Blas Puerto v. Noem

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
JHON ALEXANDER BLAS PUERTO, 	§
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Petitioner,
VS.
KRISTI NOEM,
Respondent.
§ 	CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:25-CV-06383
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MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Petitioner, Jhon Alexander Blas Puerto, has filed a petition for habeas corpus under
28 U.S .C. § 2241, seeking to reopen his removal proceedings. 	(Doc. No. 	1). 	After
considering the pleadings, the Court concludes that this case must be dismissed without
prejudice for lack of jurisdiction.
I. 	BACKGROUND
Petitioner is currently in custody of the United States Immigration and Customs
Enforcement ("ICE") at the Joe Corley Processing Center in Conroe, Texas. 	Id. at 1.
Petitioner challenges a removal order entered on August 10, 2023 , in absentia. 	Id. at 5.
He alleges that his motion to reopen should be granted because he could not appear for his
immigration hearing in August 2023 because he was recuperating from surgery. He filed
a motion to reopen removal proceedings which was denied on December 22, 2025. Id. at
2. Petitioner seeks to reopen his removal proceedings.
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United States District Court
Southern District of Texas
ENTERED
January 14, 2026
Nathan Ochsner, Clerk
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II. 	DISCUSSION
Petitioner claims 	that he 	was 	removed 	in 	absentia 	in 	error because he 	was
recuperating from surgery at the time he was supposed to appear in immigration court in
2023 and disagrees with the denial of his motion to reopen that was filed in 2025 . 	This
Court lacks jurisdiction to consider a challenge to an order of removal under the REAL ID
Act of 2005, codified as amended at 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a). This statute makes a petition for
review to the applicable circuit court of appeals the "sole and exclusive means of judicial
review" for orders of removal :
Exclusive Means of Review - 	Notwithstanding any other provision of law
(statutory or nonstatutory ), including section 2241 of Title 28, or any other
habeas corpus provision, and sections 13 61 and 1651 of such title, a petition
for review filed with an appropriate court of appeals in accordance with this
section shall be the sole and exclusive means of judicial review of an order
of removal entered or issued under any provision of this chapter, except as
provided in subsection (e) . For purposes of this chapter, in every provision
that limits or el iminat es judicial review or jurisdiction to review, the terms
"judicial review" and "jurisdiction to review" include habeas corpus review
pursuant to section 2241 of Title 28 , or any other habeas corpus provision,
sections 	1361 and 1651 	of such title, and review pursuant to any other
provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory ).
8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(5). 	The REAL ID Act "divested district courts of jurisdiction over
removal orders and designated the courts of appeals as the sole forums for such challenges
via petitions for review." Moreira v. Mukasey, 509 F.3d 709, 712 (5th Cir. 2007) (citing 8
U.S.C. § 1252(a)(5)). Because the REAL ID Act precludes jurisdiction over petitions of
the sort filed in this case, the Court has no authority to consider the proposed claims
concerning Petitioner 's removal order or his motion to reopen his removal proceedings.
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Accordingly, Petitioner's claims concerning his removal order must be dismissed without
prejudice for lack of jurisdiction.
III. 	ORDER
Based on the foregoing, the Court ORDERS that the petition (Doc. No. 	1) is
DISMISSED without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction.
The Clerk will enter this Order, providing a correct copy to all parties of record.
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SIGNED on this 	~ 	day of January 2026.
ANDREW S. HANEN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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