility and Aguilar Garcia v. Kaiser for the same principle that a change in detention authority to § 1231 moots the earlier challenge.
In the operative numbered order, the court denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus as moot and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case, ending the proceeding without any ruling on the merits of the underlying detention claim.
Key Takeaways
- A noncitizen who does not appeal a removal order within the thirty-day regulatory window has a final order of removal, which changes the statutory basis for his detention.
- Once detention authority shifts from 8 U.S.C. § 1226 to 8 U.S.C. § 1231, a pending habeas challenge to the earlier detention is rendered moot.
- The court did not reach the merits of whether the initial detention was authorized by § 1226(a) or violated due process, leaving those questions unresolved in this case.
- The district judge withdrew the magistrate-judge reference in the interest of justice and judicial efficiency and resolved the petition directly rather than awaiting a recommendation.
- The petition was denied as moot and the case was ordered closed, ending the federal habeas proceeding without a ruling on the underlying detention claim.
Why It Matters
The order illustrates how the timing of an immigration appeal can determine the fate of a habeas petition: once the removal order became final, the court treated the detention challenge as moot and applied the mandatory-detention framework of § 1231. For practitioners, it underscores that a § 2241 petition aimed at pre-final-order detention may be denied without any merits ruling if the removal order becomes final while the case is pending.
The decision also demonstrates the practical effect of the regulatory finality rules in 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.38(b)(2) and 1241.1(c), which convert a removal order into a final one when the appeal period expires without an appeal. That shift in detention authority can moot pending habeas claims and foreclose judicial review of earlier detention conditions.