Opinion

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7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

8 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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10 ISSAKA NII DOODO ABUBAKAR Case No. 26-cv-01984-BAS-VET

SADDICK,

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ORDER GRANTING AMENDED

Petitioner,

12 PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS

v. CORPUS (ECF No. 8)

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JEREMY CASEY, WARDEN, et al.,

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Respondents.

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18 Petitioner Issaka Nii Doodo Abubakar Saddick filed an Amended Habeas Petition

19 pursuant to Section 2241, claiming his immigration detention has been arbitrarily and

20 unreasonably prolonged and that he was improperly denied a bond hearing. (ECF No. 8.)

21 Petitioner requests outright release, a bond hearing from the district court, or a bond hearing

22 before an Immigration Judge with certain guardrails. (Id.) The Government concedes that,

23 given the Court’s prior rulings, Petitioner’s detention has been arbitrarily and unreasonably

24 prolonged and that he is entitled to a bond hearing where the Government would bear the

25 burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that Petitioner is either a danger

26 to the community or a risk of flight. (ECF No. 10.) For the reasons stated below, the Court

27 GRANTS the Petition to the extent Petitioner argues his detention has been arbitrarily and

28 unreasonably prolonged and orders a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge.

1 I. LEGAL STANDARD

2 A writ of habeas corpus is “available to every individual detained within the United

3 States.” Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507, 525 (2004). “The traditional function of the

4 writ is to secure release from illegal custody.” Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 484

5 (1973). A court may grant a writ of habeas corpus to a petitioner who demonstrates he or

6 she is in custody in violation of the Constitution or federal law. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). It

7 applies to non-citizens detained within the United States. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678,

8 687 (2001). Since Petitioner is in custody and since he is seeking release from custody, he

9 has standing to pursue this Petition.

10 II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

11 Petitioner, a citizen of Ghana, entered the United States seeking asylum on

12 December 21, 2024. (ECF No. 8.) On July 31, 2025, an Immigration Judge granted

13 withholding of removal but denied his asylum claim. (Id.) Petitioner appealed this ruling

14 to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). (Id.) On March 6, 2026, the BIA sent the

15 case back to the Immigration Judge for retrial. (Id.) As of April 24, 2026, no future hearing

16 has been set. (Id., Ex. B.) Petitioner has been in custody over sixteen months without a

17 bond hearing.

18 III. ANALYSIS

19 The Court agrees that immigration detention without a bond hearing can be deemed

20 arbitrarily and unreasonably prolonged and thus a violation of the detainee’s due process

21 rights. See, e.g., Rodriguez v. Marin, 909 F.3d 252, 256 (9th Cir. 2018) (“We have grave

22 doubts that any statute that allows for arbitrary prolonged detention without any process is

23 constitutional or that those who founded our democracy precisely to protect against the

24 government’s arbitrary deprivation of liberty would have thought so.”). The Government

25 agrees that sixteen months is an arbitrarily and unreasonably prolonged period of time for

26 Petitioner to be detained. Hence, the Court GRANTS the Petition to the extent it requests

27 that a bond hearing be held before an Immigration Judge.

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1 CONCLUSION

2 Accordingly, the Court issues the following writ:

3 The Court ORDERS a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge for Issaka

4 Nii Doodo Abubakar Saddick (A#249-140-473) within 14 days of the date of

this Order. At that bond hearing, the Government shall have the burden of

5 proving by clear and convincing evidence that Petitioner poses a danger to the

6 community or a risk of flight if released on bond. The Court orders that the

Department of Homeland Security is prohibited from invoking an automatic

7 stay under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19()(2) to defeat the Immigration Judge’s bond

determination. Ifno bond hearing is held within 14 days, Petitioner is ordered

released forthwith.

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10 || The Clerk of the Court shall close the case.

11 IT IS SO ORDERED.

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14 Hon. Cynthia Bashant, Chief Judge

15 United States District Court

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Qe