Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Kaba Diawara petitioned for habeas relief from prolonged immigration detention while the government attempted to arrange removal to Uganda. After the presumptively reasonable removal period had passed, the government relied on continuing diplomatic efforts but could not show that Uganda had agreed or was likely to accept him.
The Court’s Holding
The court granted the writ and ordered immediate release. Under Zadvydas, detention cannot continue indefinitely once removal is no longer significantly likely in the reasonably foreseeable future. Good-faith attempts to obtain travel documents were insufficient without evidence that those attempts were likely to produce actual removal.
Key Takeaways
- Immigration detainee must be released because the government did not show removal was reasonably foreseeable.
- The ruling turns on the governing legal standard and the specific evidentiary record, not labels alone.
- Practitioners should preserve a clear, fact-linked record for review and remedy.
Why It Matters
The inquiry is practical and forward-looking: government effort alone does not establish foreseeable removal. Habeas counsel should develop the history of failed travel-document efforts, the receiving country’s position, and concrete evidence bearing on whether removal is realistically approaching.