The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 ANA LESIC and NIKICA LESIC, Case No.: 25cv2746-LL-BJW
12 Petitioners,
13 v. ORDER SCREENING HABEAS
PETITION AND SETTING
14 CHRISTOPHER J. LAROSE, Senior
BRIEFING SCHEDULE
Warden, Otay Mesa Detention Center;
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JOSEPH FREDEN, Acting Field Office
[ECF No. 1]
16 Director, U.S. Immigration & Customs
Enforcement; TODD LYONS, Acting
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Director, U.S. ICE; KRISTI NOEM,
18 U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security;
PAMELA BONDI, U.S. Attorney
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General,
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Respondents.
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22 Petitioners Ana Lesic and Nikica Lesic seek a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C.
23 § 2241 challenging their immigration detention. See ECF No. 1. Courts must screen habeas
24 petitions and dismiss them “if it plainly appears from the petition and any attached exhibits
25 that the petitioner is not entitled to relief.” See Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the
26 United States District Courts, Rule 4; id., Rule 1(b) (permitting use of Rules Governing
27 Section 2254 Cases to any “habeas corpus petition”). To survive screening, a petitioner
28 need only make out a claim that is sufficiently “cognizable” to warrant a return or answer
1 from the government. See Neiss v. Bludworth, 114 F.4th 1038, 1045 (9th Cir. 2024).
2 Indeed, “as long as a petition has any potential merit, it is not so frivolous or incredible as
3 to justify summary dismissal under Rule 4.” Id.
4 According to their petition, Mr. and Mrs. Lesic are citizens of Croatia. ECF No. 1.
5 Mr. Lesic, “a concert pianist,” arrived in the United States in 2003 on an O-1 visa to teach
6 piano. Id. at 7–8. Mrs. Lesic arrived a few months later on a B-2 visa, later changed to a
7 O-2 visa. Id. Mrs. Lesic then applied for asylum in 2009, with Mr. Lesic as her derivative
8 applicant. Id. at 2. An immigration judge denied the asylum claim on December 8, 2022,
9 and ordered Mrs. Lesic “removed” from the United States while Mr. Lesic was granted
10 “voluntary departure.” Id. Mr. and Mrs. Lesic appealed that decision, which has been
11 pending before the Board of Immigration Appeal since December 19, 2022. Id. Due to that
12 appeal, the order of removal against Mrs. Lesic has been stayed and will not become final
13 unless the BIA affirms the IJ’s decision. Id. at 2–3. Mr. Lesic’s voluntary departure has
14 been stayed for the same reason. Id. At the discretion of the IJ and DHS, Mr. and Mrs.
15 Lesic paid $500 and $10,000 to be released on bond respectively, with Mrs. Lesic wearing
16 a GPS device as well. Id. Neither petitioner has violated the conditions of their release. Id.
17 at 8. On October 6, 2025, during one of Mrs. Lesic’s regular check-ins with ICE in San
18 Diego, ICE detained them both, as Mr. Lesic accompanied his wife to her check-in. Id.
19 When asked why they were being detained despite the ongoing BIA appeal, previous
20 bonds, and their compliance, an ICE officer responded that the “new administration” had
21 ordered everyone to be detained. Id. at 10. Petitioners allege that no material change in
22 facts or circumstances has occurred since their bonds were granted and therefore seek an
23 expedited review of their writ to be released from immigration detention until the BIA
24 completes it appellate review. Id. at 3.
25 At this stage, the Court finds that Petitioners have sufficiently alleged that the
26 government will be unable to remove them for the “reasonably foreseeable future.”
27 See 8 C.F.R. § 241.13(i)(2). They therefore state a claim that is cognizable enough to
28 warrant the government’s answer. See Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 690 (2001)
1 (holding that any interpretation of the relevant detention statute—8 U.S.C. § 1231—that
2 || would permit “indefinite detention of an alien would raise a serious constitutional
3 || problem’).
4 Accordingly, by October 23, 2025, Respondents must file their return or answer to
5 || the habeas petition and show cause for why it should not be granted. Any injunction-related
6 || opposition is due then, too. By October 28, 2025, Petitioners must file any reply to the
7 || government’s return or answer to the habeas petition along with any injunction-related
8 ||reply. The Court will then determine whether to hold a hearing. The Clerk shall transmit a
9 || copy of this Order and the Petition to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District
10 || of California.
11 IT IS SO ORDERED.
12 || Dated: October 17, 2025 NO
13 Qe
14 Honorable Linda Lopez
15 United States District Judge
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