Gonzalez v. Oconnell

The Immigration and Naturalization Service ("Agency") initiated removal proceedings against Carlos Gonzalez in August of 2002 as a result of his conviction in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, for possession of a controlled substance, cocaine. It also placed Mr. Gonzalez in physical civil immigration custody under the authority of § 236(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c). After an immigration judge ("IJ") denied Mr. Gonzalezs request for bond, citing § 1226(c)s mandatory detention requirement, Mr. Gonzalez filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. See 28 U.S.C. § 2241. His petition alleged that he was entitled to immediate release because § 1226(c)s mandatory detention requirement was unconstitutional as applied to him. The district court agreed and issued the writ; the Government timely appealed. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we must reverse the judgment of the district court.