GREGORY H. WOODS, District Judge.
On September 22, 2016, Petitioner, Mr. Owusu Manu, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (the "Petition"). Dkt. No. 1. Petitioner has been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") without bond for approximately four months, and seeks a bail hearing in light of his detention. Because Mr. Manu does not present a basis for the Court to conclude that his current detention violates the law, the Petition is DENIED without prejudice.
Petitioner is a citizen of Ghana. Pet. ¶ 26. Following an incident involving his tribe, Petitioner asserts that tribal elders determined that he must be executed and "sacrificed in order to appease ancestral spirits." Id. Fearing for his life, Petitioner fled Ghana and eventually sought asylum in the United States. Id. On May 31, 2016, Petitioner presented himself to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Texas. Pet. ¶ 11. Petitioner was detained promptly thereafter and was placed in removal proceedings in New York. Id. ¶¶ 2, 11.
On July 5, 2016, an asylum officer determined that Petitioner had established credible fear of torture. Id. ¶ 27. Approximately one month later, Petitioner's counsel filed a humanitarian parole request with ICE, which ICE denied on August 24, 2016. Id. Petitioner submitted his application for asylum on September 27, 2016, and the immigration judge scheduled a hearing on the merits of Petitioner's application for December 13, 2016. Id. ¶ 28. Petitioner is currently detained in New Jersey awaiting the December 13, 2016 hearing. Id. ¶ 11.
The Petition's claim for relief relies exclusively on the Second Circuit's decision in Lora v. Shanahan, 804 F.3d 601 (2d Cir. 2015). Petitioner's sole argument is that his due process rights have been violated because his "detention will extend a minimum of six months and likely significantly longer." Id. ¶ 6 (emphasis added). He has not suggested any other basis to justify the requested relief.
In Lora, the Second Circuit held that "in order to avoid the constitutional concerns raised by indefinite detention, an immigrant detained pursuant to [8 U.S.C. §] 1226(c) must be afforded a bail hearing before an immigration judge within six months of his or her detention." 804 F.3d at 616. The Second Circuit elected to adopt this "bright-line rule . . . in order to avoid the constitutional concerns raised by indefinite detention." Id. The holding of Lora is limited to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c); by its terms, the decision does not extend to 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), the statute pursuant to which Petitioner is detained. The Court need not assess whether the holding of Lora should be expanded as suggested by Petitioner.
Assuming that the six-month limitations on detentions without a bond hearing established in Lora applies here, Petitioner has not demonstrated that he is entitled to relief. His detention has not yet exceeded six months—he is two months shy of that mark. Therefore, as of the date of the Petition—and this order—Petitioner has not presented the Court with a basis for relief. The Court recognizes that Petitioner's next immigration court hearing is scheduled to take place on a date that exceeds the six-month mark by approximately 13 days, but the possibility of future harm does not make this matter ripe for adjudication.
Because Petitioner's detention period has not exceeded the six-month period established in Lora, and he has not asserted any other basis for the relief sought, the Petition for a writ of habeas corpus is DENIED without prejudice.
The Clerk of Court is directed to close this case.
SO ORDERED.