Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
FIDEL GARCIA GARCIA,
Petitioner,
v.
Case No. 1:26-cv-01515-MIS-SCY
WARDEN, Torrance County Detention Facility;
MARY DE ANDA-YBARRA, Field Office Director
of the El Paso Field Office of Enforcement and
Removal Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement; TODD M. LYONS, Acting Director,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security; MARKWAYNE
MULLIN, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security; and TODD BLANCHE, Attorney General
of the United States,
Respondents.
ORDER GRANTING PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
THIS MATTER is before the Court on Petitioner Fidel Garcia Garcia’s Petition for Writ
of Habeas Corpus (“Petition”), ECF No. 1, filed May 12, 2026. Petitioner is a citizen of Mexico
who has resided in the United States since approximately 2010. Id. ¶ 51. He has four U.S. citizen
children. Id. ¶ 54.
On November 3, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) officers
apprehended Petitioner in Florida and later transferred him to the Torrance County Detention
Facility in Estancia, New Mexico, where he is currently detained. Id. ¶ 52.
On May 12, 2026, Petitioner filed the instant Petition requesting a writ of habeas corpus
requiring that Respondents immediately release him from ICE custody or provide him a bond
hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). Id. at 18.
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On May 13, 2025, the Court issued an Order to Show Cause, ECF No. 3, which instructs
that Respondents “shall respond to the Petition and SHOW CAUSE why the requested relief
should not be granted” within ten business days. Id. at 2. The Order reminds Respondents “that
this Court has already decided the issues that appear to be presented by the Petition and granted
the relief Petitioner requests here.” Id. (citations omitted). As such, the Court ordered that
Respondents must “demonstrate that the facts of this case warrant a departure from the Court’s
prior rulings.” Id.
On May 27, 2026, the Federal Respondents filed a Response to the Petition. ECF No. 5.
Therein, counsel for Respondents argues that Petitioner’s detention is governed by 8 U.S.C. §
1225(b)(2)(A), but acknowledges that this Court “has reached the opposite conclusion in numerous
other cases[,]” id. at 1 (citations omitted). Respondents further acknowledge that “this Court’s
decision in these cases would control the outcome of this case should the Court chose to continue
to follow its reasoning in those decisions[,]” as “[t]he facts presented in this matter are not
materially distinguishable from the facts presented in those cases for the purpose of the Court’s
decision on this legal issue.” Id. at 2.
The Court finds that the facts of this case are materially indistinguishable from prior cases
the Undersigned Judge has decided involving habeas petitioners who were detained within the
United States, rather than at a border crossing or port of entry, and adopts the findings contained
in its Order Granting the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in Lopez-Romero v. Lyons, Case No.
2:25-cv-0113-MIS-JHR, 2026 WL 92873 (D.N.M. Jan. 13, 2026). Briefly, the Court finds that 8
U.S.C. § 1226(a) governs Petitioner’s detention, his continued detention without a bond hearing
violates his Fifth Amendment right to due process, and, as such, he is entitled to habeas relief. The
Court further finds that Respondents failed to articulate a legitimate interest in Petitioner’s
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continued detention and therefore orders his immediate release. See generally Resp., ECF No. 5.
The Court further orders that Petitioner shall not be re-detained without a pre-deprivation bond
hearing before a neutral Immigration Judge pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), at which the
Government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that Petitioner is a danger or flight risk.
Finally, the Court retains jurisdiction to ensure compliance with its Order.
Therefore, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, ECF No. 1, is GRANTED;
2. Respondents are ORDERED to immediately release Petitioner Fidel Garcia Garcia
from custody/detention;
3. Respondents SHALL return all of Petitioner’s personal belongings to Petitioner;
4. Respondents SHALL NOT re-detain Petitioner—absent a final order of removal—
without a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral Immigration Judge pursuant to 8
U.S.C. § 1226(a), at which the Government must prove by clear and convincing
evidence that Petitioner is a danger or flight risk; and
5. The Court will separately enter Final Judgment in favor of Petitioner but retain
jurisdiction over this matter to ensure compliance with this Order.
………………………………………….
MARGARET STRICKLAND
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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