the burden of proof rested on the Government to justify custody. Because the Government is the custodian and controls the relevant information, it bears the burden to produce evidence and articulate lawful authority justifying continued detention once a credible due process challenge is raised. The Government, however, did not meet that burden.
This is probably standard for a
habeus proceeding. In regular criminal cases the government usually spends time putting together a case
before the arrest warrant is issued. This guy sounds like he was a target of opportunity in another ICE arrest, since all 3 people in the car were detained by ICE.
The Government presented no witnesses. It offered no affidavits. It introduced no testimony. The Government put no one on the stand: not an arresting officer or an immigration officer or a custodian or a decisionmaker. It offered no warrant, of any kind, nor did it offer evidence that any warrant was sought or obtained. And despite the court’s inquiry, the Government could produce no evidence that the Petitioner presented circumstances of exigency, flight, or necessity. In fact, the Government could not show that the Petitioner had even been evaluated under that criteria or any other criteria.
Given all the action going on around the country, ICE may not have had time to put together a full case.
Basic questions about Petitioner’s detention were also left unanswered. When asked who ordered the stop, why the vehicle was stopped, what legal authority was invoked, what facts were known at the time, what statements were made, what notice was given, what process was available, and when any hearing would occur; the Government repeatedly answered: “I don’t know.”
The feds pulled a Greer. Never go full Greer.
Instead, the Government relied on documents attached to its brief, including two forms from events that took place in 2023. But when asked if the Government would offer those documents as evidence, the Government declined to do so. The court ruled that the attachments to the briefs were not evidence.
FULL GREER ALERT!!!!!!!!
