Opinion
Civil Action No. 17-3120 (JMV)
07-14-2017
JUAN BENITO POLANCO, Petitioner, v. CHARLES GREEN, Respondent.
APPEARANCES: JUAN BENITO POLANCO Southwoods State Prison 215 South Burlington Road Cumberland, NJ 08302 Petitioner, pro se DANIEL WILLIAM MEYLER UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE District of New Jersey 970 Broad Street, Suite 700 Newark, NJ 07102 On behalf of Respondent
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
OPINION
APPEARANCES: JUAN BENITO POLANCO
Southwoods State Prison
215 South Burlington Road
Cumberland, NJ 08302
Petitioner, pro se DANIEL WILLIAM MEYLER
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
District of New Jersey
970 Broad Street, Suite 700
Newark, NJ 07102
On behalf of Respondent VAZQUEZ, United States District Judge
On May 1, 2017, Petitioner filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (ECF No. 1), challenging his prolonged detention since March 2016, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"). (ECF No. 1 at 2.) This Court ordered Respondent to answer the petition. (ECF No. 2.) On July 13, 2017, Respondent submitted the Declaration of Deportation Officer Maurice Williams, indicating that ICE removed Petitioner to the Dominican Republic on May 2, 2017. (ECF No. 5-1.) Respondent contends the habeas petition is moot. (ECF No. 5.)
A habeas petition "generally becomes moot when [a petitioner] is released from custody" because there is no longer "an actual injury traceable to the defendant and likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision." Vasquez v. Aviles, 639 F. App'x 898, 902 (3d Cir. 2016) (quoting DeFoy v. McCullough, 393 F.3d 439, 442 (3d Cir. 2005)). The present petition no longer presents a case or controversy under Article III, § 2 of the United States Constitution because Petitioner is no longer detained by ICE. See id. (finding petition moot where there were no collateral consequences that could be addressed by success on the petition after removal) (citing Abdala v. I.N.S., 488 F.3d 1061, 1064 (9th Cir. 2007)). Therefore, the petition is dismissed as moot. An appropriate Order follows. Date: July 14, 2017
At Newark, New Jersey
s/ John Michael Vazquez
JOHN MICHAEL VAZQUEZ
United States District Judge