Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 04-334
April 13, 2004
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Presently before the Court is the pro se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by the Petitioner, Ji Da Zheng ("Petitioner"), pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, and a letter from counsel for the Respondents advising that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency recommended that Petitioner should be released from custody. The Petitioner is currently incarcerated in the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at York. For the reasons that follow, it is recommended that the Petition should be granted.
This information is taken from the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, the letter Response thereto, and all records attached thereto.
Petitioner, a native and citizen of China, illegally entered the United States on December 29, 1984. He is currently married with two children and represents that he has worked in the United States as a business partner with his family. They are in the business of Chinese restaurants, catering, and an import and export business.
Petitioner was arrested in June, 1997, and was convicted on July 27, 1999 for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 and 1203-2. He was sentenced to a term of fifty-seven months' imprisonment and has been in the custody of BICE/INS since June 19, 2003. Petitioner filed the instant pro se habeas Petition on January 26, 2004, claiming that his period of detention under the post-removal-period provision of the IIRIRA exceeded the allowable period of time. Respondents sent correspondence to this Court on March 9, 2004.
Petitioner was convicted for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, commonly known as the Hobbs Act, which provides as follows:
§ 1951. Interference with commerce by threats or violence
(a) Whoever in any way or degree obstructs, delays, or affects commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce, by robbery or extortion or attempts or conspires so to do, or commits or threatens physical violence to any person or property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to do anything in violation of this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
18 U.S.C.A. § 1951. Petitioner was also convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 1203-2, which deals with hostage taking.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS") was incorporated into the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003, and INS responsibilities are now divided among the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("BICE"), the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. The BICE is responsible for carrying out deportation.
II. DISCUSSION.
In counsel's letter to the Court, he advises that the BICE recommended that Petitioner should be released from custody. Counsel also advised that Petitioner's release would likely be finalized after Petitioner underwent a psychological evaluation scheduled for March 16, 2004. Counsel further advised the Court that as soon as Petitioner was released from custody, he would notify the Court and ask that the Petition be dismissed as moot. Due to the fact that no further information has been received to date, a full month following the notification by the Government that it did not oppose the instant Petition, this Petition should be granted, and Petitioner should be released from detention to the supervision of the BICE pending deportation.
Therefore, I make the following: