Quezada v. Hendricks
District Court, D. New Jersey · 2011-10-28 · cited 6×
Walter Quezada, a Peruvian native and U.S. permanent resident convicted of state weapons offenses in 1999, filed a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his mandatory detention by DHS under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) while removal proceedings were pending. After an immigration judge ordered his removal and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed in April 2011, the government moved to dismiss the petition as moot because Quezada’s detention was now governed by the post-removal statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1231. The district court granted the motion, holding that the change in statutory authority rendered the § 1226(c) challenge moot and that the “capable of repetition yet evading review” exception did not apply because any future detention under § 1226(c) would require speculative reversal of the removal order by the Third Circuit. The court also denied as moot Quezada’s request to prevent his transfer out of New Jersey.