Ferreya v. Decker

ICE Detainees Released Due to COVID-19 Cannot Be Arrested for Immigration Detention

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OPINION AND ORDER Petitioners Henry Ferreyra, Jefferson Denizard, Angel Perdomo Perdomo, and Rolando Oshane Villiers were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) in county jails where cases of COVID-19 have been identified.¹ Petition

6-9, ECF No. 1. Petitioners filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. §2241, requesting release from ICE custody because of the public health crisis posed by COVID-19. See id. Petitioners also submitted an application for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”)² and preliminary injunction pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, seeking an order (1) releasing them on their own recognizance, subject to reasonable and appropriate conditions, and (2) restraining Respondents, Thomas Decker, as Director of the New York Field Office of ICE, and Chad Wolf,³ as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, from arresting Petitioners for civil immigration detention purposes during the pendency of their immigration proceedings. See TRO Mot. at 1-2, ECF No. 4. The Court granted the TRO, and directed Respondent to show cause why it should not be converted into a preliminary injunction. Ferreyra v. Decker, No. 20 Civ. 3170, 2020 WL 1989417, at *13 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 27, 2020). For the reasons stated below, Petitioners’ request for a preliminary injunction is GRANTED as follows: (1) Petitioners shall remain released on the conditions set by the Court, see ECF Nos. 14-17, and (2) Respondent is RESTRAINED from arresting Petitioners for civil immigration detention purposes unless Respondent first obtains the Court’s permission. BACKGROUND Petitioners were detained by ICE in connection with removal proceedings. See Petition 18. They were housed in two New Jersey and one New York county jails where either detainees or staff have tested positive for COVID-19. Petition 2; TRO Mem. at 1. Specifically, Ferreyra and Villiers were detained at the Bergen County Correctional Facility (“Bergen County Jail”). Petition

Ferreya v. Decker

ICE Detainees Released Due to COVID-19 Cannot Be Arrested for Immigration Detention

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