by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Nov 26 – A woman from Jamaica has been detained by ICE in 26 Federal Plaza since November 7 and filed a habeas corpus petition via her life partner the same day. Inner City Press is following the case.
The life partner's filing, marked Draft, says that "Petitioner was whisked away and placed in a holding tank." She is a "citizen of Jamaica who turned herself in at the border on or about January 31, 2023 and was released under 236 and 1226 authority."
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Jeannette A. Vargas on November 10 ordered that she not be removed from the US, and set a November 13 hearing.
Inner City Press went for the November 13 hearing in Shawnet Nickesha Mcdonald v. Francis, the only media in the courtroom. Judge Vargas asked if an evidentiary hearing will be needed and was told, No, it will turn on whether detention is under Section 1225 (a) or (b).
Analysis on Substack here.
On November 26 after 5 pm Judge Vargas ordered, "The Petition was filed before Petitioner was transferred to Louisiana, and thus did not seek transport back to this District. It did seek, however, to "[e]njoin the Respondents from transferring Petitioner away from the jurisdiction of this district" and to compel the Court to "[g]rant any other relief which this Court deems just and proper." The Court therefore ORDERS Respondents to transport Petitioner back to the Southern District of New York by November 29, 2025, to immediately release her from custody following that transfer, and to certify compliance with this order no later than 5:00 p.m. on December 1, 2025."
Inner City Press will continue to report on the case.
The case is Mcdonald v. Francis, et al., 1:25-cv-9355 (Vargas)
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