Basank v. Decker

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER   Petitioners, Vasif “Vincent” Basank, Freddy Barrera Carrerro, Manuel Benitez Pineda, Miguel Angel Hernandez Balbuena; Latoya Legall, Carlos Martinez, Estanlig Mazariegos, Manuel Menendez, Antar Andres Pena, and Isidro Picazo Nicolas, are currently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) in county jails where cases of COVID-19 have been identified. Petition f 1, ECF No. 9. Last night after 11:00 p.m., Petitioners filed an amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. §2241, requesting release from ICE custody because of the public health crisis posed by COVID-19. See Petition. Petitioners also filed an application for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, seeking an order (1) releasing them on their own recognizance, subject to reasonable and appropriate conditions, and (2) restraining Respondents, Thomas Decker, in his official capacity as Director of the New York Field Office of ICE, and Chad Wolf, in his official capacity as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, from arresting Petitioners for civil immigration detention purposes during the pendency of their immigration proceedings. TRO at 1, ECF No. 6. For the reasons stated below, the TRO is GRANTED, and (1) Respondents, and the Hudson, Bergen, and Essex County Correctional Facilities, are ORDERED to immediately release Petitioners today on their own recognizance, and (2) Respondents are RESTRAINED from arresting Petitioners for civil immigration detention purposes during the pendency of their immigration proceedings. BACKGROUND Petitioners were detained by ICE in connection with removal proceedings pending at the Varick Street Immigration Court. They are housed in New Jersey county jails where either detainees or staff have tested positive for COVID-19. TRO at 3-4. Specifically, Petitioners Basank, Benitez Pineda, and Mazariegos are detained at the Hudson County Correctional Facility (“Hudson County Jail”). Petition

5, 7, 11. Petitioners Barrera Carrerro, Hernandez Balbuena, Legall, Martinez, and Menendez are detained at the Bergen County Correctional Facility (“Bergen County Jail”). Id.