Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

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26-CV-1384 JLS (DEB)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
BERNABE ZAMORA TORRES,
Petitioner,
v.
KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of Homeland
Security, et al.,
Respondents.
Case No.: 26-CV-1384 JLS (DEB)
ORDER GRANTING IN PART
PETITION FOR WRIT OF
HABEAS CORPUS
(ECF No. 1)
Presently before the Court is Bernabe Zamora Torres’s Petition for Writ of Habeas
Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (“Pet.,” ECF No. 1). 	Also before the Court is
Respondents’ Return to Habeas Petition (“Ret.,” ECF No. 3). 	Petitioner did not file a
Traverse. See generally Docket. Petitioner, a Mexican national, entered the United States
in 2008 and alleges that he has been detained by the United States Department of Homeland
Security’s (“DHS”) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) division at the Otay
Mesa Detention Center since August 19, 2025. Pet. ¶¶ 16–19. Petitioner claims that he is
entitled to release and a bond hearing. Id. at 10.
Petitioner is a member of the Bond Eligible Class certified in Maldonado Bautista
v. Santacruz, No. 25-CV-1873-SSS-BFM, --- F. Supp. 3d ---, 2025 WL 3288403 (C.D.
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26-CV-1384 JLS (DEB)
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Cal. Nov. 25, 2025).1 Ret. at 1. Respondents acknowledge that, while Bautista is stayed,
“prior orders from this District direct[] bond hearings pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) in
similar cases.” Id. Respondents “therefore do not oppose an Order requiring such a hearing
for Petitioner.” Id. at 1–2. Therefore, the Petition (ECF No. 1) is GRANTED IN PART.
I. 	Attorney’s Fees
Petitioner’s counsel still requests costs and attorney’s fees in this action pursuant to
the Equal Justice Act (“EAJA”), 28 U.S.C. § 2412. Pet at 10. The EAJA provides in part:
A party seeking an award of fees and other expenses shall, within
thirty days of final judgment in the action, submit to the court an
application for fees and other expenses which shows that the
party is a prevailing party and is eligible to receive an award
under this subsection, and the amount sought, including an
itemized statement from any attorney . . . representing or
appearing in behalf of the party stating the actual time expended
and 	the 	rate 	at 	which 	fees 	and 	other 	expenses 	were
computed. The party shall also allege that the position of the
United States was not substantially justified. Whether or not the
position of the United States was substantially justified shall be
determined on the basis of the record . . . which is made in the
civil action for which fees and other expenses are sought.
28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(B).
The Court will consider an application requesting reasonable fees and costs under
the EAJA that is filed within thirty days of the judgment.
/ / /
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1 The Court notes that on March 6, 2026, the Ninth Circuit granted an administrative stay of the Bautista
decision “insofar as the district court’s judgment extends beyond the Central District of California.”
Maldonado Bautista, et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security, et al., No. 26-1044, ECF
No. 5 (9th Cir. March 6, 2026). Therefore, the Court resolves the Petition without reliance on Maldonado
Bautista.
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26-CV-1384 JLS (DEB)
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CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, the Court GRANTS IN PART Petitioner’s Petition for Writ
of Habeas Corpus (ECF No. 1), and ORDERS Respondents to provide Petitioner with an
individualized bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) within fourteen (14) days.
Respondents SHALL NOT deny Petitioner’s bond on the basis that 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)
requires mandatory detention. 	The Court DENIES IN PART the Petition to the extent
that Petitioner requests to be released from custody.
The Court will consider an application requesting reasonable fees and costs under
the EAJA that is filed within thirty days of the judgment. Petitioner’s attorney is directed
to submit an attorney fee application and corresponding billing records within thirty (30)
days of this Order, and Respondents are instructed to file any opposition within fourteen
(14) days of Petitioner’s attorney fee application.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: March 16, 2026
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