Habeas Corpus in Real Time: Minnesota’s Detention Docket Dusts Off Ancient But Foundational Remedy
A surge of emergency habeas corpus petitions in Minnesota is reshaping immigration detention litigation. Federal judges are issuing expedited orders, blocking detainee transfers, and demanding immediate statutory justification for custody. With cases such as Hassan v. Bondi, Astudillo Laica v. Bondi, and U.H.A. v. Bondi, courts are treating habeas review as urgent injunctive relief while confronting jurisdictional risks and mandatory-versus-discretionary detention disputes. As practitioners like E. Michelle Drake of Berger Montague navigate a rapidly expanding docket, Minnesota has emerged as a focal point in a nationwide rise in detention challenges—highlighting the continuing power of habeas corpus as a real-time check on executive detention authority.





