Eyayu v. Wolf, Civil Action No. H-20-1381

• Court: United States District Courts. 5th Circuit. United States District Courts. 5th Circuit. Southern District of Texas
• Writing for the Court: DAVID HITTNER, United States District Judge
• Citation: 479 F.Supp.3d 362
• Parties: Abeye EYAYU, Petitioner, v. Chad WOLF et al., Respondents.
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. H-20-1381
• Decision Date: 14 August 2020

479 F.Supp.3d 362

Abeye EYAYU, Petitioner,
v.
Chad WOLF et al., Respondents.

Civil Action No. H-20-1381

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Houston Division.

Signed August 14, 2020

479 F.Supp.3d 363

Anne Elise Kennedy, Attorney At Law, Houston, TX, for Petitioner.

Ariel Nicole Wiley, U.S. Attorney's Office, Houston, TX, for Respondents.

ORDER

DAVID HITTNER, United States District Judge

Pending before the Court are Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief With Motion for Emergency Hearing (Document No. 1) and Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and Response to Abeye's Petition for Immediate Injunctive Relief (Document No. 6). Having considered the motions, submissions, and applicable law, the Court determines the writ should be denied and the motion to dismiss should be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

On August 20, 1993, Petitioner-Plaintiff, Abeye Eyayu ("Eyayu"), was admitted to the United States as a child of a refugee. Eyayu is a not a United States citizen and his application to adjust his status to a Lawful Permanent Resident has been denied. On July 25, 2019, the 432nd Judicial District Court of Fort Worth, Texas convicted Eyayu of possession of marijuana and sentenced Eyayu to six months confinement. On November 7, 2019, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") encountered Eyayu at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ("TDCJ") Pam Lychner State Jail in Humble, Texas. On December 12, 2019, TDCJ transferred Eyayu to ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations ("ERO") Houston facility. Pursuant to

479 F.Supp.3d 364

8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)(1)(B),¹ Eyayu is currently being detained at the Montgomery Processing Center (the "MPC") in Conroe, Texas pending disposition of his removal proceedings. Eyayu alleges ICE is subjecting Eyayu to unreasonable risks of contracting COVID-19 and that detention conditions at the MPC amount to unreasonable punishment in violation of Eyayu's constitutional rights.

Based on the foregoing, on April 17, 2020, Eyayu filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. On April 29, 2020, the Government moved to dismiss Eyayu's petition.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Rule 12(b)(6) allows dismissal if a plaintiff fails "to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Under Rule 8(a)(2), a pleading must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Although "the pleading standard Rule 8 announces does not require ‘detailed factual allegations,’ ... it demands more than ... ‘labels and conclusions.’ " Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). " ‘[A] formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’ " Id. (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).

In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, "[t]he ‘court accepts all well-pleaded facts as true, viewing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.’ " In re Katrina Canal Breeches Litig. , 495 F.3d 191, 205 (5th Cir. 2007) (quoting Martin K. Eby Constr. Co. v. Dall. Area Rapid Transit , 369 F.3d 464, 467 (5th Cir. 2004) ). To survive the motion, a plaintiff must plead "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. "Conversely, ‘when the allegations in a complaint, however true, could not raise a claim of entitlement to relief, this basic deficiency should ... be exposed at the point of minimum expenditure of time and money by the parties and the court.’ " Cuvillier v. Taylor , 503 F.3d 397, 401 (5th Cir. 2007) (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 558, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).

III. LAW & ANALYSIS

Eyayu seeks immediate release from custody, contending he has been subjected to unconstitutional conditions in retribution for questioning ICE's handling of the...