Frank Reynaldo Rodriguez Curbelo, a Cuban citizen apprehended crossing the Arizona border in 2022, was initially released on his own recognizance but was later arrested and placed in expedited removal proceedings. He has remained detained at the Glades County Detention Center while his removal proceedings are pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Curbelo filed the habeas petition arguing he was entitled to a bond hearing under the Immigration and Nationality Act and that his continued detention without such a hearing violated the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
U.S. District Judge Kelly C. Dippel rejected Curbelo's claims, finding that as an "applicant for admission" under 8 U.S.C. ยง 1225, he falls under mandatory detention provisions that provide no bond hearing rights. "Section 1225 says nothing 'whatsoever about bond hearings,'" Dippel wrote, quoting the Supreme Court's Jennings v. Rodriguez decision. The judge explained that while Curbelo spent time in the U.S. after his initial release, the law treats him "as if they never crossed the threshold" once his parole ended.
Curbelo had argued that the Supreme Court's decisions in Zadvydas v. Davis and subsequent cases entitled him to constitutional due process protections against indefinite detention. However, Judge Dippel distinguished those cases, noting that Curbelo is detained under a different statutory scheme and that the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam established that arriving aliens have only the procedural rights Congress has provided by statute. The court also rejected Curbelo's Administrative Procedure Act claims as improperly brought in a habeas petition.
The ruling reflects the strict limitations federal courts place on immigration detention challenges by arriving aliens, even those who have previously been in the U.S. The decision aligns with recent precedent establishing that constitutional due process protections are minimal for individuals classified as "applicants for admission" under immigration law. Curbelo's detention will continue until his removal proceedings conclude, though he could potentially seek relief under different statutes if he receives a final removal order that cannot be executed.