Arce v. Blanche et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
LARRY JAVIER TORREZ ARCE,
Petitioner,
v.
PAMELA BONDI, in her official capacity as
U.S. Attorney General; JAMES BAUSCH, in his
official capacity as Acting Deputy Field Office
Director, Buffalo Field Office, U.S. Immigration
& Customs Enforcement; PHILIP RHONEY, in
his official capacity as Deputy Field Office
Director, Buffalo Field Office, U.S. Immigration
& Customs Enforcement; TODD LYONS, in his
official capacity as Acting Director, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, in his official
capacity as Secretary of Homeland Security,
Defendants.
9:26-cv-501
(ECC)
Matthew K. Borowski, Esq., for Petitioner
Karen Folster Lesperance, Assistant United States Attorney, for Respondents
Hon. Elizabeth C. Coombe, United States District Judge:
ORDER
Petitioner Larry Javier Torrez Arce (Arce), a citizen of Nicaragua, entered the United States
at the Miami International Airport on March 14, 2024, and was paroled into the United States
under the NHP-Nicaraguan Humanitarian Parole program. 	Petition (Pet.) ¶ 2, Dkt. No. 1;
Response (Resp.) at 1, Dkt. No. 6. On March 13, 2025, he filed an application for asylum and he
was issued a work permit. Pet. at ¶ 6. At a hearing on April 10, 2026, counsel for both parties
represented that the asylum application is still pending. 	Arce’s parole was terminated effective
June 12, 2025 due to Executive action terminating the program under which it was granted. Resp.
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at 1, 3-4. Had Arce’s parole not been terminated, it would have expired on March 14, 2026. Id.
at 1. 	On March 27, 2026, Petitioner was taken into custody at a laundromat near his home in
Auburn, New York. Pet. ¶ 7. At the April 10th hearing, counsel for Respondents represented that
Arce was taken into custody during a targeted enforcement action. 	On the same day, while
detained at the Border Patrol facility in Oswego, New York, Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of
habeas corpus, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Id. at ¶ 7, 13. Petitioner seeks immediate release,
or in the alternative, a bond hearing, and attorney’s fees and costs under the Equal Access to Justice
Act, as amended, 28 U.S.C. § 2412. Id. at 15-16; see also id. at ¶ 13. After considering briefing
from both parties, Dkt. Nos. 1, 6, 8, and arguments made during a hearing on April 10, 2026, the
Court grants the Petition and orders Arce’s immediate release. A written decision providing more
detailed reasons and addressing Arce’s request for EAJA fees and costs will be issued in due
course.
For these reasons, it is
ORDERED that the Petition for a writ of habeas corpus, Dkt. No. 1, is GRANTED; and
it is further
ORDERED that Respondents shall immediately release Petitioner Larry Javier Torrez
Arce from custody; and it is further
ORDERED that Respondents shall certify compliance with this Order by filing a status
report by 5 p.m., on April 11, 2026; and it is further
ORDERED that pending the issuance of any final removal order against Petitioner Larry
Javier Torrez Arce, Respondents are also enjoined from denying him bond in any subsequent
proceeding on the basis that he must be detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1)(A), absent a
change in relevant circumstances.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 10, 2026
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