## Facts

- Monsuru O. Tijani, a lawfully admitted permanent resident, was detained by federal immigration authorities and placed in removal proceedings as a “criminal alien.”
- The government detained Tijani under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c), which mandates custody for certain noncitizens during removal proceedings.
- Tijani did not concede removability and remained detained while his removal proceedings continued.
- Tijani filed a federal habeas petition challenging his prolonged detention without an individualized bond hearing.
- The district court denied habeas relief.
- By the time of the appellate decision, Tijani had been detained for more than two years and eight months.

## Issues

1. Whether 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) authorizes extremely prolonged mandatory detention during ongoing removal proceedings without an individualized bond hearing.
2. Whether § 1226(c) should be construed to avoid serious due process concerns by limiting mandatory detention to circumstances involving expedited removal.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit reversed the denial of habeas relief and remanded.
- The court construed § 1226(c) as authorizing mandatory detention only for “expedited removal of criminal aliens,” and held that detention exceeding two years was not “expeditious.”
- The court directed the district court to grant the writ unless, within 60 days, the government provided Tijani a hearing before an Immigration Judge with authority to grant bail.
- At the hearing, Tijani was entitled to release unless the government established that he posed a flight risk or a danger to the community.

## Legal Principles

- Immigration detention statutes may be interpreted narrowly to avoid serious constitutional doubts about prolonged civil confinement.
- Mandatory detention under § 1226(c) cannot be treated as unlimited in duration when removal proceedings are not proceeding expeditiously.
- When detention becomes extraordinarily prolonged, due process concerns require an individualized custody determination with a genuine possibility of release.
- In a bond hearing ordered to justify continued detention, the government bears the burden to show flight risk or danger to the community.

## Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit held that multi-year mandatory detention during contested removal proceedings exceeded § 1226(c) as properly construed and required an individualized bond hearing within 60 days, with habeas relief if the government failed to provide that hearing.


Tijani v. Willis, 430 F.3d 1241 (9th Cir. 2005)