Pires Do Nascimento v. McDonald et al

United 	States 	District Court
District of Massachusetts
)
Wellington 	Pires 	Do Nascimento, 	)
)
Petitioner, 	)
)
V. 	)
)
Joseph McDonald et 	al. , 	)
)
Respondents . 	)
)
Civil Action No.
25-13402-NMG
MEMORANDUM 	& ORDER
GORTON, 	J.
Pending 	before 	the 	Court 	is 	the 	petition 	for 	writ 	of
habeas 	corpus 	of 	petitioner 	Willington 	Pires 	Do 	Nascimento
(" petitioner " 	or 	" Nascimento " ) . 	Petit i oner 	c l aims 	that 	Jo s eph
McDonald 	and 	other 	named 	respondents 	(collectively ,
"respondents " ) 	violated 	his 	rights 	under 	the 	Administrative
Procedu r e s 	Act 	(" APA " ) 	and 	the 	United 	St a t es 	Const i t ut ion 	by
refusing 	to 	grant 	him 	bond . 	Because 	he 	was 	afforded 	a 	bond
hearing 	that 	comported 	with 	statutory 	and 	constitutional
requirements , 	his 	petition 	will 	be 	denied .
I . 	Background
A. Facts
Petitioner 	is 	a 	43 - year - old 	citizen 	of 	Brazil 	and 	cur r ent
resident 	of 	Salem , 	Massachuse t ts . 	He 	e nt ered 	t he 	c o u nt r y 	on 	a
B2 	visitor 	visa 	in 	2015 , 	and 	in 	2016 	adjusted 	his 	s tatus 	to 	an
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Fl 	Nonimmigrant 	spouse 	of 	an 	Fl 	Student 	Visa 	holder 	through 	his
then - wife 	Cintia 	Perreira 	Ponciano .
Petitioner 	and 	his 	wife 	were 	divorced 	in 	September, 	2022,
and 	Ponciano 	moved 	for 	full 	custody 	of 	their 	three 	children 	in
September, 	2025. 	Shortly 	thereafter , 	Ponciano 	filed 	two
complaints 	with 	the 	Salem 	Police 	Department 	alleging 	that
petitioner 	was 	abusing 	their 	children 	and 	instructing 	them 	to
put 	glass 	in 	Ponciano ' s 	food. 	Petitioner 	was 	arrested 	and
charged with 	violating 	an 	Abuse 	Prevention 	Order , 	pursuant 	to
M. G. L . 	c . 209A , 	and 	solicitation 	to 	commit 	a 	crime.
In 	October, 	2025 , 	petitioner 	was 	summoned 	to 	a
dangerousness 	hearing 	in 	Salem 	District 	Court , 	which 	then
ordered 	his 	conditional 	release 	without 	bail . 	The 	court 	also
imposed 	house 	arrest , 	GPS 	monitoring 	and 	a 	no 	contact 	order 	as
to 	the 	alleged 	victims 	and 	witnesses. 	As 	petitioner 	left 	the
police 	station , 	he 	was 	arrested 	by 	Immigration 	and 	Customs
Enforcement 	("ICE") 	agents 	and 	he 	has 	been 	detained 	since 	then
at 	Plymouth 	County 	Corrections 	in 	Plymouth, 	Massachusetts .
B . Procedural 	History
On 	October 	16 , 	2025, 	petitioner 	had 	a 	bond 	hearing 	at 	which
the 	Department 	of 	Homeland 	Security 	("OHS") 	presented 	evidence
of 	Ponciano's 	police 	reports 	that 	led 	to 	his 	arrest . 	Petitioner
presented 	evidence 	of 	the 	state 	court 	decision 	ordering
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conditional 	re l ease 	but 	the 	immi gration 	judge 	found 	t hat
petit i oner 	was 	a 	danger 	to 	society 	and 	denied 	bond .
Petitioner 	reserved 	his 	right 	to 	appeal 	the 	adverse 	bond
decision 	to 	the 	Board 	of 	Immigration Appeals 	which 	he 	did 	i n 	a
timely 	fashion .
II . 	Petition 	for Writ 	of 	Habeas 	Corpus
A . Legal 	Standard
A petition 	for 	writ 	of 	habe a s 	corp us 	pursuant 	to 	28 	U. S . C .
§2241 	permits 	a 	prisoner 	to 	cha lle nge 	the 	adminis t ration 	of 	his
detention 	rather 	than 	its 	validity . 	Dinkins 	v . 	Boncher , 	No. 	21 -
CV - 11847 - AK , 	2022 	WL 	3021108 , 	at 	*2 	(D . 	Mass . 	July 	29 , 	2022) .
The 	burden 	is 	on 	petitioner 	to 	s h ow 	that 	his 	custody 	violates
the 	Constitution 	or 	laws 	of 	the 	United 	States . 	Espinoza 	v .
Sabol , 	558 	F . 3d 	83 , 	89 	(1 st 	Cir . 	2009) .
Petitioner 	is 	incarcerated 	purs u ant 	to 	8 	U. S . C . 	§ 1 226(a) ,
whic h 	al l ows 	detention 	of 	an 	a l ien 	pend i ng 	a 	remova l 	dec isi on .
Upon 	arrest , 	ICE 	may 	contin u e 	to 	detain 	t h e 	alien , 	who 	may
challenge 	that 	decision 	at 	a 	bo n d 	heari n g 	before 	an 	i mmig ra tion
judge . 	If 	denied 	bond , 	an 	a l ien 	may 	appeal 	the 	deci s ion 	to 	the
BIA . 	The 	discretionary 	decision 	whether 	to 	grant 	bond 	i s 	n ot
subject 	to 	judicial 	review 	but 	constit u t i onal 	cha l lenges 	to
detention may 	be 	brought 	under 	habeas 	rev i ew . 	Demo r e 	v . 	Ki m, 	538
U. S . 	510 , 	517 	(2003) .
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B . Application
Petitioner 	bases 	his 	constitutional 	challenge 	on 	the
assertion 	that 	the 	immigration 	judge 	relied 	upon 	untrustworthy
police 	reports 	from 	Ponciano 	in 	denying 	his 	bond. 	He 	also
cla ims 	that 	the 	denial 	was 	arbitrary 	and 	capricious 	under 	the
APA 	because 	the 	immigration 	judge 	refused 	to 	consider
alternatives 	to 	detention.
Those 	arguments 	are 	unavailing. 	As 	an 	initial 	matter, 	the
Court 	is 	without 	authority 	to 	review 	the 	discretionary 	decision
of 	an 	immigration 	judge 	with 	respect 	to 	a 	bond 	determination.
Whether , 	and 	to 	what 	extent , 	evidence 	is 	to 	be 	deemed 	reliable
is 	a 	decision 	for 	that 	tribunal 	and 	is 	unreviewable 	by 	the
Court .
Further , 	petitioner 	has 	presented 	no 	evidence 	that 	the
immigration 	judge 	denied 	his 	bond 	request 	without 	considering
alternatives 	to 	detention. 	To 	the 	contrary , 	petitioner 	contends
that 	he 	presented 	to 	the 	immigration 	judge 	the 	Salem 	District
Court ' s 	decision 	to 	release 	him 	under 	GPS 	monitoring . 	It
appears 	likely 	that 	the 	immigration 	judge 	conside r ed 	and
rejected 	taking 	a 	similar 	approach. 	Such 	a 	decision 	was 	neither
arbitrary 	nor 	capric i ous 	and 	the 	proceedings 	afforded 	to
petitioner 	satisfied 	his 	right 	to 	due 	process.
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. ..
ORDER
For 	the 	forgoing 	reasons , 	the 	petition 	for 	writ 	of 	habeas
corpus 	(Docket 	No . 	1) 	of 	Nascimento 	is 	DENIED .
So 	ordered.
Senior 	United 	States 	District 	Judge
Dated : 	December 2J , 	2025
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