Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
OLIVER FERNANDO POLANCO ALVARADO,
Petitioner,
v. No. 1:26-cv-00227-KG-LF
WARDEN, Torrance County Detention Facility, et al.,
Respondents.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Oliver Fernando Polanco Alvarado’s 28 U.S.C. § 2241
habeas petition, Doc. 1, and the Government’s response, Doc. 5. Because Petitioner’s challenge
presents purely legal questions, the Court declines to hold a hearing, 28 U.S.C. § 2243, and
denies the petition without prejudice for the reasons below.
I. Background
Mr. Polanco Alvarado, a citizen and native of Nicaragua, entered the United States on
November 13, 2022. Doc. 1 at 2. Upon entry, Mr. Polanco Alvarado “was granted parole by the
Department of Homeland Security.” Id. On February 11, 2026, an Immigration Judge ordered
Mr. Polanco Alvarado removed to Nicaragua. See Doc. 5-2. Both parties waived appeal, so
Petitioner’s order of removal became administratively final on February 11, 2026. Id.
II. Standard of Review
A petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeks “release from unlawful physical
confinement.” Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 485 (1973). Habeas corpus review is
available if a noncitizen is “in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the
United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3); see also Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 687.
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III. Analysis
After reviewing the record and applicable legal authority, the Court concludes that Mr.
Polanco Alvarado fails to meet the standards set out in Zadvydas and that his petition is therefore
denied without prejudice.
“[T]he Government ordinarily secures” a noncitizen’s removal during the 90 days after
issuing a final order for the person to be removed. Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 682; see 8 U.S.C.
§ 1231(a)(1). During that 90-day removal period, the noncitizen is typically detained. Zadvydas,
533 U.S. at 682. After that, the Government may continue detaining the noncitizen only for as
long as is “reasonably necessary” to secure their removal. Id.; see 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6).
Because a statute permitting a noncitizen’s “indefinite detention” would violate due
process, “once removal is no longer reasonably foreseeable, continued detention is no longer
authorized.” Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 690, 699. A six-month detention period, the Supreme Court
held, is presumptively reasonable. Id. at 701. After that, if the noncitizen “provides good reason
to believe that there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future,”
the Government “must…rebut that showing” or release the noncitizen. Id. at 701. “[F]or
detention to remain reasonable, as the period of prior postremoval confinement grows, what
counts as the reasonably foreseeable future…shrink[s].” Id. The remedy for a due process
violation under Zadvydas is typically release of the petitioner under conditions of supervision.
E.g., Gomez v. Mattos, 2025 WL 3101994, at *7 (D. Nev.); Trejo v. Warden of ERO, 2025 WL
2992187, at *10 (W.D. Tex.); Douglas v. Baker, 2025 WL 2997585, at *5 (D. Md.).
Under these principles, the Court denies Mr. Polanco Alvarado’s habeas petition without
prejudice. As of the date of this order, Petitioner has been detained for under one month since
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his order of removal became administratively final on February 11, 2026, which is under the
presumptively reasonable six-month period of detention that Zadvydas recognized.
IV. Conclusion
Petitioner’s § 2241 petition (Doc. 1) is denied without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED
/s/Kenneth J. Gonzales___________________
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
• Please note that this document has been
electronically filed. To verify its
authenticity, please refer to the Digital File
Stamp on the NEF (Notice of Electronic
Filing) accompanying this document.
Electronically filed documents can be found
on the Court’s PACER public access
system.
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