Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Makarim A.,
Petitioner,
v.
Pamela Bondi, Attorney General; Kristi
Noem, Secretary, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security; Todd M. Lyons,
Acting Director of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement; and David
Easterwood, Acting Director, St. Paul
Field Office Immigration and Customs
Enforcement,
Respondents.
Civ. No. 26-512 (PAM/EMB)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Petitioner Makarim A.’s Petition for Writ of
Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. 	(“Pet.” (Docket No. 1).) 	For the following
reasons, the Court grants the petition in part.
BACKGROUND
Petitioner Makarim A. is a citizen of Ethiopia. (Pet. ¶ 12.) He entered as a refugee
in 2005. (Mot. to Show Cause (Docket No. 3) at 1.) He does not claim to have adjusted
his status to that of a permanent legal resident under the Immigration and Nationality Act,
8 U.S.C. § 1159(b). The record does not support that he has been charged with or convicted
of any crime, and he has not been issued a removal order. 	On January 20, 2026,
Respondents arrested Petitioner, and he remains in their custody. (Pet. ¶ 15.) This petition
followed.
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DISCUSSION
Petitioner asserts that his arrest and detention violate the Fifth Amendment to the
United 	States 	Constitution, 	and 	the 	Immigration 	and 	Nationality 	Act, 	8 	U.S.C.
§ 1225(b)(2), the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706, and he asks the Court to
order his immediate release from Respondents’ custody. 1 	Respondents contend that
Petitioner is subject to mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a) because he did not
obtain lawful permanent resident status within one year of living in the United States.
Section 1159(a) requires that:
Any alien who has been admitted to the United States under [8 U.S.C.] §
1157 . . . who has been physically present in the United States for at least
one year, and . . . who has not acquired permanent resident status, shall, at
the end of such year period, return or be returned to the custody of the
Department of Homeland Security for inspection and examination for
admission to the United States as an immigrant in accordance with the
provisions of sections 1225, 1229a, and 1231 of this title.
The Court finds that Respondents have not demonstrated that Petitioner’s failure to adjust
his status to lawful permanent resident within one year of living in the United States
requires that Respondents detain him for an extended and unspecified amount of time.
“Section 1159(a) does not allow for indefinite detention, but rather a brief detention for
purposes of ‘inspection and examination.’” 	Aliaksander V. v. Bondi, Civ. No. 26-513,
Docket No. 7 at 2 (D. Minn. Jan. 27, 2026) (Doty, J.) (quoting Amin A. v. Trump, Civ.
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No. 26-251, Docket No. 10 at 4 (D. Minn. Jan. 26, 2026) (Schiltz, C.J.)). Thus, the Court
grants the petition in part.1
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. 	The Petition (Docket No. 1) is GRANTED in part; and
2. 	Respondents shall:
a. 	Within 7 days of the date of this Order, complete inspection and
examination of Petitioner as required by 8 U.S.C. § 1159(a) and file a
notice confirming that such inspection has been completed, stating the
outcome and whether Respondents contend that continued detention
is authorized on a specified lawful basis; or
b. 	Immediately release Petitioner and file a notice confirming the date,
time, and location of release.
LET JUDGMENT BE ENTERED ACCORDINGLY.
Dated: February 2, 2026 	s/ Paul A. Magnuson
Paul A. Magnuson
United States District Court Judge
1 Petitioner alternatively asks the Court to consider him part of the putative class described
in the temporary restraining order in U.H.A. et. al. v. Bondi et al., Civ. No. 26-417 (Docket
No. 41) (D. Minn. Jan. 28, 2026). 	The Court declines to do so at this time, as there is a
pending motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order.
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