The opinion
1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
2 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
3 Francisco Javier QUIROZ FIGUEROA, Case No.: 25-cv-3623-AGS-DEB
4 Petitioner, ORDER REQUIRING RESPONSE
5 v.
6 Christopher LaROSE, et al.,
7 Respondents.
8
9 Petitioner Francisco Quiroz Figueroa seeks a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C.
10 § 2241 challenging his immigration detention. He also moves for an order to show cause.
11 (ECF 2.)
12 The Court must first screen his petition, and to survive screening he need only make
13 out a claim that is sufficiently cognizable to warrant a response. See Rules Governing
14 Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts, Rule 4 (authorizing summary
15 dismissal “if it plainly appears from the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner
16 is not entitled to relief”); id., Rule 1(b) (permitting application of Rules Governing Section
17 2254 Cases to any “habeas corpus petition”). In this context, the relevant federal rules
18 permit “summary dismissal of claims that are clearly not cognizable.” Neiss v. Bludworth,
19 114 F.4th 1038, 1045 (9th Cir. 2024) (cleaned up). But “as long as a petition has any
20 potential merit, it is not so frivolous or incredible as to justify summary dismissal[.]” Id.
21 Quiroz Figueroa “is a national and citizen of Venezuela[] who arrived in the
22 United States on or about August 20, 2023.” (ECF 1, at 2.) The next month, he was
23 “released” “on his own recognizance,” and Immigration and Customs Enforcement again
24 detained him nearly two years later, in August 2025. (Id. at 2, 4.) On “September 3, 2025,”
25 an immigration judge “authorized” his “release from ICE custody on a $1,500 bond.” (Id.
26 at 4.) But the government appealed, and the Board of Immigration Appeals found that
27 Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 29 I.&N. Dec. 216, (BIA 2025), “divested” the immigration
28 judge “of jurisdiction to consider” his “eligibility for release on bond.” (Id. at 5.) He now
1 ||“remains in ICE custody” because that decision categorizes him as an “applicant for
2 ||admission” subject to mandatory detention under “8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A).” (Id. at 5-6.)
3 || Quiroz Figueroa asks the Court to “declare” him “detained under... 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)”
4 ||instead because he crossed into the United States years ago and thus is not an “applicant
5 || for admission.” (/d. at 6, 68.) Detention under § 1226(a) would allow potential “release”
6 || on “bond or conditional parole.” (/d. at 69.) The statutory misclassification, he argues, thus
7 ||renders his detention unlawful and in violation of “the Due Process Clause.” (/d. at 6.)
8 This challenge has sufficient potential merit to warrant a response. Functionally
9 || identical cases across the country have been found to have a “likelihood of success on the
10 ||merits” or have resulted in the writ being issued. See, e.g., Barco Mercado y. Francis,
11 |]|__-F. Supp. 3d.__, No. 25-cv-6582 (LAK), 2025 WL 3295903, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 26,
12 2025) (noting that, in “350” of the “362” opinions to address this issue, the petitioners
13 ||“‘prevailed, either on a preliminary or final basis,” and these cases were “decided by over
14 || 160 different judges sitting in about fifty different courts”); Mosqueda v. Noem, No. 5:25-
15 || cv-02304 CAS (BFM), 2025 WL 2591530, at *5 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2025) (“[P]etitioners
16 || are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims because section 1226(a), not section
17 || 1225(b)(2), likely governs their detention.”); Vazquez v. Feeley, No. 2:25-cv-01542-RFB-
18 || EJY, 2025 WL 2676082, at *11 (D. Nev. Sept. 17, 2025) (same); Rodriguez v. Bostock,
19 || No. 3:25-cv-05240-TMC, 2025 WL 2782499, at *1 (W.D. Wash. Sept. 30, 2025) (“[T]he
20 ||government’s position belies the statutory text of the INA, canons of statutory
21 || interpretation, legislative history, and longstanding agency practice.”).
22 By December 19, 2025, respondent must answer the petition. Any reply by
23 || petitioner must be filed by December 22, 2025. The Court will hold oral arguments on the
24 || petition on December 23, 2025, at 3:00 p.m.
25 ||Dated: December 17, 2025
7 Hon. rew G. Schopler
United States District Judge
28