Habeas corpus petitions
Federal litigation to challenge unlawful immigration detention.
If someone in your family has been held for months without a bond hearing, without a decision, and without any clear end in sight, a Habeas Corpus petition may be the tool that secures their release.
180
Days in detention
Six months is the benchmark Federal Courts use when weighing whether detention has become unreasonable. Past 180 days, the case is worth reviewing.
What it is
A direct constitutional challenge to the detention itself.
A Habeas Corpus petition challenges the Government’s legal authority to keep a person in physical custody. It is not an appeal of an immigration case.
It is brought before a Federal Judge — not an Immigration Judge — who has the power to order release or to require that a bond hearing finally be held.
Start here
Bring us the dates. We will tell you where the case stands.
Schedule a session with our team. We review the detention timeline and the record, and tell you plainly whether a petition is the right move — or what has to happen first.
WHAT TO BRING
The detention notice, the bond decision, and any order from the Immigration Judge. Whatever paperwork you have is enough to start.
When habeas corpus applies
The situations that most often support a petition.
There is no single deadline written into the law, but six months — 180 days — is the benchmark Federal Courts use when weighing whether detention has become unreasonable.
Detention beyond six months
Under Zadvydas v. Davis, six months is the presumptively reasonable limit after a final order of removal. Past 180 days, if deportation is not reasonably foreseeable, the Government generally must release the individual.
A home country that will not accept return
When a final removal order exists but the home country refuses to issue travel documents, detention can become indefinite. This is among the strongest grounds for a petition.
Honest case assessment
We will tell you plainly whether the timeline and the record support a petition. If they do not yet, we will tell you what has to happen first.
Honest case assessment
We will tell you plainly whether the timeline and the record support a petition. If they do not yet, we will tell you what has to happen first.
Before a petition can be filed
A habeas petition cannot be used to skip the Immigration Court.
A Federal Judge will dismiss a petition filed by someone who has not first sought relief from the Immigration Judge. The path runs in this order.
Request bond from the Immigration Judge
The detained person must formally ask for a bond hearing in Immigration Court. If this has not happened yet, we handle it.
Obtain a denial or an impossible condition
The Immigration Judge denies bond, declares a lack of jurisdiction, or sets an amount that cannot realistically be paid.
File the petition in Federal District Court
Once administrative remedies are exhausted, we file the Habeas petition asserting that the detention is unconstitutional.
If you are not sure which of these steps has already happened in your case, bring us whatever paperwork you have. Part of our evaluation is figuring out exactly where the case stands.
A case we won
Manuela B.H. — released by federal court order.
In December 2025, Manuela — an asylum seeker from Colombia living in Bakersfield, California since 2022 — was told by ICE to report to their office so her electronic monitor could be swapped. She went. Instead of a new monitor, she was arrested and taken to the California City ICE Processing Center.
In custody, her health collapsed. Repeated fainting spells, IV fluids every one to two days, a bacterial stomach infection. The facility doctor described her condition as “very fragile.” ICE refused to turn over her medical records and pushed a removal order through in March 2026, while she was too weak to gather the evidence to defend herself.
We filed an emergency Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in federal court, arguing that a jagged tear caused by household cleaning could not meet the willful-intent requirement of 18 U.S.C. § 1361 and — with our co-counsel Ololade Moses — that the conditions of her detention were punitive and life-threatening. The Court agreed.
Manuela is an actual client of Goldstein Immigration Lawyers. She appears voluntarily and is not a paid actor. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Habeas corpus or removal defense?
Two separate cases, in two separate courts.
These services are often confused with each other. Many clients need both.
Important: what this service does not include
A Habeas Corpus petition addresses one thing: physical liberty. It does not decide the merits of an immigration case, and it does not grant or restore legal status.
Retaining our firm for a Habeas Corpus petition does not include representation in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court — hearings, motions, applications for relief, or appeals. Those are a separate legal matter handled under a separate agreement. Many clients need both; we will explain clearly which service covers what before you retain us.
Federal court experience
Habeas petitions are litigated in Federal District Court, not Immigration Court. Our team practices there and understands what those judges expect to see.
Honest case assessment
We will tell you plainly whether the timeline and the record support a petition. If they do not yet, we will tell you what has to happen first.
Urgency
Every additional week in detention matters. These cases move on our fastest track.
Clear communication
You will know what we filed, what the Government said in response, and what the next step is — without having to chase us for an update.
Every week in detention matters.
If a loved one is being held, the timeline matters and so does acting quickly. Bring us the paperwork — we will review the dates and tell you honestly whether a petition makes sense.