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holding that the petitioner's claims challenging his pre-removalorder detention were moot after his removal order became final, and citing Andrade v. Gonzales, 459 F.3d 538, 54243 (5th Cir. 2006)
Summary of this case from Singh v. JohnsonOpinion
No. 10-50744 Summary Calendar.
March 15, 2011.
Kujoe Bonsafo Agyei-Kodie, Karnes City, TX, pro se.
Gary Layton Anderson, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office, San Antonio, TX, Scott Michael Marconda, I, Esq., Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation, Washington, DC, for Respondents-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, No. 5:10-CV-195.
Before DAVIS, SMITH, and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges.
Kujoe Agyei-Kodie, immigration detainee # A072732130, appeals the dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition challenging his continued detention pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226. The government has moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, arguing that the appeal is moot because Agyei-Kodie is no longer detained pursuant to § 1226, and any challenge to his post-removal-order detention is premature. In the alternative, the government seeks an extension of time in which to file its brief. Agyei-Kodie has filed a motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis ("IFP") on appeal.
The removal order became administratively final on October 8, 2010, when the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed the appeal of the immigration judge's decision. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(47)(B). Consequently, Agyei-Kodie is no longer detained pursuant to § 1226, and his claims challenging his detention under that statute are moot. See Andrade v. Gonzales, 459 F.3d 538, 542-43 (5th Cir. 2006).
Agyei-Kodie's detention is now governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1231, see id., which provides that the Attorney General shall remove the alien within a period of 90 days, during which time the alien shall be detained, § 1231(a)(1)(A), (a)(2). If he is not removed within the 90-day period, he may be detained beyond that time or released subject to the terms of supervision prescribed by the Attorney General. § 1231(a)(3), (6). It is presumptively constitutional for an alien to be detained for six months after a final order of removal. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 701, 121 S.Ct. 2491, 150 L.Ed.2d 653 (2001).
The 90-day removal period commenced on October 8, 2010, when the removal order became administratively final. See § 1231(a)(1)(B)(i). Although that period has expired, Agyei-Kodie has not been in post-removal-order detention longer than the presumptively reasonable six-month period set forth in Zadvydas. Consequently, any challenge to his continued post removal order detention is premature. See Zadvydas, 533 U.S. at 701, 121 S.Ct. 2491.
Accordingly, the motion to dismiss is GRANTED, and the appeal is DISMISSED for want of jurisdiction. See Bailey v. Southerland, 821 F.2d 277, 278 (5th Cir. 1987). The motion to proceed IFP is DENIED, and the motion for extension of time to file a brief is DENIED as moot.