Rodriguez Lopez v. Warden, El Valle Detention Facility et al

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
BROWNSVILLE DIVISION
DANIEL R. L., 1 	§
Petitioner, 	§
§
v. 	§ 	CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:26-cv-389
§
WARDEN, SOUTH TEXAS DETENTION 	§
FACILITY, et al., 	§
in their official capacities, 	§
Respondents. 	§
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
TO DENY PETITIONER’S HABEAS PETITION
Before the Court is Petitioner’s “Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus” (Dkt. No. 1)
(“Petition”) and Respondents’ “Response to Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Motion
for Summary Judgment” (Dkt. No. 9) (“MSJ”). The Court should deny the Petition.
Petitioner is detainable under 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2), Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi,
166 F.4th 494, 498 (5th Cir. 2026), and, as pleaded, Petitioner’s constitutional claim is not
viable. Detention “during removal proceedings,” even where such detention is without a
bond hearing, is generally a “constitutionally permissible part of that process.” Demore v.
Kim, 538 U.S. 510, 531 (2003). While the Court has acknowledged the possibility of
instances where such detention could strain constitutional limits, see, e.g., id. at 532
(Kennedy, J., concurring), Petitioner has not raised that family of issues in this Petition, see
Dkt. No. 1 at 8-9.
It is therefore recommended that the Court (1) DENY the Petition (Dkt. No. 1), (2)
and DENY the MSJ (Dkt. No. 9) as moot, and (3) DIRECT the Clerk of Court to close the
case.
The parties have fourteen (14) days from the date of being served with a copy of this
1 Due to significant privacy concerns in immigration cases and noting that judicial opinions are not subject
to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2, any opinion, order, judgment, or other disposition in this case will
refer to the petitioner only by first name and last initial.
United States District Court
Southern District of Texas
ENTERED
June 16, 2026
Nathan Ochsner, Clerk
Case 1:26-cv-00389 Document 11 Filed 06/16/26 in TXSD Page 1 of 2

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Report and Recommendation in which to file written objections, if any, with the United
States District Judge assigned to the instant case. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). When filing an
objection, a party must object to specific facts or legal findings in this Report and
Recommendation. The District Judge is not required to consider frivolous, conclusive, or
general objections. Battle v. United States Parole Comm’n, 834 F.2d 419, 421 (5th Cir.
1987).
If any party fails to timely object to any factual or legal findings in this Report and
Recommendation, the District Judge is not required to conduct a de novo review of the record
before adopting these findings. If the District Judge chooses to adopt such findings without
conducting a de novo review of the record, the parties may not attack those findings on
appeal, except on the grounds of plain error. Alexander v. Verizon Wireless Servs., L.L.C.,
875 F.3d 243, 248 (5th Cir. 2017).
Signed on June 16, 2026.
Karen Betancourt
United States Magistrate Judge
Case 1:26-cv-00389 Document 11 Filed 06/16/26 in TXSD Page 2 of 2