![\"Brandi](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PhotoHolder2.jpg\")
Brandi Rahimi with a photo of herself and her husband Shahrokh Rahimi, an Iranian immigrant who has lived in San Antonio for more than 20 years before he was detained by ICE. Credit: Texas Tribune \/ Salgu Wissmath<\/p>\nBrandi Rahimi with a photo of herself and her husband Shahrokh Rahimi, an Iranian immigrant who has lived in San Antonio for more than 20 years before he was detained by ICE. Credit: Texas Tribune \/ Salgu Wissmath<\/p>\n
Lawsuits challenging immigration detention have recently flooded federal courts in Texas, which has the country\u2019s highest number<\/a> of migrant detainees.<\/p>\n They are part of a national wave of<\/a> habeas corpus petitions that attorneys have launched over the past few months to counter the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to keep migrants locked up and push them toward deportation.<\/p>\n And in some cases, attorneys have referenced the Laken Riley Act, the first bill<\/a> President Donald Trump signed into law this yearthat requires<\/a> the detention of undocumented migrants accused of committing even minor crimes, to help argue for their clients\u2019 release.<\/p>\n This shift in legal strategy is a response to the federal government\u2019s intensified immigration enforcement<\/a> in the country\u2019s interior \u2014 which followed Trump\u2019s promises of mass deportations during his presidential campaign \u2014 and its directive in July<\/a> expanding mandatory detention.<\/p>\n As of mid-November, more than 65,100 people<\/a> were in ICE detention nationwide. Texas facilities held over 25% of them.<\/p>\n Typically, detained migrants seeking release from ICE custody would request bond hearings in immigration courts, which are under the Department of Justice and separate from state and federal courts.<\/p>\n But in July, Immigration and Customs Enforcement re-interpreted federal law and said that anyone who entered the U.S. without legal authorization is ineligible for bond if they\u2019re detained. Previously, ICE mostly had denied bond only to those who had recently arrived at the border.<\/p>\n The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed<\/a> this change in September, ending bond hearings in immigration courts for potentially millions of people \u2014 including those who have lived in the country for decades.<\/p>\n As a result, attorneys have turned to federal courts, where they have filed more than 675 immigration-related habeas petitions in Texas alone between January and November, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of federal court records. That\u2019s already more than the number of such petitions filed in the state during Trump\u2019s entire first four-year term. Over 70% of these lawsuits were filed in just the last three months.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been following quite closely the expanded habeas litigation, and it is absolutely a real phenomenon,\u201d said Denise Gilman, director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin. \u201cI have not in the past ever seen this much habeas activity.\u201d<\/p>\n Gilman also said the strategy is working to challenge mandatory detention.<\/p>\n Nationally, more than 200 judges overseeing more than 700 cases have ruled in favor of migrants who filed habeas petitions, Politico reported last week<\/a>, while only eight judges have denied the petitions. The first group includes at least 12 judges in Texas, according to a tracker by Kate Melloy Goettel, director of the University of Iowa\u2019s Federal Impact Litigation Clinic.<\/p>\n But winning a habeas petition doesn\u2019t guarantee immediate release for migrants in detention. Many would then go before an immigration judge for bond hearings, where the judge would consider factors such as whether they pose a flight or public safety risk.<\/p>\n Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the federal government is applying the law as written.<\/p>\n She also said the Trump administration is \u201cfulfilling the American people\u2019s mandate to deport dangerous illegal aliens at historic rates,\u201d and called the habeas petitions \u201cnothing more than a desperate Hail Mary attempt to keep illegal aliens in our community, even though they have no legal right to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a federal judge in California ruled against the Trump administration late last month in a case involving four people who were denied bond hearings after being detained in Los Angeles, despite having lived in the country for a long time. And in a move hailed as a major win by immigration advocates, she certified a nationwide class<\/a> of similarly affected individuals, expanding her decision against the new detention policy across the country.<\/p>\n But detained migrants \u2014\u00a0most of whom can\u2019t find or afford a lawyer \u2014 may still have difficulty benefiting from the judge\u2019s decision, Goettel said.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, those people who don\u2019t have counsel aren\u2019t going to have someone to advocate with the judge about why the class action applies to him or her, and so there\u2019s a chance that the judge won\u2019t apply the class action,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u2018Why would they come and get him?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Shahrokh Rahimi, 53, is one of the immigrants turning to the federal court for help getting out of ICE detention.<\/p>\n Rahimi has lived in San Antonio for over two decades after fleeing political persecution in Iran and entering the country illegally from Canada in 2003, according to his habeas petition. At the urging of his wife, who he met and married in the U.S., Rahimi sought to obtain legal immigration status. In 2010, an immigration judge ordered him removed from the U.S. to any country but Iran \u2014 which would require the government to find a third country that would agree to receive him.<\/p>\n Instead, for the past 15 years, the petition says Rahimi has had regular check-ins at the local ICE office. He has also become an active member of his church, doted on his 12-year-old daughter and worked as a professional caretaker, most recently helping a retired woman with transportation, cleaning and shopping.<\/p>\n But on June 22, ICE agents detained Rahimi at his home and eventually took him to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, where he remains more than five months later.<\/p>\n \u201cMy daughter\u2019s in the background, crying and walking around and saying, \u2018What\u2019s happening, what\u2019s happening?\u2019\u201d said his wife, Brandi Rahimi, 50. \u201cWhat we heard was they\u2019re going after criminals \u2026 My husband has [no criminal history], so why would they come and get him?\u201d<\/p>\n A search of Bexar County and federal court cases found no criminal records for Rahimi, beyond a 2023 speeding ticket that was dismissed after he completed a driver safety course.<\/p>\n DHS didn\u2019t respond to the Tribune\u2019s questions about why he was detained then.<\/p>\n While in custody, Rahimi in late August sought to cancel his removal order in immigration court. He also requested a bond hearing but it was denied in September, prompting the Texas Civil Rights Project to file the habeas petition for him a month later.<\/p>\n According to his wife, it took three months before Rahimi wasn\u2019t crying every other time he called his family. At home, she said it has also been challenging without his income and help with child care. And their daughter has particularly struggled to cope.<\/p>\n \u201cIf she doesn\u2019t get a call from him in the morning, then she\u2019s just a mess,\u201d Brandi Rahimi said.<\/p>\n On Monday, an immigration judge again ordered Rahimi\u2019s removal, but his wife said the block on deportation to Iran is still intact and his lawyers have appealed the judge\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a federal judge has scheduled a hearing on his habeas petition for Dec. 10, according to Danny Woodward, an attorney with the TCRP. Brandi Rahimi is still hoping her husband will be home for Christmas.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease keep praying,\u201d she wrote in her Gofundme campaign<\/a> Monday. <\/p>\n Using the Laken Riley Act to defend migrants<\/strong><\/p>\n To bolster Rahimi\u2019s legal argument in the petition, Woodward is partly relying on an unexpected tool: the Laken Riley Act.<\/p>\n Passed in January, the federal law<\/a> requires the detention of anyone who is an undocumented immigrant and has been arrested for or charged with even minor crimes, such as shoplifting. The act was named for a Georgia nursing student killed by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, who had previously been arrested for shoplifting.<\/p>\n While the legislation received some bipartisan support, immigration advocates said it threatens due process rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n But some attorneys are now using the Laken Riley Act to help challenge the expansion of mandatory detention for migrants.<\/p>\n Their argument: Under its new detention policy, the Trump administration re-interpreted longstanding immigration law to make anyone who illegally entered the U.S. ineligible for bond. But if ICE\u2019s interpretation is correct, why would Congress need to pass new legislation in order to require detention for a smaller group of undocumented immigrants who have also been accused of committing crimes?<\/p>\n \u201cICE\u2019s whole theory cannot be right if we assume that Congress passed the Laken Riley Act for a reason,\u201d said Dan Gividen, an immigration attorney who previously worked in ICE\u2019s Dallas office as deputy chief counsel. \u201cBecause without [undocumented immigrants] having a right to bond, there was no need for the Laken Riley Act.\u201d<\/p>\n DHS\u2019s McLaughlin didn\u2019t respond to the Tribune\u2019s specific question about this argument.<\/p>\n Gividen has in recent months filed more than 25 habeas petitions for detained migrants \u2014 including many who are represented by immigration lawyers who aren\u2019t as familiar with this type of maneuver in federal courts.<\/p>\n While many of those petitions remain pending, court records show that judges \u2014 both Democratic and Republican appointees \u2014 have so far recommended or ordered that migrants be released or provided bond hearings in eight lawsuits. And in another case, ICE released<\/a> the individual prior to the judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n Winning these petitions has now become easier in Texas following the federal government\u2019s policy change, Gividen said.<\/p>\n \u201cICE flew too close to the sun,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Disclosure: Politico and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This article first appeared on the Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tLaws include restricting transgender people\u2019s access to public bathrooms, allowing lawsuits against abortion pill providers, and replacement of the STAAR test.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Brandi](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/PhotoHolder.jpg\")
Brandi Rahimi holds a photo of her husband, Shahrokh Rahimi in their home in San Antonio on Dec. 1, 2025. Credit: Texas Tribune \/ Salgu Wissmath<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0630-Texas-Capitol-RB_9.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Hundreds](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/DPSTrooper.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Advocates](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Screen-Shot-2025-12-01-at-11.49.13-AM.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n