Sacora

Tim Ray Sacora, Larry L. Beaman, and Todd Sonobe (collectively “Petitioners”) brought this habeas corpus action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging the policies by which the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) places inmates in community correctional facilities, also known as residential re-entry centers (“RRCs”). Petitioners contend that the substance of the BOP’s policies violates the statutory provisions that the policies purport to implement, 18 U.S.C. §§ 3621 (b) and 3624(c), and that the procedure by which the policies were adopted violates the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”).

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253(a). We conclude that the BOP’s policies violate neither the statutory provisions that they implement nor the APA. We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Statutory and Regulatory Background

Two statutory provisions govern the BOP’s authority to place inmates in its custody in RRCs: 18 U.S.C. §§ 3621 (b) and 3624(c). Section 3621 governs the authority of the BOP to designate a prisoner’s placement in general while he or she is in the BOP’s custody. In the context of RRCs, this section governs the BOP’s…