ABIOYE v. ODDO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

JOHNSTOWN DIVISION

ADEWUMI ABIOYE, )

) Civil Action No. 3:23-cv-0251

)

Petitioner,

)

United States Magistrate Judge

)

v. Christopher B. Brown

)

)

LEONARD ODDO, in his official

)

Capacity as Warden of the Moshannon

)

Valley Processing Center, CAMILLA

)

WAMSLEY, in her official capacity as

)

Acting Field Office Director of the

)

Immigration and Customs

)

Enforcement, Enforcement and

)

Removal Operations, Philadelphia

)

Field office; ALEJANDRO

)

MAYORKAS, in his official capacity as

)

Secretary of the Department of

)

Homeland Security; and MERRICK

)

GARLAND, in his official capacity as

)

Attorney General of the United States,

)

)

Respondents. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION1

CHRISTOPHER B. BROWN, United States Magistrate Judge

Before the Court is the Motion for Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses Under the

Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”) filed by Petitioner Adewumi Abioye (“Abioye”).

1 The parties consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge

to conduct all proceedings in this case, including the entry of final judgment, as

authorized by 28 U.S.C. § 636. The case was originally assigned to Magistrate

Judge Cynthia Reed Eddy. Due to the retirement of Judge Eddy, the case was

reassigned to the undersigned.

ECF No. 25. The motion has been fully briefed. ECF Nos. 27 and 31. For the

reasons set forth below, the motion will be granted.

I. Background

This case arises from Respondents’ detention of Abioye pending adjudication

of his immigration removal proceedings. The pertinent facts can be simply stated:

Abioye is a citizen and national of Nigeria. ECF No. 1-4. He entered the

United States on or about April 29, 2018, as a nonimmigrant visa entry/B2 visitor

for pleasure. . He remained in the United States without authorization after his

visa expired. In July 2020, Abioye pled guilty in the United States District Court

for the District of Maryland of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of 18

U.S.C. §§ 1349 and 1343. ECF No. 1, ¶ 22. On May 13, 2022, Abioye received a

sentence of 27 months. ECF No. 25. On May 20, 2022, ICE served Abioye a Notice

to Appear which stated that he was removable due to his conviction of conspiracy to

commit wire fraud and that he had overstayed his B2 visa. ECF No. 1, ¶ 25. On

the same day of his release from criminal custody, he was transferred to ICE

custody and was civilly detained without bond under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) based on his

conviction of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.2

2 Under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c), “[t]he Attorney General shall take into custody any

alien” who is inadmissible or deportable on the basis of enumerated categories of

crimes and terrorist activities. . § 1226(c)(1). By its terms, § 1226(c) does not

entitle detainees to a bond hearing. Release is authorized “only if the Attorney

General decides . . . that release of the alien from custody is necessary” for witness-

protection purposes “and the alien satisfies the Attorney General that the alien will

not pose a danger to the safety of others or of property and is likely to appear for

any scheduled proceeding.” . § 1226(c)(2).

Abioye retained Attorney Daniel Melo from Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights

(CAIR) Coalition, who appeared with Abioye at his preliminary hearing in the

Cleveland Immigration Court on July 27, 2022.3 ECF No. 25, at 2. The

Immigration Judge ordered Abioye removed to Nigeria. . The Board of

Immigration Appeals denied Abioye’s appeal on May 23, 2023. On June 22, 2023,

Abioye, through counsel, filed a petition for review and a stay of removal in the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. at 3. The Court of

Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted a Stay of Removal during the pendency of

his petition for review. According to the public docket, oral argument on

Abioye’s appeal is tentatively scheduled during the appellate court’s December 10-

13, 2024, argument session. , No. 23-1663 (4th Cir.),

https://ca4-ecf.sso.dcn/cmecf/jsp/CaseSummary.jsp (last reviewed 9/26/2024).

On October 12, 2023, Abioye filed in this Court a petition for writ of habeas

corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his continued detention without an

individualized bond hearing as a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth

Amendment. ECF No. 1. The Government opposed Abioye’s request for a bond

hearing. ECF No. 14. On November 29, 2023, applying the four-factor test set forth

in , 965 F.3d 203, 210-11 (3d Cir.

2020), the Court granted the writ and ordered that an immigration judge conduct

3 CAIR Coalition is a 401(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which provides pro bono

legal services. ECF 25, at 4.

an individualized bond hearing.4 ECF Nos. 17 and 23. That bond hearing was held

on December 11, 2023. ECF No. 24. The immigration judge found Abioye was

neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk and released Abioye on a $5,000

bond. . Upon release, he had spent more than 18 months in civil detention. As of

January 9, 2024, Abioye was residing in Silver Spring, Maryland. ECF No. 25-1, ¶

1.

Now before the Court is Abioye’s motion requesting an award of attorneys’

fees and other expenses under the EAJA. ECF No. 25. In support, Abioye has

submitted a number of documents including his own Declaration as well as the

Declaration of Attorney Daniel Melo and the Order of the Immigration Judge

entered December 11, 2023. ECF No. 25.

II. Discussion

The Equal Access to Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412, provides, in

relevant part:

Except as otherwise specifically provided by statute, a

court shall award to a prevailing party other than the

United States fees and other expenses, in addition to any

costs awarded pursuant to subsection (a), incurred by that

party in any civil action (other than cases sounding in

tort), including proceedings for judicial review of agency

action, brought by or against the United States in any

court having jurisdiction of that action, unless the court

finds that the position of the United States was

4 Those factors are: (1) the duration of the detention, which the Third Circuit

Court of Appeals has identified as the “most important factor;” (2) whether the

detention is likely to continue; (3) the reasons for any delay; and (4) whether the

conditions under which the alien is confined differ meaningfully from criminal

punishment.

substantially justified or that special circumstances make

an award unjust.

28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A) (emphasis added). Three of these provisions are at issue

in this case: first, whether the underlying action is a “civil action” for the purposes

of the EAJA; second, whether the position of the United States was substantially

justified; and third, whether special circumstances make an award unjust.5 ECF

No. 27.

A. A Habeas Proceeding Challenging Immigration Detention Is A

“Civil Action” Under The EAJA

As noted, the EAJA applies to “any civil action (other than cases sounding in

tort), including proceedings for judicial review of agency action, brought by or

against the United States in any court having jurisdiction of that action.” 28 U.S.C.

§ 2412(d)(1)(A). “On its face, the term ‘any civil action’ would seem to include

habeas petitions, which ordinarily qualify as civil actions.” , 404

F.3d 663, 667 (2d Cir. 2005) (citing , 533 U.S. 678, 690 (2001)

(noting, in a case stemming from a habeas petition challenging immigration

detention, that “[t]he proceedings at issue here are civil, not criminal”)). Notably,

neither the Supreme Court of the United States nor the Court of Appeals for the

Third Circuit has addressed whether a civil habeas action challenging detention is a

“civil action” under the EAJA. The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, however,

has adjudicated motions for attorneys’ fees in immigration habeas cases without

5 Respondents do not dispute that Abioye is the prevailing party in the habeas

proceeding, or challenge the timeliness of the request for fees or the reasonableness

of the fees and costs requested.

questioning whether such cases fall outside the ambit of the EAJA.

, 273 F.3d 542 (3d Cir. 2001) (considering the merits of a motion for

attorney’s fees under the EAJA in a habeas case filed by a noncitizen challenging

the constitutionality of his immigration detention) and

, No. 19-2663 (3d Cir. Feb. 19, 2021) (docket entry

98) (approving the parties’ stipulation to award attorney’s fees in the amount of

$31,305.00 under the EAJA). Additionally, district courts within this Circuit have

found that the EAJA applies to a § 2241 habeas action challenging immigration-

related detention. , Case No. 3:23-cv-22, 2024 WL 3937228

(W.D. Pa. Aug. 26, 2024); , 448 F. Supp. 3d 419 (M.D. Pa.

2020) (granting in part motion for attorney’s fees under the EAJA without

questioning whether EAJA applies)); , Case No. 3:16-

2120, 2017 WL 4310078, *2 (M.D. Pa. Sept. 28, 2017) (stating “[t]his court has

repeatedly found that the EAJA applies to a § 2241 habeas action challenging

immigration-related detention.”) (citations omitted).

The courts of appeal that have addressed whether immigration habeas cases

are “civil actions” under the EAJA are divided. The Second and Ninth Circuits have

held that an immigration habeas case proceeding is a “civil action” under the EAJA.

, 404 F.3d 663, 670-72 (2d Cir. 2005) (“civil actions” under

EAJA encompass immigration habeas proceedings), and , 775

F.2d 1037, 1040–41 (9th Cir. 1985) (habeas action by an alien seeking admission to

the United States compensable under the EAJA). In contrast, the Fourth and Fifth

Circuits have held that all habeas petitions, those challenging immigration

detention and those challenging criminal detention, are “hybrid” in nature and for

this reason do not fall under the EAJA’s “any civil action” provision.

, 999 F.3d 190, 192 (4th Cir. 2021) and , 65 F.4th

782, 785 (5th Cir. 2023), . , 144 S. Ct. 553

(2024).

After a careful review of the various court decisions, including those Third

Circuit decisions awarding fees without questioning whether the EAJA applies, this

Court adopts the sound reasoning of the Second and Ninth Circuits, as well as

recent district court cases that have held that immigration habeas cases are “civil

actions” covered by the EAJA, and concludes that habeas civil immigration

proceedings fall squarely within the EAJA’s “any civil action” provision. This

conclusion is consistent with the recognition that immigration proceedings

themselves are civil in nature. , 533 U.S. 678, 690

(2001) (noting, in an immigration habeas case, that “[t]he proceedings at issue here

are civil, not criminal”); , 559 U.S. 356, 365 (2010) (“[R]emoval

proceedings are civil in nature”); , 965 F.3d at 211 (stating

“[r]emoval proceedings are civil, not criminal”); 259 F.3d

127, 131 (3d Cir. 2001) (“Immigration proceedings, however, are civil, rather than

criminal, in nature . . . .). Moreover, the only type of “civil actions” that are outside

the ambit of the EAJA are those “sounding in tort[.]” 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). As

aptly noted by Judge Lynn Adelman, “If Congress had intended to exclude habeas

actions from the EAJA, it would have done so as it excluded tort actions.”

, 479 F. Supp. 2d 897, 901 (E.D. Wis. 2007).

For these reasons, the Court agrees with Abioye that this immigration

habeas case challenging the legality of his civil detention without a bond hearing

qualifies as a “civil action” under the EAJA.

The Court now turns to whether Abioye is eligible to recover under the EAJA.

B. Eligibility To Recover Under The EAJA

In ruling on a request for fees and expenses pursuant to the EAJA, a court

must determine whether the requesting party is eligible for fees and the amount of

requested fees is reasonable. A requesting party is eligible for an attorney’s fee

award where: (1) the requesting party is the prevailing party in a non-tort suit

involving the United States; 6 (2) the government’s position was not substantially

justified; (3) the fee petition was timely filed; (4) the requesting party had a net

worth of less than $2 million when the case was filed;7 and (5) there are no special

circumstances that would make the award of fees unjust. 28 U.S.C. §

2412(d)(1)(A),(2)(B).

Here, it is not disputed that Abioye is a prevailing party, that his net worth

has never exceeded 2 million dollars, and that the fee motion was filed in a timely

6 A prevailing party is one who demonstrates that he or she has achieved a

“material alteration of the legal relationship of the parties” and a “judicial

imprimatur on the change.”

, 532 U.S. 598, 604–05 (2001).

7 The EAJA defines “party” as “an individual whose net worth did not exceed

$2,000,000 at the time the civil action was filed . . . .” 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(2)(B).

manner. Respondents can avoid payment of fees only if they can show that their

pre-litigation and litigation positions were “substantially justified” or that special

circumstances exist that would make a fee award unjust.

The next task for the Court, therefore, is to determine whether the position of

the United States was substantially justified or that special circumstances make an

award unjust.

C. Respondents Were Not Substantially Justified In Their

Litigation Position8

It is the government’s burden to show that its position had a reasonable

basis both in law and in fact. 416 F.3d 205, 210 (3d Cir.

2005 quoting , 487 U.S. 552, 565 (1988)) (defining

substantially justified as ‘“justified in substance or in the main’ – that is, justified to

a degree that could satisfy a reasonable person”). The Court “‘must not assume that

the government’s position was not substantially justified simply because the

government lost on the merits.’” , 416 F.3d at 210 (quoting 273

F.3d at 554).

Respondents argue that if the EAJA applies, the Court should deny Abioye’s

request for attorneys’ fees and expenses because the Respondents’ litigation position

8 Respondents “must meet the substantially justified test twice – once with

regard to the underlying agency action and again with regard to its litigation

position in the proceedings arising from that action.” , 416 F.3d

205, 211 (3d Cir. 2005) (citing , 273 F.3d 543, 545 (3d Cir.

2001). Because the Court finds that Respondents’ litigation position was not

“substantially justified,” the Court need not decide whether the position the

government took during the underlying agency proceeding was “substantially

justified.”

was “substantially justified.” According to Respondents, their actions were

compelled by 8 U.S.C. § 1226 and justified because Abioye was subject to mandatory

detention and ineligible for release under § 1226(c). They argue that “federal

litigators are obligated to defend as-applied challenges to this statute” and that

their position that Abioye had not met the four-factor test articulated in

was reasonable. ECF No. 27.

The Court finds neither of these arguments to have merit. Although

§ 1226(c) provides for mandatory detention and the Supreme Court has determined

that “[d]etention during removal proceedings is a constitutionally permissible part

of” the removal process,” , 538 U.S. 510, 531 (2003), the Court of

Appeals for the Third Circuit has held that prolonged detention raises due process

concerns. The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit addressed as-applied

challenges to prolonged detention under § 1226(c) in .,

656 F.3d 221, 233 (3d Cir. 2011), and ,

783 F.3d 469, 474-75 (3d Cir. 2015). In both, the appellate court held that “where

detention becomes unreasonable, the Due Process Clause demands a hearing.”

, 656 F.3d at 233; , 783 F.3d at 474-75.

In , the Court of Appeals considered whether a petitioner was entitled to

a bond hearing nearly three years into his detention under § 1226(c). , 656

F.3d at 223-26. The appellate court held that, “[w]hen detention becomes

unreasonable, the Due Process Clause demands a hearing, at which the

Government bears the burden of proving that continued detention is necessary to

fulfill the purposes of the detention statute.” . at 233. The Court of Appeals

“noted that in rejecting a due process challenge by a § 1226(c) detainee in ,

the Supreme Court emphasized that ‘mandatory detention pursuant to § 1226(c)

lasts only for a ‘very limited time’ in the vast majority of cases,’ and concluded that

the result in that case ‘may well have been different’ if the petitioner’s detention

had been ‘significantly longer than the average’.”

, 906 F.3d 274, 278 (3d Cir. 2018) (quoting , 656 F.3d at

233 (quoting , 538 U.S. at 529 & n.12).9 And in , the Court

of Appeals held that because petitioner’s year-long detention under § 1226(c) had

become unreasonable, he was entitled to a bond hearing. , 783 F.3d

at 478. Noting that whether detention has become unreasonable is “highly fact-

specific,” the Court of Appeals recognized that at a certain point continued

detention without a bond hearing violates due process:

[D]ue process requires us to recognize that, at a certain

point – which may differ case by case – the burden to an

alien’s liberty outweighs a mere presumption that the

alien will flee and/or is dangerous. At this tipping point,

the Government can no longer defend the detention

against claims that it is arbitrary or capricious by

presuming flight and dangerousness; more is needed to

justify the detention as necessary to achieve the goals of

the statute. As we said in , section 1226(c) “implicitly

authorizes detention for a reasonable amount of time,

after which the authorities must make an individualized

inquiry into whether detention is still necessary to fulfill

9 In , the Supreme Court found that § 1226(c)’s mandatory detention

provision does not, by itself, violate due process, holding that “[d]etention during

removal proceedings is a constitutionally permissible part of that process.” ,

538 U.S. at 531 (citations omitted). The petitioner in had been in civil

detention without a bond hearing for five months.

the statute’s purposes of ensuring that an alien attends

removal proceedings and that his release will not pose a

danger to the community.” . at 231. In Diop’s case we

weighed the goals of the statute against the personal costs

to his liberty resulting from his detention of roughly two

years, eleven months, and concluded Diop’s detention was

unconstitutional. .

, 783 F.3d at 474-75. And the appellate court concluded that

“beginning sometime after the six-month timeframe considered by , and

certainly by the time Chavez–Alvarez had been detained for one year, the burdens

to Chavez–Alvarez's liberties outweighed any justification for using presumptions to

detain him without bond to further the goals of the statute.” . at 478. Thus, the

court determined that Chavez-Alvarez was entitled to a bond hearing. .

Here, Respondents were on notice that the Court of Appeals for the Third

Circuit, prior to Abioye’s detention, had found that due process entitles § 1226(c)

detainees to a bond hearing at some point, with the exact time varying with the

facts of the case. Any doubt that the Supreme Court’s decision in

583 U.S. 281 (2018),10 abrogated and was removed

in July 2020 when the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit confirmed that as-

applied due-process challenges to mandatory detention under § 1226(c) survive

:

[E]ven though the [ ] Court foreclosed reading the

statutory text [of § 1226(c)] as guaranteeing periodic bond

10 The Supreme Court’s decision in abrogated and

to the extent those decisions construed § 1226(c) to contain an implicit

“reasonable” time on the period for which detention without a bond hearing was

statutorily authorized. However, did not call into question the

constitutional holdings in or that detention under § 1226(c)

may violate due process if unreasonably long.

hearings, it reserved the aliens’ constitutional claims for

remand. , 138 S. Ct. at 851. One of those claims

was that due process forbids prolonged confinement under

§ 1226(c) without a bond hearing. . . . thus left

our framework for assessing as-applied constitutional

challenges intact. . . .

. . . did not touch the constitutional analysis

that led and to their reading. That

analysis stands. We are thus bound by and

’s decision that § 1226(c) is unconstitutional when

applied to detain an alien unreasonably long without a

bond hearing.

, 906 F.3d 274, 278 (3d Cir. 2018) (recognizing

that had a constitutional holding);

, 905 F.3d 208, 222 n.11 (3d

Cir. 2018) (same).

, 965 F.3d at 210 (citations omitted). , , and

were all decided before Abioye was taken into detention in

May of 2022.

Further, while the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has not laid out a

specific standard for district courts to follow, multiple district courts within this

Circuit which have examined the question have noted a “growing consensus within

this district and, indeed it appears throughout the federal courts, that prolonged

detention of aliens under § 1226(c) raises serious constitutional concerns.”

, 644 F. Supp. 2d 535, 539 (M.D. Pa. 2009) (citations omitted),

, 650 F.3d 1007 (3d Cir. 2011). , 481 F. Supp. 3d

394, 397-98 (M.D. Pa. 2020) (detained for 20 months, ordering individualized bond

hearing); , No. 1:16-CV-1793, 2017 WL 3613982 (M.D. Pa.

Aug. 4, 2017),

, No. 1:16-CV-1793, 2017 WL 3602037 (M.D. Pa. Aug. 22, 2017) (detained for

nearly two years; ordering individualized bond hearing); , No. 4:15-

CV-0887, 2016 WL 3165645 (M.D. Pa. June 7, 2016) (detained for approximately 3

years, ordering individualized bond hearing).

Here, Abioye was detained for over sixteen months without an individualized

bond hearing, more than the year-long detention in and the fifteen-

month detention in , No. 1:22-cv-02238-CNS,

2023 WL 4488890, at *7 (D. Colo. July 12, 2023) (“Respondents knew that courts in

this District have repeatedly and unequivocally found detention under 8 U.S.C. §

1226(c) without an individualized bond hearing unreasonable, and detention for

approximately a year or more constitutionally unreasonable.”). Despite knowing

prolonged confinement without an individualized bond hearing raises due process

concerns, when Abioye requested a bond hearing sixteen months after initial

detention, Respondents, in lieu of taking no position or agreeing to a bond hearing,

opposed his request. Where, as here, there are multiple cases from the Court of

Appeals for the Third Circuit, which have found that prolonged detention under §

1226(c) without an individualized bond hearing is unreasonable, and detention for

approximately a year or more without an individualized bond hearing is

constitutionally unreasonable, Respondents’ litigation position did not have a

reasonable basis in both law and fact. Given this, the Court finds that Respondents

have not shown that their litigation position was substantially justified.

D. No Special Circumstances Exist Which Make An Award Of

Attorneys’ Fees Unjust

Respondents offer minimal briefing on the “special circumstances” element

that would otherwise make the award of EAJA fees unjust. Basically, their position

is that “the Attorney’s General’s hands are tied when it comes to defending the

constitutionality of an Act of Congress” and “[t]he government should not be

penalized under the EAJA for simply following its obligation to defend Acts of

Congress and declining to exercise authority it does not have.” ECF No. 27 at 15,

16. In examining the record before it, the Court finds that there is nothing to

suggest special circumstances exist which would make an award of EAJA fees

unjust.

For all of these reasons, the Court finds that Abioye is eligible to recover

reasonable attorneys’ fees and other expenses under the EAJA.

E. The Fees And Expenses Sought Are Reasonable

The last task of the Court is to determine what fee award is reasonable.

Abioye has requested $18,224.58.11 Abioye’s counsel submitted records

documenting the reasonable time spent working on the habeas petition and the

instant motion. Respondents have not challenged the time spent by, or the hourly

rates of, Abioye’s counsel. The Court, therefore, finds that Abioye is entitled to an

award in the total amount of $18,224.58.

11 Abioye originally sought $14,847.08 in fees, which did not include the 14

hours of work spent on the Reply. Applying the hourly rate of $241.45, the

additional fee due is $3,377.50, for a total of $18,224.58. ECF No. 31.

F. EAJA Award Payment

The EAJA directs the award of any attorney’s fees directly to the prevailing

party. 28 U.S.C. § 2414(d)(1)(A); , 560 U.S. 586 (2010). In

addition, the Supreme Court of the United States has stated that any fee award is

subject to an offset to satisfy the litigant’s pre-existing debt to the government.

560 U.S. at 597-98. However, under , an award is payable to the

attorney where the client has no outstanding federal debt and expressly assigned

the right to receive fees to their attorney. , 240 F. Supp.3d 294,

299, n.1 (D.N.J. 2017) (citing 560 U.S. 586) (stating, “where, as is the case

here, there is an assignment agreement and the prevailing party owes no debt to

the government, the Supreme Court has honored that agreement and awarded

attorney’s fees directly to the prevailing party’s counsel.”).

Here, Abioye avers that, to the best of his knowledge, he does not owe any

debt to the United States federal government and expressly states that he has

assigned payment of any award of fees and costs to CAIR Coalition.12 ECF No. 25-

1. Accordingly, Respondents will be directed to pay Abioye’s counsel the sum of

$18,224.58 in attorneys’ fees and expenses.

12 As part of his criminal sentence, Abioye was ordered to pay $1,335,923.77 in

restitution. public docket , Criminal Docket No. 1:20-cr-

0052 (Dist. of Maryland), https://mdd-ecf.sso.dcn/cgi-bin/DktRpt.pl?476611 (last

viewed 9/26/2020). To clarify, that amount is to be paid to the victims of his crime,

not the federal government, and therefore does not qualify as a debt to the federal

government.

IV. Conclusion

For these reasons, the Court will grant Abioye’s Motion for Award of

Attorneys’ Fees Pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act. Abioye is hereby

awarded $18,224.58 in attorneys’ fees and expenses under the EAJA.

An appropriate Order follows.

Dated: September 26, 2024 BY THE COURT:

s/Christopher B. Brown

Christopher B. Brown

United States Magistrate Judge

cc: All Counsel of Record

(via ECF electronic notification)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

JOHNSTOWN DIVISION

ADEWUMI ABIOYE, )

) Civil Action No. 3:23-cv-0251

)

Petitioner,

)

United States Magistrate Judge

)

v. Christopher B. Brown

)

)

LEONARD ODDO, in his official

)

Capacity as Warden of the Moshannon

)

Valley Processing Center, CAMILLA

)

WAMSLEY, in her official capacity as

)

Acting Field Office Director of the

)

Immigration and Customs

)

Enforcement, Enforcement and

)

Removal Operations, Philadelphia

)

Field office; ALEJANDRO

)

MAYORKAS, in his official capacity as

)

Secretary of the Department of

)

Homeland Security; and MERRICK

)

GARLAND, in his official capacity as

)

Attorney General of the United States,

)

)

Respondents. )

ORDER

AND NOW, this 26th day of September, 2024, in accordance with the

accompanying Memorandum Opinion, it is hereby ORDERED that the Motion for

Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses Under the Equal Access to Justice Act filed by

Petitioner Adewumi Abioye is GRANTED. Respondents shall pay Abioye’s counsel

the sum of $18,224.58 in attorneys’ fees and expenses within thirty days of the date

of this Order.

BY THE COURT:

s/Christopher B. Brown

Christopher B. Brown

United States Magistrate Judge

cc: All Counsel of Record

(via ECF electronic notification)