Alberto Aguilera-Rodriguez filed the habeas petition from the Rio Grande Processing Center, naming as respondents ICE Field Office Director Miguel Vergara, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and several other federal immigration officials. The petition challenges the constitutionality of his ongoing detention in federal immigration custody.
U.S. District Judge John A. Kazen ordered respondents to file their response by April 13 and directed them to "attach relevant evidence from Petitioner's A-file to support its assertions of fact." The judge also required federal officials to notify the petitioner's counsel and the court at least five days before any planned transfer or removal of Aguilera-Rodriguez outside the Southern District of Texas.
The case follows standard habeas corpus procedures under 28 U.S.C. ยง 2243, with Aguilera-Rodriguez given until April 20 to file a reply if he chooses. The judge directed the clerk to notify the U.S. Attorney's office electronically while requiring the petitioner to serve respondents via certified mail by April 9.
The order reflects ongoing challenges to prolonged immigration detention, with federal courts increasingly scrutinizing the constitutional limits of holding immigrants without bond hearings. The case could add to growing precedent on due process rights for detained immigrants in the Fifth Circuit.