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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SVETLANA GRIGOROVICH,
Petitioner,
v.
PATRICK DIVVER, et al.,
Respondents.
Case No. 26-cv-01572-BAS-MSB
ORDER:
(1) 	DENYING PETITION FOR
WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
(ECF No. 1); AND
(2) 	DENYING MOTION FOR
TEMPORARY
RESTRAINING ORDER
(ECF No. 5)
Petitioner Svetlana Grigorovich filed a habeas petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241,
claiming 	she 	was 	improperly 	detained 	without 	bond 	pending 	adjudication 	of 	her
immigration proceedings and that she has been subject to prolonged and excessive
immigration detention. (ECF No. 1.) She requests that she be given a bond hearing. (Id.)
She simultaneously filed a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order. (ECF No. 5.) The
Government responded arguing: (1) 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g) strips this Court of jurisdiction; (2)
Petitioner is ineligible for bond and subject to mandatory detention as an “applicant for
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admission” under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2); and (3) Petitioner’s detention has not been
arbitrarily or unreasonably prolonged. 	(ECF No. 7.) 	For the reasons stated below, the
Court DENIES the Petition.
I. 	LEGAL STANDARD
A writ of habeas corpus is “available to every individual detained within the United
States.” 	Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507, 525 (2004). 	“The traditional function of the
writ is to secure release from illegal custody.” 	Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 484
(1973). A court may grant a writ of habeas corpus to a petitioner who demonstrates he or
she is in custody in violation of the Constitution or federal law. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3). It
applies to non-citizens detained within the United States. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678,
687 (2001).
II. 	STATEMENT OF FACTS
The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) arrested Petitioner, a citizen of
Russia, at the international border on May 7, 2025. (ECF No. 1.) On January 26, 2026, an
Immigration Judge denied Petitioner’s application for asylum and ordered her removed.
(ECF No. 7.) She has appealed this decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. (Id.)
III. 	ANALYSIS
A. 	Jurisdiction
The Government argues that 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g) strips this Court of jurisdiction to
proceed. Section 1252(g) states that “no court shall have jurisdiction to hear any cause or
claim by or on behalf of any alien arising from the decision or action by the Attorney
General to commence proceedings, adjudicate cases, or execute removal orders against any
alien under this chapter.”
The general rule is to “‘resolve any ambiguities in a jurisdiction-stripping statute
[such as Section 1252(g)] in favor of the narrower interpretation,’ and by the ‘strong
presumption in favor of judicial review.’” 	Ibarra-Perez v. United States, 154 F.4th 989,
995 (9th Cir. 2025) (quoting Arce v. United States, 899 F.3d 796, 801 (9th Cir. 2018)).
Thus, the Supreme Court has ruled Section 1252(g) applies only to three discrete actions:
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commencing proceedings, adjudicating cases, or executing removal orders. 	Reno v. Am.-
Arab Anti-Discrimination Comm., 525 U.S. 471, 482 (1999). 	“Instead of ‘sweep[ing] in
any claim that can technically be said to arise from the three listed actions,’ the provision
‘refers to just those three specific actions themselves.’” 	Ibarra-Perez, 154 F.4th at 995
(alteration in original) (quoting Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U.S. 281, 294 (2018)). “There
are of course many other decisions or actions that may be part of the deportation
process . . .” that are not one of these three. See Reno, 525 U.S. at 482 (listing possibilities).
Section 1252(g) “does not prohibit challenges to unlawful practices merely because they
are in some fashion connected to removal orders.” Ibarra-Perez, 154 F.4th at 997.
In this Petition, Petitioner is not contesting the commencement or adjudication of
removal proceedings against her, nor is she raising an issue with respect to the execution
of removal. 	Her detention pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) may be during, but is
nonetheless independent of, the removal proceedings. Thus, this Court is not stripped of
jurisdiction by Section 1252(g).
B. 	Mandatory Detention Pursuant to Section 1225(b)(2)
Section 1225(b)(2)(A) applies to an applicant “seeking admission” to the United
States. 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A). Such an applicant seeking admission to the United States
at the border is subject to mandatory detention. 	Id. Petitioner was arrested at the border
seeking admission to the United States and thus is subject to mandatory detention.
C. 	Prolonged Detention
Petitioner argues her detention has been arbitrarily and unreasonably prolonged. She
was arrested on May 7, 2025, so she has been detained a little over ten months. There is
no evidence presented that the Government has been causing or unreasonably delaying her
immigration proceedings. In fact, Petitioner’s merits hearing was already held on January
26, 2026. (ECF No. 7.) 	Adopting the factors listed in Lopez v. Garland, 631 F. Supp. 3d
870, 879 (E.D. Cal. 2022), the Court finds Petitioner’s detention at this point has not been
unreasonably or arbitrarily prolonged.
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IV. 	CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, Petitioner Svetlana Grigorovich’s Petition for Writ of
Habeas Corpus is DENIED. (ECF No. 1.) In addition, the Court DENIES the Motion for
a Temporary Restraining Order. (ECF No. 5.) The Clerk of Court shall close the case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: March 24, 2026
Hon. Cynthia Bashant, Chief Judge
United States District Court
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