Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Petitioner Eliana Hechavarria Galan is a native and citizen of Cuba detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the California City Detention Facility. She was previously issued a final removal order but was released on an Order of Supervision. On March 28, 2026, Respondent revoked her release on supervision and detained her without prior notice or hearing. On April 6, 2026, Petitioner received notice of Respondent's intent to remove her to Mexico, a third country, but she refused to sign consent to that removal.
The procedural posture involves a fully briefed Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus challenging the lawfulness of her re-detention. The Court notes the case is materially indistinguishable from three prior decisions—Llopiz Estrada v. Warden, Garcia Lopez v. Warden, and Outerino v. Warden—all involving Cuban nationals released on supervision, re-detained for removal to Mexico without consent, and granted habeas relief. Respondent concedes it cannot establish that Petitioner's re-detention complied with 8 C.F.R. § 241.13.
The Court’s Holding
The Court grants the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, concluding that the Government did not meet its burden to show a significant likelihood that Petitioner may be removed to Mexico. Because Petitioner has refused consent to removal to a third country and the Government cannot demonstrate compliance with 8 C.F.R. § 241.13, her continued detention violates 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i)(2). The Court resolves the case on the same basis as its prior decisions involving materially identical facts.
The Court orders Respondents to immediately release Petitioner from custody without imposing additional restrictions beyond those existing prior to her current detention, unless justified at a future pre-deprivation hearing. Respondents are enjoined and restrained from re-arresting or re-detaining Petitioner without a change in circumstances warranting re-detention. The Clerk is directed to close the case and enter judgment for Petitioner. The Court emphasizes this ruling does not determine it is impossible for Respondents to show changed circumstances in the future, but the burden remains on Respondents to establish such change.
Key Takeaways
- Cuban nationals released on Orders of Supervision cannot be indefinitely detained for third-country removal to Mexico without their consent when the Government cannot show a significant likelihood of removal.
- The Government bears the burden of proving compliance with 8 C.F.R. § 241.13 to justify continued detention; concession of non-compliance is fatal to the detention's legality.
- Courts in the Eastern District of California have consistently granted habeas relief in materially identical cases involving Cuban nationals re-detained for non-consensual removal to Mexico.
- Release orders may include injunctions against re-detention absent a demonstrated change in circumstances, preserving the Government's ability to re-detain only upon meeting its burden anew.
- The regulation 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i)(2) operates as a substantive limit on post-removal-order detention when removal is not significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.
Why It Matters
This decision reinforces a developing line of precedent in the Eastern District of California protecting Cuban nationals from prolonged detention when third-country removal to Mexico is not significantly likely due to lack of consent. It affirms that 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i)(2) imposes a meaningful constraint on ICE's detention authority, requiring the Government to affirmatively justify continued custody rather than detain indefinitely based on speculative removal prospects. The injunction against re-detention without changed circumstances provides a procedural safeguard against cyclical detention practices.