Morales Castellanos v. Grant

Aug 4, 2026
5:25-cv-01490

ORDER

Before the Court is Petitioner Ignazevich Miroslav Morales Castellanos‘s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Dkt. 1). This case is one of many habeas petitions filed by an alien detainee challenging the legal basis for his detention. Petitioner asserts that he is detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), which permits bond hearings, whereas ICE contends that he is detained under § 1225(b)(2)(A), which mandates detention. On December 31, 2025, Magistrate Judge Chris M. Stephens issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that the Court grant in part Petitioner‘s request for habeas relief and order Respondents to provide Petitioner with a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).

The Government objects to Judge Stephens‘s determination that § 1226(a) controls Petitioner‘s detention.1 However, since the Government filed its objection, the Tenth Circuit limited § 1225(b)(2)(A)‘s reach to aliens detained at the border.2 Because the Petition alleges—and the government does not dispute—that ICE arrested Petitioner within the interior United States, Quiroz mandates that he is detained pursuant to § 1226(a).

For the foregoing reasons, the Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation (Dkt. 14) and GRANTS the Petition IN PART (Dkt. 1).

The Court ORDERS Respondents to provide Petitioner with an individualized bond hearing under § 1226(a) within seven days of this Order or otherwise release Petitioner if he has not received a bond hearing within that period.3

IT IS SO ORDERED this 4th day of August 2026.

PATRICK R. WYRICK

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Notes

1
See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) (requiring a district judge to “make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made” but otherwise permitting a district judge to review the report and recommendations under any standard it deems appropriate).
3
If Respondents contend that this case is factually distinct from Quiroz such that Quiroz does not control, or if there has been a material change in Petitioner’s status (for example, if Petitioner has agreed to voluntarily depart) they may file a motion for reconsideration within seven days of this Order.