Iishaar-Abdi v. Klang
Mohamed Iishaar-Abdi v. Eric Klang, Sheriff of Crow Wing County; David Easterwood, Acting Director of St. Paul Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States
- John Tunheim
- 0:25-cv-04686
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 5
In Mohamed Iishaar-Abdi v. Eric Klang et al., Judge Tunheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota granted a Somali immigrant's petition for release from unlawful detention without a bail hearing, ruling that his detention is governed by a law that requires such a hearing rather than one that allows mandatory detention with no hearing.
Noncitizens — particularly those from Somalia or other countries who entered the United States without authorization, are already present inside the country, and have been detained by ICE without a bond hearing — may be directly affected by this ruling. It is also relevant to immigration attorneys, ICE officials in the District of Minnesota, and immigration judges conducting bond hearings in this jurisdiction.
What happened
In Mohamed Iishaar-Abdi v. Eric Klang, Sheriff of Crow Wing County, et al., Mohamed Iishaar-Abdi, a Somali citizen who entered the United States without authorization in April 2022, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on December 4, 2025, and held at the Crow Wing County jail in Brainerd, Minnesota. He had been in removal proceedings since April 2022 and had a pending application for asylum. He filed a petition asking the court to order the government to give him a bail hearing, arguing that holding him without any hearing was unlawful.
The government argued that Iishaar-Abdi fell under a different immigration detention law — 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) — that applies to people 'seeking admission' to the United States and does not require a bail hearing. The government also argued that his filing of an asylum application placed him in that category. Iishaar-Abdi countered that a different law — 8 U.S.C. § 1226 — applied to him because he was already present inside the United States when arrested, and that law requires the government to hold a bail hearing where it must show he is a flight risk or danger to the community before continuing to detain him.
Judge Tunheim agreed with Iishaar-Abdi, relying on the same legal analysis the court had used in two recent similar cases. The court found that because Iishaar-Abdi was arrested while already present in the United States — and his own Notice to Appear from the government described him as present without authorization, not as someone seeking entry — the detention law requiring a bail hearing (§ 1226) controls, not the mandatory detention provision. Judge Tunheim granted the petition, ordered the government to hold a bail hearing within 7 days, and prohibited the government from removing Iishaar-Abdi from the District of Minnesota before that hearing takes place. If no hearing is held within 7 days, Iishaar-Abdi must be immediately released.
The detailed version
Case
Mohamed Iishaar-Abdi v. Eric Klang, Sheriff of Crow Wing County; David Easterwood, Acting Director of St. Paul Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Pamela Bondi, Attorney General of the United States. Civil No. 25-4686 (JRT/DTS). U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota. Decided December 30, 2025, by Judge John R. Tunheim.
Background
Petitioner Mohamed Iishaar-Abdi is a native and citizen of Somalia who entered the United States without inspection on or around April 9, 2022. Two days later, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initiated removal proceedings — the formal government process for deporting a noncitizen — by serving him with a Notice to Appear (Form I-862). The notice charged him as removable under Section 212(a)(6)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled. On August 29, 2022, Iishaar-Abdi filed an Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal (Form I-589), which remained pending before the Executive Office of Immigration Review at the time of this decision.
On December 4, 2025, ICE officers arrested Iishaar-Abdi and placed him in detention at the Crow Wing County jail in Brainerd, Minnesota. On December 18, 2025, he filed a Verified Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus — a legal filing asking a court to order the government to justify why someone is being held — arguing that his continued detention without a bail (bond) hearing violated his rights. He asked the court to order respondents to provide a bond hearing under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a).
The Core Legal Dispute
The central question was which immigration detention statute governed Iishaar-Abdi's detention, because the answer determines whether he has a right to a bond hearing.
- 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) applies to noncitizens 'seeking admission' to the United States (i.e., arriving at a port of entry or otherwise seeking to enter). Under this provision, certain noncitizens can be mandatorily detained with no bond hearing required. - 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) applies to noncitizens who are already present inside the United States and are arrested pending a decision on removal. This provision requires that the government hold a bond hearing before an immigration judge, where the government must show the individual is a danger to the community or a flight risk to justify continued detention.
Respondents argued that § 1225(b)(2) governed because Iishaar-Abdi had filed an asylum application, which they contended rendered him someone 'seeking admission.' Petitioner argued that § 1226 applied because he was arrested while already present in the United States, not at a port of entry.
The Court's Analysis
Judge Tunheim ruled that the legal issues here were controlled by the same analysis he had applied in two prior cases: Herrera Avila v. Bondi, No. 25-3741, 2025 WL 2976539 (D. Minn. Oct. 21, 2025), and Romero Santuario v. Bondi, No. 25-4296, 2025 WL 3469577 (D. Minn. Dec. 2, 2025).
The court noted that the factual record showed Iishaar-Abdi was arrested while already inside the United States, and his own Notice to Appear — issued by DHS itself — described him as 'present in the United States without being admitted or paroled,' not as someone seeking admission. The court rejected the government's argument that Iishaar-Abdi's asylum application changed this analysis, citing decisions from the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Kentucky reaching the same conclusion. Accordingly, the court held it had jurisdiction over the petition and that § 1226, not § 1225(b)(2), governed Iishaar-Abdi's detention.
The Order: Judge Tunheim granted the petition and ordered the following:
- Iishaar-Abdi is not subject to mandatory detention under § 1225(b)(2); his detention, if any, is governed by § 1226(a).
- Respondents must provide Iishaar-Abdi with a bond hearing within 7 days of the order (by approximately January 6, 2026), at which both parties may present evidence and argument regarding whether he is a danger to the community or a flight risk.
- If no bond hearing is held within 7 days, Iishaar-Abdi must be immediately released.
- The parties must file a status update within 10 days regarding the outcome of the bond hearing or, if none was held, Petitioner's release; they must also advise the court whether further proceedings are needed.
- Respondents are enjoined (prohibited by court order) from removing, transferring, or facilitating the removal of Iishaar-Abdi from the District of Minnesota before the bond hearing. If the immigration judge determines § 1226(a) detention is warranted after the hearing, respondents may request court permission to transfer Petitioner under emergency or unforeseen circumstances.
- The parties must file any requests for redaction of the opinion within 3 days.
Reviewer note from the AI+
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.