District Judge Julia E. Kobick: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered. Petitioner Domingos Kondo Dos Santos, a citizen of Angola who entered the United States in December 2024, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on September 8, 2026 seeking his immediate release or, alternatively, a bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a). ECF 1 , ¶¶ 1, 3, 46-47 & pp. 11-12. He was arrested and detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on August 31, 2026. Id. ¶ 2. Dos Santos remains in ICE’s custody in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Id. ¶ 5.
Upon receipt of Dos Santos’ petition, this Court ordered a response from the respondents on or before September 16, 2026. ECF 4. In their response, the respondents represented that Dos Santos is entitled to a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) and that he had such a hearing scheduled for September 28, 2026. ECF 7 . Based on that representation, the Court granted the respondents’ request to hold the petition in abeyance pending the decision of the Immigration Judge on bond. ECF 8 . The Court also ordered the respondents to file a status report stating the outcome of the bond hearing. Id.
On September 29, 2026, the petitioner filed his own status report. ECF 9 . In it, he represented that his September 28, 2026 bond hearing had been cancelled and has not been rescheduled, despite his attorney’s efforts. Id. The respondents have not responded to that status report or explained why they failed to notify the Court of the cancellation of Dos Santos’ September 28, 2026 bond hearing. With each day that passes, Dos Santos is further deprived of his liberty.
Accordingly, the Court hereby VACATES its order holding this case in abeyance, ECF 8 . As all agree, noncitizens like Dos Santos “detained under Section 1226(a) have the right to request a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge, at which the government bears the burden to prove that continued detention is justified.” Sampiao v. Hyde, 799 F. Supp. 3d 14, 19-20 (D. Mass. 2025). Bond may be denied only if the government “either (1) prove[s] by clear and convincing evidence that [the noncitizen] poses a danger to the community or (2) prove[s] by a preponderance of the evidence that [the noncitizen] poses a flight risk.” Hernandez-Lara v. Lyons, 10 F.4th 19, 41 (1st Cir. 2021).
Dos Santos’ petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, ECF 1 , is GRANTED. The respondents are ORDERED to provide him with a bond hearing pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) within 5 days of this Order. The respondents are further ORDERED to file a status report on or before October 8, 2026, notifying the Court whether Dos Santos has been granted bond and released or, if his request for bond was denied, providing the reasons for that denial. The respondents are further ORDERED to explain in the status report why Dos Santos’ bond hearing was cancelled without explanation, and why they did not alert the Court to that fact, given their representation in their September 16, 2026 motion to stay. (Currie, Haley)