HERMAN N. JOHNSON, JR., Magistrate Judge.
On December 13, 2019, the magistrate judge entered a report recommending this action be dismissed without prejudice. (Doc. 13). Petitioner, through counsel, filed timely objections. (Doc. 14).
Petitioner first objects to the magistrate judge's finding that his detention is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1231. (Doc. 14 at 4-5). Although Petitioner agrees with the magistrate judge's determination that he is subject to an administratively final order of removal, he argues that his detention is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1226 rather than § 1231 once the Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted his stay of removal. (Id.). Petitioner asserts that the magistrate judge "draw[s] the unsupported conclusion that his detention is governed by Section 1231." (Id. at 5).
Petitioner obtained a stay of removal from the Second Circuit, effectively halting the six month presumptively reasonable removal period under Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 701 (2001). See Akinwale v. Ashcroft, 287 F.3d 1050, 1052 n.4 (11th Cir. 2002) (noting challenges to a final order of removal "interrupt[ ] the running of time under Zadvydas"). In this Circuit, a stay of removal suspends the time period set forth by § 1231(a)(1), rather than causing the detention to revert to § 1226.
In his second objection, Petitioner asserts that the magistrate judge misapplied the Zadvydas standard by requiring him to show his removal will never occur and failing to take into account his substantial likelihood of success in the Second Circuit on his petition for review. (Doc. 14 at 5-7). The report and recommendation belies this contention because the magistrate judge did not require Petitioner to prove his removal would "never occur." (Doc. 13 at 5). Rather, the magistrate judge found Petitioner was not entitled to relief because he has not demonstrated that his removal "in the reasonably foreseeable future" is unlikely pursuant to Zadvydas. (Doc. 13 at 12-14). Moreover, Petitioner's claim that he maintains a strong probability of success in the Second Circuit fails since the Circuit Court denied Petitioner's petition for review on January 15, 2020, finding his conviction for attempted possession of a sexual performance by a child to be an aggravated felony. See Opinion, Quito v. Barr, No. 18-996, (2d Cir. Jan. 15, 2020), ECF No. 96. Therefore, the court overrules Petitioner's second objection.
Lastly, Petitioner argues in his third objection that the Second Circuit's stay order does not stop the six-month clock of the presumptively reasonable removal period under Zadvydas. (Doc. 14 at 7-8). However, Petitioner's argument is also undermined by the Eleventh Circuit's holding in Akinwale which held that a challenge to a final order of removal "interrupt[s] the running of time under Zadvydas." 287 F.3d 1050, 1052 n.4 (11th Cir. 2002). The holding in Akinwale establishes precedent for this Circuit and is binding on this court in its adjudication of Petitioner's claims. Because Petitioner had been detained pending deportation for less than the presumptively reasonable six months at the time his petition was filed, it is subject to dismissal without prejudice. See Akinwale, 287 F.3d at 1052 ("This six-month period thus must have expired at the time Akinwale's § 2241 petition was filed in order to state a claim under Zadvydas.").
Having carefully reviewed and considered de novo all the materials in the court file, including the report and recommendation, and the objections thereto, the court
A separate order will be entered.