Poulout Quesada v. Thompson

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
SERGIO GILFREDO POULOUT
QUESADA, §
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Petitioner,
v. CIVIL ACTION NO. H-26-4382
RAYMOND THOMPSON, et al.,
Respondents.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Sergio Gilfredo Poulout Quesada ("Petitioner"), who a
citizen of Cuba, entered the United States without inspection on
January 1, 2024.1 On January 2, 2026, Petitioner was served with
a Notice to Appear, charging him with removability under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1182(a)(6) (A) (i), "as an alien present in the United States
without being admitted or paroled, or who arrived in the United
States at any time or place other than as designated by the
Attorney General."2 On April 16, 2026, Petitioner was taken into
1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241
("Habeas Petition"), Docket Entry No. 1, p. 2; Response to the
Petition Writ of Habeas Corpus and Motion for Summary Judgment
("Respondents' MSJ"), Docket Entry No. 6, p. 2. For purposes of
identification, all page numbers refer to the pagination imprinted
at the top of the page by court's Electronic Case Filing
system.
2Notice to Appear, Exhibit 1 to Respondents' MSJ, Docket Entry
No. 6-1, p. 2.
United States District Court
Southern District of Texas
ENTERED
July 24, 2026
Nathan Ochsner, Clerk
Case 4:26-cv-04382 Document 9 Filed 07/24/26 in TXSD Page 1 of 3

Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.3 Petitioner remains
in immigration custody.4
Pending before the court is Petitioner's Habeas Petition
(Docket Entry No. 1). ioner argues that his detention without
a bond hearing violates due process.5 Also pending before the
court Respondents' Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket Entry No.
6). Respondents argue that Petitioner is legally detained under§
1225(b)(2) because he is an applicant for admission.6 Petitioner
has filed a supplemental memorandum in support of his Habeas
Petition in reply. 7
Because "presence without admission deems [Petitioner] to be
[an] applicant[] for admission," Petitioner subject to mandatory
detention under § 1225(b)(2). Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi, 166
F.4th 494, 498, 502 (5th Cir. 2026). This mandatory detention
does not violate substantive or procedural due process. As
3Respondents' MSJ, Doc Entry No. 6, p. 2.
5Habeas Petition, Docket Entry No. 1, pp. 3-4;
Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Habeas Corpus
Docket Entry No. 2, pp. 4.
6Respondents' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 6, p. 1.
see also
Petition,
7 Pet ioner's Pro Se Supplemental Memorandum in Further
Support Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Based on New
Controlling Fifth Circuit Authority, Docket Entry No. 7.
Petitioner argues that he is entitled to a bond hearing based on
the Fi Circuit's recent opinion in Rodriguez v. Ortega, No. 26-
50183, 2026 WL 1906557 (5th Cir. Jul. 2, 2026). Id. at 2-3.
However, that opinion has been vacated. Rodriguez v. Ortega, No.
26-50183, 2026 WL 2014647 ( Cir. Jul. 10, 2026).
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explained in Garcia De La Cruz y. Bondi, Civil Action No. H-25-
5577, 2026 WL 309939 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 5, 2026), the Supreme Court
has made clear that �'[d]etention during removal proceedings is a
constitutionally permissible part of that process.'" Id. at *2
(quoting Demore v. Kim, 123 s. ct. 1708, 1721-22 (2003)).
Moreover, as explained Jacobo-Ventura y. Dickey, Civil Action
No. H-25-6117 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 19, 2026), because Pet ioner only
has those rights regarding admission that Congress has provided by
statute, and because§ 1225(b) (2) mandates detention of applicants
for admission until certain proceedings have concluded, Petitioner
is not entitled to a bond hearing as a matter of procedural due
process.
For the reasons explained above, Respondents' Motion for
Summary Judgment (Docket Entry No. 6) is GRANTED, Petitioner's
Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C.§ 2241 (Docket
Entry No. 1) is DENIED.
The court will enter a final judgment in favor of Respondents.
SIGNED at Houston, Texas, on this 24th day of July, 2026.
SIM LAKE
SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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