Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
TA EH DOH LAH,
Petitioner,
v 	ORDER ADOPTING
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
PAMELA BONDI, et al., 	Civil No. 26-00171(MJD/SGE)
Respondents.
R. Linus Chan, University of Minnesota Law School, Counsel for Petitioner.
Julie Le, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Counsel for Federal
Respondents.
The above-entitled matter comes before the Court upon the Report and
Recommendation (“R&R”) of United States Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins
filed January 19, 2026. (Doc. 11.) This matter is before the Court on Petitioner’s
limited objections to the (“R&R”). Respondents requested an extension to file
their objections, which the Court denied. (Docs. 14, 16.) Pursuant to statute, the
Court has conducted a de novo review upon the record. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); D.
Minn. LR 72.2(b). Based upon that review, the Court adopts the Report and
Recommendation as modified below.
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I. 	BACKGROUND
No objections have been made to Magistrate Judge Elkins’ recitation of the
facts, which follow:
Ms. Lah is a citizen of Burma, also known as Myanmar. Ms. Lah, her
husband, and her three children were admitted to the United States
as refugees on November 6, 2024. Ms. Lah completed the highly
regulated vetting process to be admitted as a refugee with her
family. After arriving at the Chicago O’Hare airport on November
6, 2024, Ms. Lah’s family located to St. Paul, Minnesota. Ms. Lah
gave birth to her fourth child in the summer of 2025, and the baby is
now five months old. Ms. Lah has no criminal history.
A refugee must be physically present in the United States for one
year before they can apply for an adjustment of status. On
November 10, 2025, the date Ms. Lah became eligible for adjustment
of status pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a), she filed her Form I-485,
Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status with
the United States Customs and Immigration Services (“USCIS”).
Ms. Lah followed the law, and her application remains pending.
On January 9, 2026, USCIS issued a press release concerning the
launch of Operation PARRIS [Post-Admission Refugee
Reverification and Integrity Strengthening] in Minnesota. One day
later, on Saturday, January 10, 2025, ICE agents received a referral
from USCIS and conducted an operation to locate and arrest Ms.
Lah. ICE agents entered Ms. Lah’s apartment building through a
propped open door and encountered Ms. Lah’s husband and child.
ICE agents asked Mr. Lah’s husband and child for their
identification, showed Ms. Lah’s husband a picture of Ms. Lah, and
directed Mr. Lah to lead them into his apartment. ICE agents
entered the apartment and demanded Ms. Lah present her
identification. Ms. Lah showed ICE agents her identification and
complied with their directive to follow ICE agents outside. Once
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outside, ICE agents arrested Ms. Lah. At the time of her arrest, Ms.
Lah was still breast feeding her five-month-old baby.
(R&R at 2-3 (citations and footnotes omitted).)
To these facts, the Court adds one that it was only made aware of
today, January 23, 2026. Ms. Lah has congenital heart disease that had
gone undiagnosed until she received prenatal care here in the United
States. (Doc. 17.) As a result of this condition, Ms. Lah has “right-sided
heart failure” and physicians were planning a repair after her baby was
born. (Id.) Without expert medical care, Ms. Lah will die prematurely
from her heart condition. (Id.) Ms. Lah missed a January 17, 2026
appointment with her cardiac doctors because she is detained. (Id.) Ms.
Lah’s cardiologist appeals for Ms. Lah to be allowed to seek expert medical
care, ideally at the University of Minnesota where doctors know her
condition. (Id.)
On January 12, 2026, the Court issued an Order to Show Cause directing
Respondents to answer the petition and instructing them as to what information
their answer should include. (Doc. 3.) Respondents filed a timely response that
included a motion to transfer venue based on the fact that Ms. Lah had been
moved to Texas prior to filing her petition. (Doc. 4.) However, Magistrate Judge
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Elkins found that Respondents neither “actually respond[ed] to the Petition nor
follow[ed] Judge Davis’s Order to Show Cause.” (R&R at 5.) Magistrate Judge
Elkins issued another briefing order directing Respondents to answer the
Petition as previously ordered. Respondents filed an untimely response that did
not comply with the Order to Show Cause. (Id. at 6.)
Magistrate Judge Elkins recommends that Respondents’ Motion to
Transfer be denied and that Ms. Lah’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus be
granted in part. Specifically, Magistrate Judge Elkins recommends that
Respondents should be required to either complete inspection and examination
of Ms. Lah pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a) or immediately release Ms. Lah from
custody in Minnesota and file a notice confirming the date, time, and location of
release. (R&R at 16-17.)
II. 	OBJECTIONS
Ms. Lah asserts the following three objections to the R&R. First, she
objects to the R&R’s failure to recommend that Respondents “were in default on
their venue objection, given the failure to respond to the Court’s scheduling
order of January 16th, 2026 under Federal R. Civ. Proc. 12(h) (1).” (Doc. 12 at 2.)
This objection is overruled.
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Second, Ms. Lah objects to the R&R’s “failure to rule that ‘custody’ under 8
U.S.C. 1159(a) cannot mean ‘detention,’ such that the Respondents may compel
refugee applicants to be detained while undergoing adjustment processing.” (Id.
at 3.) Third, Ms. Lah objects to the R&R’s recommendation providing for
Respondent to conduct an inspection and examination of the Petitioner after this
period of detention within seven days. (Id.)
Based on the relief the Court ultimately orders, which is based on the
unique facts of this case, the Court will sustain Ms. Lah’s third objection and
declines to reach Ms. Lah’s second objection.
The R&R finds that Ms. Lah’s continued detention under the facts of her
case is not supported by the relevant statutes and regulations and the Court
agrees. Ms. Lah is a legal refugee who took the proper steps on the first available
date to apply for a status adjustment. It is through no fault of hers that there has
been no movement on her application. There is simply no legal reason for
keeping this mother 1800 miles away from her children.
The R&R recommends ordering Respondents to, within 7 days of the
order, complete inspection and examination of Petitioner pursuant to 8 U.S.C. §
1159(a) or to immediately release her to Minnesota. The Court will therefore
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order that Respondents transfer Ms. Lah back to Minnesota by January 25, 2028.
The Court will further order that any inspection and examination of Ms. Lah take
place in Minnesota during hours proposed by her counsel beginning the week of
February 2, 2026.
Ms. Lah has already lost important bonding and nursing time with her
baby. While the Court recognizes that many families are suffering due to
Operation PARRIS and other ICE actions in the District of Minnesota, there is
something particularly craven about transferring a nursing refugee mother out-
of-state. In addition, time is of the essence based on Ms. Lah’s own health needs
that can best be met by her University of Minnesota physicians.
III. 	ORDER
Based on all the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS HEREBY
ORDERED that the Court ADOPTS as modified the Report and
Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins filed
January 19, 2026 [Doc. 11].
It is further ORDERED that:
1. Respondents’ Motion to Transfer [Doc. 4] is DENIED; and
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2. Ms. Lah’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus [Doc. 1] is GRANTED as
follows:
a. 	Respondents must transfer Petitioner back to the District of
Minnesota by January 25, 2026;
b. 	Once back in the District of Minnesota, Respondents must
release Petitioner as she is current with all her refugee
application obligations and has no criminal record;
c. 	Respondents must complete inspection of Petitioner in
Minnesota pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a) beginning the week
of February 2, 2026;
d. 	Petitioner must not be held in custody overnight or otherwise
unduly detained during this inspection;
e. 	Respondents must allow Petitioner access to her counsel
during the inspection if she requests; and
f. 	Respondents must file a notice confirming that inspection has
been completed and identifying the outcome.
g. 	If inspection is not feasible in the week of February 2, 2026,
Petitioner’s counsel shall notify Respondents and provide
appropriate documentation.
LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY.
Date: January 23, 2026 	s/Michael J. Davis
Michael J. Davis
United States District Court
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