Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
FELIX ALDANA BELLOZA, )
)
Petitioner, )
)
v. ) Case No. 26-3093-JWL
)
MISTY MACKEY, Warden, )
Midwest Regional Reception Center; )
CHRISTOPHER CHAMBERLAIN, )
Assistant Director, ICE Field Office; )
TODD BLANCHE, Acting Attorney General; and )
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, DHS Secretary, )
)
Respondents. )
)
____________________________________________)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Petitioner, through counsel, filed a petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. §
2241, by which he challenges his detention by immigration officials without a bond
hearing. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants the petition in part.
Respondents are ordered either to release petitioner or to ensure that petitioner receives a
bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) on or before May 11, 2026, and they are
further ordered to provide notice to this Court when such relief has been given. The Court
denies petitioner’s requests for other relief.
Case 5:26-cv-03093-JWL Document 6 Filed 04/30/26 Page 1 of 4

2
Petitioner entered the United States in 1997 without authorization,1 and he has
resided in the United States since that time. Petitioner was detained by immigration
officials on March 31, 2026, and petitioner remains in custody in this judicial district. On
April 20, 2026, petitioner filed the instant habeas action, and the Court ordered an
expedited response; respondents have now filed an answer, and the matter is therefore ripe
for ruling.
To obtain habeas corpus relief, petitioner must demonstrate that he is “in custody in
violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” See 28 U.S.C. §
2241(c)(3). This Court has habeas corpus jurisdiction to consider the statutory and
constitutional grounds for immigration detention that are unrelated to a final order of
removal. See Demore v. Kim, 538 U.S. 510, 517–18 (2003). Respondents have not argued
that this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider petitioner’s claim.
Petitioner was not recently detained as an alien newly arriving in the United States;
rather, he had been present in the United States for a period of years when he was detained.
Petitioner argues that, for that reason, his detention does not fall within the scope of 8
U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), which mandates detention pending removal proceedings, and
under which the Government purports to detain petitioner; but instead is governed by 8
U.S.C. § 1226(a), which provides for discretionary release on bond. Petitioner thus claims
that his detention without any consideration of his release on bond violates these statutes.2
1 Petitioner has not identified his country of origin.
2 Petitioner also claims that his detention without consideration of release on bond
violates due process. In light of the Court’s conclusion that petitioner is entitled to bond
consideration under the statues, it need not reach that issue.
Case 5:26-cv-03093-JWL Document 6 Filed 04/30/26 Page 2 of 4

3
In a recent case involving the same issue, this Court rejected the Government’s
interpretation of these statutes in favor of the interpretation adopted by the overwhelming
majority of courts that have addressed the issue, and the Court ordered relief in the form of
a bond hearing under Section 1226(a). See Galdamez Orellana v. Welsh, 2026 WL 710121
(D. Kan. Mar. 13, 2026) (Lungstrum, J.). Respondents concede that the relevant facts of
the present case are not materially distinguishable from those in Galdamez Orellana, and
they therefore acknowledge that the Court’s prior reasoning would also apply here. Thus,
for the same reasons set forth in the Court’s opinion in Galdamez Orellana, see id. at *1-
3, the Court concludes in this case that the Government may not detain petitioner under
Section 1225(b)(2)(A), and that it may therefore detain petitioner pending a final removal
decision only under Section 1226(a), which allows for release on bond; and that the
Government has therefore violated these statutes by refusing to allow for consideration of
petitioner’s release on bond under Section 1226(a).
Neither party has addressed this Court’s discussion in Galdamez Orellana of the
appropriate relief to be granted in such a case. Thus, for the reasons stated in that case, see
id. at *3-4, the Court concludes that the most appropriate remedy for this violation is to
require that petitioner be granted a bond hearing as if detained under Section 1226(a), and
the Court declines to grant any additional relief requested by petitioner. Accordingly, the
Court orders respondents either to release petitioner or to ensure that petitioner receives a
Case 5:26-cv-03093-JWL Document 6 Filed 04/30/26 Page 3 of 4

4
bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), at which petitioner’s suitability for release on
bond is considered on its merits, on or before May 11, 2026.3
Finally, the Court notes that petitioner has requested an award of attorney fees. Any
such request should be made by future motion, after consultation with Government
counsel, in accordance with applicable rules.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED BY THE COURT THAT the petition for habeas
corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 is hereby granted in part. Respondents are ordered
either to release petitioner or to ensure that petitioner receives a bond hearing pursuant to
8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) on or before May 11, 2026, and they are further ordered to provide
notice to this Court when such relief has been given. The Court denies petitioner’s requests
for other relief.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated this 30th day of April, 2026, in Kansas City, Kansas.
/s/ John W. Lungstrum
Hon. John W. Lungstrum
United States District Judge
3 Respondents have not argued or provided evidence that a hearing could not be
conducted within this timeframe requested by petitioner. Nor have respondents argued that
an immigration judge could not conduct a bond hearing for petitioner on the merits.
Although this Court lacks jurisdiction to review an immigration judge’s denial of release
on bond, see Chen v. Dorneker, 2021 WL 5769354, at *2 (D. Kan. Dec. 6, 2021)
(Lungstrum, J.) (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1226(e)), it would not be precluded from reviewing an
immigration judge’s refusal to conduct a hearing based the Yajure Hurtado decision by the
Board of Immigration Appeals.
Case 5:26-cv-03093-JWL Document 6 Filed 04/30/26 Page 4 of 4