The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION
JORGE LEONARD GARCIA,
Petitioner,
v. Case No. 3:26-cv-859-WWB-PDB
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
GENERAL, et al.,
Respondents.
___________________________________
ORDER
Petitioner initiated this action by filing a pro se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (Doc. 1). Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) is
currently detaining Petitioner at the Baker County Detention Center. (Id.). According to
Petitioner, ICE took him into custody on June 3, 2025, and an immigration judge ordered
him removed on July 23, 2025. (Id. at 4). Petitioner asserts he appealed the immigration
judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) and that appeal is still
pending. (Id. at 5, 10). He argues that his detention has become unreasonably
prolonged, violating Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001), and his rights under the
Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. (Id. at 10–11). As relief, Petitioner requests
that the Court order his immediate release. (Id. at 11).
In Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 690, the Supreme Court held that indefinite detention of
aliens raises serious constitutional concerns. Once an order of removal is final, ICE
should make every effort to remove the alien within a reasonable time. Id. at 701. The
Court also concluded that six months is a presumptively reasonable period to detain a
removable alien awaiting deportation. Id. “Although not expressly stated, the Supreme
Court appears to view the six-month period to include the 90-day removal period plus 90
days thereafter.” Akinwale v. Ashcroft, 287 F.3d 1050, 1052 (11th Cir. 2002).
The “removal period” begins on the latest of three dates: (1) the date on which the
order of removal becomes administratively final; (2) “[i]f the removal order is judicially
reviewed and if a court orders a stay of the removal of the alien, the date of the court’s
final order”; or (3) “[i]f the alien is detained or confined (except under an immigration
process), the date the alien is released from detention or confinement.” See 8 U.S.C.
§ 1231(a)(1)(B); see also 8 C.F.R. § 1241.1(a)-(f) (outlining the procedural circumstances
that render a removal order final). The Attorney General must detain an alien during his
removal period. See 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(2).
Here, Petitioner contends that on August 11, 2025, he appealed his removal order,
and that appeal is still pending with the BIA. (Doc. 1 at 10). Therefore, Petitioner’s
removal period has not yet begun and Petitioner’s request for relief is premature. See,
e.g., Farah v. United States Att’y Gen., 12 F.4th 1312, 1332 (11th Cir. 2021) (finding that
the petitioner’s removal period had not started because the Eleventh Circuit stayed the
removal pending judicial review and it had not yet issued its final order). As such, this
action is dismissed.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED as follows:
1. This case is DISMISSED without prejudice.
2. The Clerk shall enter judgment dismissing this case without prejudice,
terminate any pending motions, and close the file.
DONE AND ORDERED in Jacksonville, Florida, on April 14, 2026.
WENDY W.B
UNITED STATES T JUDG
Jax-7
C: Jorge Leonard Garcia, A240287505