Sanchez Licona v. Warden Otay Mesa Detention Center

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
ERICK IVAN SANCHEZ LICONA,
Petitioner,
v.
WARDEN OTAY MESA DETENTION
CENTER,
Respondent.
Case No. 26-cv-01108-BAS-SBC
ORDER GRANTING PETITION
FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
(ECF No. 1)
Petitioner Erick Ivan Sanchez Licona, appearing pro se, filed a habeas petition
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 requesting a bond hearing. (ECF No. 1.) The Government
responded to the Petition, acknowledging that “Petitioner is detained under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1226(a) and [is] entitled to an order from this Court directing a bond hearing be held
pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).” (ECF No. 4.) 	For the reasons stated below, the Court
GRANTS the Petition and orders that Petitioner be given a bond hearing within 14 days.
I. 	LEGAL STANDARD
A writ of habeas corpus is “available to every individual detained within the United
States.” 	Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507, 525 (2004). 	“The traditional function of the
writ is to secure release from illegal custody.” 	Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 484
(1973). A court may grant a writ of habeas corpus to a petitioner who demonstrates he or
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she is in custody in violation of the Constitution or federal law. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). It
applies to non-citizens detained within the United States. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678,
687 (2001). Since Petitioner is in custody and since he is seeking release from custody, he
has standing to pursue this Petition.
II. 	ANALYSIS
Petitioner’s habeas petition is not replete with facts. He claims he was “detained on
November 16, 2025, while accompanying his girlfriend to the airport in Newark, New
Jersey.” (ECF No. 1.) And he is now being held in immigration custody at the Otay Mesa
Detention Center. 	(Id.) 	Although the Government maintains that Petitioner is not a
member of the class certified in Maldonado Bautista v. Santacruz, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2025
WL 3713982 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 18, 2025), the Government nonetheless concedes that
Petitioner “is detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and is entitled to an order from this Court
directing a bond hearing be held pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §1226(a).” (ECF No. 4.) In light of
the Government’s concession, the Court GRANTS the Petition.
III. 	CONCLUSION
Accordingly, the Court issues the following writ:
The Court ORDERS a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge for Erick Ivan
Sanchez Licona (A# 246-241-090) within 14 days of the date of this Order. 	The
bond hearing shall be governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), not § 1225(b)(2). If no bond
hearing is held within 14 days, Petitioner is ordered released forthwith.
The Clerk of the Court shall close the case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: March 3, 2026
Hon. Cynthia Bashant, Chief Judge
United States District Court
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