Venezuelan asylum seeker detained after criminal charge dropped, denied transfer injunction
Jan 12, 2026·Location: Jonesboro, LA
A Venezuelan man who entered the United States in January 2022 says he applied for asylum and complied with all release regulations. He was arrested in Florida on January 12, 2026, on a criminal charge and held for six months before the state court case ended in a nolle prosequi, meaning no conviction. Rather than being released, an immigration hold was placed on him and he was transferred into immigration detention at Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Jonesboro, Louisiana. While his habeas corpus petition was pending, he filed an emergency motion asking the court to block any transfer to another facility, or alternatively to require advance notice of a transfer and to ensure he retained access to his legal papers and ability to communicate about the case. The federal court denied the motion, finding that habeas jurisdiction is not affected by a transfer, that claims about prison transfers are generally not legally actionable under the habeas statute, and that detainees have no protected right to remain at a particular facility.
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