1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 VARUN DATTA, No. 1:26-cv-00032-TLN-CKD 11 Petitioner, 12 v. ORDER 13 WARDEN OF THE GOLDEN STATE ANNEX DETENTION FACILITY, et al., 14 Respondents. 15

16 17 Petitioner Varun Datta (“Petitioner”), an immigration detainee who is representing 18 himself, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 with a request 19 for injunctive relief. Based on the substance of Petitioner’s brief and the immediate injunctive 20 relief requested therein, the Court construes Petitioner’s pleading as containing a motion for a 21 temporary restraining order (“TRO”). Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976) (stating that 22 pleadings by pro se litigants must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted 23 by lawyers). 24 Respondents shall file a response to Petitioner’s request for immediate injunctive relief on 25 January 12, 2026. Any opposition shall provide the Court with copies of all referenced/relevant 26 portions of Petitioner’s A-File and any and all available records related to Petitioner’s allegations 27 (ECF No. 1), including copies of all orders of release and all detention orders. Additionally, 28 Respondents’ brief shall indicate whether they are amenable to converting the motion for TRO 1 into a motion for preliminary injunction and whether they request a hearing on the motion. 2 Pending the Court’s ruling on this petition, Respondents shall not take any action to 3 transfer Petitioner out of this District. See F.T.C. v. Dean Foods Co., 384 U.S. 597, 608 (1966) 4 (acknowledging the Court’s “express authority under the All Writs Act to issue such temporary 5 injunctions as may be necessary to protect its own jurisdiction”). 6 Petitioner’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis is granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914. 7 Petitioner has also filed a motion for the appointment of counsel. In light of the 8 complexity of the legal issues involved, the Court has determined that the interests of justice 9 require the appointment of counsel for Petitioner. See 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B); see also 10 Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). 11 Within seven days from the date of this Order, the appointing authority for the Eastern 12 District of California shall identify counsel and send counsel’s contact information to Michele 13 Krueger, Courtroom Deputy for Chief Judge Troy Nunley, via email at 14 mkrueger@caed.uscourts.gov, who shall update the docket to reflect counsel’s appointment. If 15 counsel is not a member of the Eastern District of California Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) Panel, 16 the Court hereby authorizes them to serve as CJA counsel for petitioner for the duration of the 17 proceedings in this Court pursuant to Local Rule 180(b)(1). 18 Within seven days of the date of appointment of counsel, Petitioner shall supplement or 19 amend his Petition, if desired, and file a reply to Petitioner’s request for injunctive relief. 20 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 21 1. Respondents shall file a response to Petitioner’s request for immediate injunctive 22 relief, including relevant portions of his A-file as stated above, by January 12, 2026; 23 2. In order to ensure this Court’s jurisdiction to resolve the pending § 2241 petition, 24 Respondents shall not transfer Petitioner to another detention center outside of this 25 judicial district, pending further order of the Court; 26 3. Petitioner’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is granted; 27 4. Petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 3) is granted; 28 5. Within seven days from the date of this Order, the appointing authority for the 1 Eastern District of California shall identify counsel and send counsel’s contact 2 information to Michele Krueger, Courtroom Deputy for Chief Judge Troy Nunley; 3 6. Within seven days of the date the Court appoints counsel, Petitioner shall supplement 4 or amend his Petition, if desired, and file a reply to Petitioner’s request for immediate 5 injunctive relief; 6 7. The Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this Order on the Federal Defender, 7 Attention: Habeas Appointment, along with a copy of the § 2241 petition; and 8 8. The Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this Order together with a copy of 9 Petitioner’s application for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on 10 the United States Attorney. 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 | Date: January 6, 2026 7, 13

TROY L. NUNLEY

14 CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28