Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
JIMMY VARELA-RICO,
Petitioner
V.
RANDI BORGEN, Director of
Immigration & Customs
Enforcement Newark Office, et
al.,
CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:26-366
(JUDGE MANNION)
Respondents
MEMORANDUM
Pending before the court is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under
28 U.S.C. §2241. 	For the reasons stated below, the court will direct that the
matter be transferred to the United States District Court for the Western
District of Pennsylvania and direct the Clerk of Court to close the case in this
court.
By way of relevant background, 	on February 12, 2026, counsel for
Petitioner filed the instant action in this district seeking Petitioner's immediate
release from 	Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") custody, or
alternatively, for the court to order the immigration court to conduct a bond
hearing. (Doc. 1 at 8). Counsel claims that Petitioner's "[d]etention under
Matter of Q Li violates Due Process under the Fifth Amendment," and argues
that the 	Fifth 	Amendment 	"prohibits 	the 	government from 	depriving 	an
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individual of a protected interest without notice and 	an opportunity to 	be
heard prior to arresting 	and detaining him and gave 	him 	no 	meaningful
opportunity to challenge his detention. " Id. at 6-7. Furthermore, 	counsel
argues that Petitioner is not a flight risk nor a danger to society, citing his
community ties and lack of a criminal record . Id. at 7. The filing fee has been
submitted.
District courts are obligated to screen habeas petitions pursuant to
Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States
District Courts. See R. 4, 28 U.S.C . foll. §2254 ("The clerk must promptly
forward the petition to a judge under the court's assignment procedure, and
the court must promptly examine it. " ). Rule 4 may be applied in habeas cases
brought under Section 2241. See R. 1(b), 28 U.S.C. foll. §2254 ("The district
court may apply any or all of these rules to a habeas corpus petition not
covered by Rule 1(a ) ). "). "[ A] district court is authorized to dismiss a [habeas]
petition summarily when it plainly appears from the face of the petition and
any exhibits annexed to it that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the
district court ." 	Lonchar v. Thomas, 	517 	U.S. 	314, 320 (1996) ; see 	also
McFarland v. Scott, 512 U.S. 849, 856 (1994) ("Federal courts are authorized
to dismiss summarily any habeas petition that appears legally insufficient on
its face.").
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The proper respondent in a §2241 	petition 	is "the person who has
custody over" the petitioner and who has the power to produce the petitioner
before the court and release him if proper to do so . Rumsfeld v. Padilla , 542
U.S. 426, 434-35 (2004) (quoting 28 U.S.C. §§2242, 2243). Moreover, "' the
court issuing the writ [must] have jurisdiction over the custodian."' Id. ( quoting
Braden v. 30 th Judicial Circuit Court of Ky., 	410 U.S. 484, 495 (1973)).
Therefore, the custodian must be within the territorial jurisdiction of the court
issuing the writ. Id. at 445.
The petitioner, on whose behalf this action is filed, is currently confined
at 	the 	Moshannon 	Valley 	Correctional 	Facility 	("MVCF") 	(a/k/a 	the
Moshannon Valley Processing Center) in Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania. (Doc.
1 at 1). While the MVCF has an address in Philipsburg which is located in
Centre County within the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the actual facility
is situated in Clearfield County which is located in the Western District of
Pennsylvania. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has
agreed that individuals confined at the MVCF seeking habeas relief must file
their petition 	in the Western District of Pennsylvania, which 	is the district
having jurisdiction over the petitioner's custodian . See Tsouka/as v. United
States, 215 F. App'x 152 (3d Cir. 2007). Because Petitioner is detained at
the MVCF, which has been recognized as being in the Western District of
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Pennsylvania, this court does not have jurisdiction over the instant habeas
petition.
Although this court lacks jurisdiction over the instant petition, it may
transfer the action to another federal court that does have jurisdiction if it is
in the interest of justice to do so. 	See 28 	U.S.C. §1631. 	"In determining
whether transfer is 'in the interest of justice, ' courts have considered whether
the failure to transfer would prejudice the litigant, whether the litigant filed the
original action in good faith, and other equitable factors." United States v.
Banks, 372 F. App'x 237, 239 (3d Cir. 2010).
In this case, the court finds that it would be in the interest of justice to
transfer this 	action 	to 	the 	Western 	District 	of 	Pennsylvania. 	Given 	the
confusion of the address of the MVCF and its actual physical location, there
is no indication that the petition was filed in this court in bad faith. Moreover,
there does not appear to be any equitable factors that would weigh against
transferring the action .
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For the reasons set forth above, the court will transfer the instant action
to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
and direct that the case be closed in this district. An appropriate order shall
issue.
~y E. MANNION
ates District Judge
DA TE: 	2/tJ/21,
26-366-01
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