Cobo Correa v. Thompson

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
JOHN EDWARD COBO CORREA, §
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Petitioner,
v. CIVIL ACTION NO. H-26-3173
MARKWAYNE MULLINS, et al.,
Respondents.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
John Edward Cobo Correa ("Petitioner"), a citizen of Colombia,
entered the United States without admission or parole on December
29, 2024. 1 On December 30, 2024, Petitioner was taken into
immigration custody and was served with a Notice to Appear,
charging him with removability under § 212 (a) (6) (A) (i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act. 2 That same day Petitioner was
released on his own recognizance.3 On August 27, 2025, Petitioner
filed an application for asylum.4 On November 26, 2025, Petitioner
was taken into immigration custody.5 On May 1, 2026, Petitioner's
1Respondents' Motion for Summary Judgment and Response to the
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus ("Respondents' MSJ"), Docket
Entry No. 5, p. 2. For purposes of identification, all page
numbers refer to the pagination imprinted at the top of the page by
the court's Electronic Case Filing system.
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5Petition For a Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241
("Habeas Petition), Docket Entry No. 1, p. 4.
United States District Court
Southern District of Texas
ENTERED
June 11, 2026
Nathan Ochsner, Clerk
Case 4:26-cv-03173 Document 6 Filed 06/11/26 in TXSD Page 1 of 3

application for asylum was denied and he was ordered removed to
Colombia by an immigration judge.6
immigration custody. 7
Petitioner remains in
Pending before the court is Petitioner's Habeas Petition
(Docket Entry No. 1). Petitioner argues that his detention without
a bond hearing violates due process. 8 Also pending before the
court is Respondents' Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket Entry No.
5). Respondents argue that Petitioner is legally detained under§
1225(b)(2) because he is an applicant for admission. 9
Because "presence without admission deems [Petitioner] to be
[an] applicant [] for admission," Petitioner is 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 explained in
Garcia De La Cruz v. 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
6Order of the Immigration Judge, Exhibit 5 to Respondents'
MSJ, Docket Entry No. 5-5, p. 1.
7Respondents' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 5, p. 2.
8 Habeas Petition, Docket Entry No. 1, pp. 10-11. Although
Petitioner states that his detention is excessive and unnecessary
without citing to the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment,
the court construes this as a due process claim. Collins v. Dallas
Leadership Foundation, 77 F. 4th 327, 330 (5th Cir. 2023) ( "We also
construe [plaintiff's] filings liberally because he is a Q£Q �
litigant.").
9Respondents' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 5, pp. 1-2.
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permissible part of that process.'" 1si.t.. at *2 (quoting Demore y.
Kim, 123 S. Ct. 1708, 1721-22 (2003)). Moreover, as explained in
Jacobo-Ventura v. Dickey, Civil Action No. H-25-6117 (S.D. Tex.
Feb. 19, 2026), because Petitioner 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. 5) is GRANTED, and 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 11th day of June, 2026.
SIM LAKE
SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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