Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Bryan A-O,
Petitioner,
v.
Ryan Shea, et al.,
Respondents.
No. 26-cv-929 (KMM/LIB)
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on the Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by
Petitioner Bryan A-O (Dkt. 1.) For the reasons that follow, the Petition is granted.
BACKGROUND
Bryan A-O is a citizen of El Salvador. (Id. ¶ 13.) He has lived in the United States
since February 21, 2017, when he entered the country as an unaccompanied minor at age
16. (Id.) He was initially placed in removal proceedings, but those proceedings were
dismissed in December 2023. (Id. ¶ 14.) He has a pending asylum claim and does not have
a final order of removal. (Id.) Bryan A-O also has a valid work permit and has worked for
UPS for four years. (Id. ¶ 15.) He is currently living with his family in St. Paul, including
his mother and his siblings, and plans to marry his girlfriend soon. (Id. ¶ 16.) Bryan A-O is
also a high school graduate and has no criminal record. (Id.)
Bryan A-O was arrested on January 9, 2026 while heading to a UPS worksite with
his girlfriend. (Id. ¶ 17.) The agents threatened to break his car windows and never
presented a warrant. (Id.) Upon his arrest, Bryan A-O was placed in a car with “a
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deceptively placed Uber sticker [on] its exterior[.]” (Id.) He was brought to the Freeborn
County Jail, where he currently remains. (Id. ¶ 21.)
Respondents’ position appears to be that Petitioner is subject to mandatory detention
pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2). (Dkt. 4.) They do not point to any other basis for his
detention or suggest that he has criminal history triggering other mandatory detention
provisions.
DISCUSSION
This case is one of many filed in recent months in this district challenging the
application of § 1225(b)(2) to aliens who are already in the United States, either having
entered without inspection or having been previously released pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226
or another statute. This Court has previously held that, because such people are not
“seeking admission,” as set forth in § 1225(b)(2), that provision—which mandates
detention—does not apply to them. See, e.g., Belsai D.S. v. Bondi, No. 25-cv-03682
(KMM/EMB), 2025 WL 2802947 (D. Minn. Oct. 1, 2025). The same legal conclusion has
been adopted by countless district courts around the country in similar cases, by the only
Court of Appeals to have decided the issue, and by many courts in this district. The
Respondents’ position is that Belsai D.S. and the many other cases reaching the same
conclusion were wrongly decided. The government points out, correctly, that other courts
have ruled differently and that the issue is currently pending before the Eighth Circuit, and
asks this Court to reconsider its previous decision.
Although the Court has considered the arguments raised by the government, and
reviewed the authority cited, the Court declines to repudiate its analysis from Belsai D.S.
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and instead continues to follow the analysis of the strong majority of courts to have
considered the matter. Of course, these issues are complex, and the government’s
arguments are not frivolous. But the Court continues to believe that the better reading of
the relevant statutory scheme is that § 1225(b)(2) does not apply to Bryan A-O or others
who are similarly situated, and his mandatory detention under that provision is not
supported by the law.
The Court also notes that Bryan A-O’s pending asylum petition does not alter the
Court’s conclusion that detention under § 1225(b)(2) is not appropriate. As U.S. District
Court Judge Eric Tostrud recently noted in Ahmed M. v. Bondi et. Al, No. 25-cv-4711
(ECT/SGE), 2026 WL 25627, at *2 (D. Minn. Jan. 5, 2026) that “several courts have
determined that asylum applications filed in like circumstances do not change the
outcome.” Id. (collecting cases). The reasoning in Judge Tostrud’s opinion, and those of
the cases he references, is sound, and the Court declines to find that Bryan A-O’s
application for asylum triggers mandatory detention under § 1225(b).
Bryan A-O alleges that he should be immediately released or, at minimum, granted
a bond hearing. The Court concludes that immediate release is appropriate in this case. The
government has not claimed to have a “warrant issued by the Attorney General” supporting
his recent arrest, nor has the government produced one to the Court. As Judge Tostrud also
explained, “[s]ection 1226 provides that ‘[o]n a warrant issued by the Attorney General,
an alien may be arrested and detained.’” Id. Judge Tostrud concluded that the issuance of
a warrant is a necessary prerequisite to even discretionary detention under § 1226(a), citing
several decisions from other districts. Id. In Ahmed M., like here, the petitioner had been
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rearrested with no warrant, and there were no allegations of a violation of the conditions of
his previous release. Therefore, the appropriate remedy in Ahmed M. was immediate
release rather than a detention hearing. See also Juan S.R. v. Bondi, 26-cv-05 (PJS/LIB)
(Order, Dkt. 8, Jan. 12, 2026) (same). And although Ahmed M. was specifically cited in
Bryan A-O’s Verified Petition, Respondents do not grapple with this argument for
immediate release rather than a bond hearing. Similarly, because the Court here has before
it neither the administrative warrant contemplated by § 1226, nor a suggestion that Bryan
A-O has done something that justifies revoking his prior release, release is the correct
remedy.
ORDER
Based on the above, and on the full record before the Court, IT IS HEREBY
ORDERED THAT:
1. 	Petitioner Bryan A-O’s Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (Dkt. 1) is
GRANTED.
2. 	The Court DECLARES that Bryan A-O is not subject to mandatory detention
under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) and ENJOINS Respondents from denying release
or other relief on the basis that he is subject to such mandatory detention.
3. 	The Court ORDERS 	Respondents to immediately release Bryan A-O in
Minnesota, with all of his personal effects seized during his arrest, including
but not limited to immigration paperwork, and without new conditions no
later than 5:00 PM on February 7, 2026.
4. 	Further, the Court ORDERS Respondents file a notice on ECF by no later than
12:00 PM on February 8, 2026 certifying his release. If Bryan A-O has not
been released by that time, then Respondents shall advise the Court about the
reasons his release has not occurred, and the specific steps Respondents are
undertaking to ensure his immediate release in Minnesota.
LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY.
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Date: February 6, 2026
s/Katherine Menendez
Katherine Menendez
United States District Judge
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