Luis Alvarez-Mendez v. Fred J. Stock, Warden
Opinion
Opinion
Beezer, J.
Luis Alvarez-Mendez is an excluded alien who has been held in detention since 1988 because Cuba, his nation of citizenship, will not accept his repatriation. He filed a petition for habeas corpus, claiming his continued detention lacks statutory authority and violates the Constitution of the United States and rules of international law. The district court denied his petition. We affirm.
I
Alvarez-Mendez arrived in the United States on May 20, 1980. He was one of over 100,000 Cuban refugees, known as “Mariel Cubans,” who came to Florida by boat from the port of Mariel, Cuba. Shortly after his arrival in the United States, Alvarez-Mendez was granted immigration parole, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (d)(5)(A) (1988).
On July 13, 1984, Alvarez-Mendez was arrested in Florida for burglary and murder. On January 25, 1985, he pleaded guilty to second degree murder, armed burglary with assault with a deadly weapon (a rock), and armed robbery with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to three concurrent twelve-year prison terms. On August 10, 1988, Alvarez-Mendez was released from custody in Florida.
Upon release, Alvarez-Mendez was taken into custody by the Immigration and Naturalization…