Detained immigrant files petition

Askarov has been held without a hearing at facility for 13 months

An immigrant from Uzbekistan has filed a petition in the federal District Court, Johnstown, asking that he either be released from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, or at the very least receive a bond hearing, because he has been detained there for more than 13 months.

Sardorbek Askarov, who refers to himself as "Mr. A.," stated in his petition that he sought asylum in the United States on May 11, 2023, to escape religious persecution in his native land.

He entered the country through the Port of San Ysidro in California and was immediately "paroled" into the country.

The 35-year-old explained in his petition that on Sept. 22, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security issued a warrant for his arrest because he failed to update his address with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and at that point, he was placed in immigration custody and taken to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, which was a former prison but now houses more than 1,000 immigrants.

He states, "ICE imprisoned Mr. A. in the Moshannon Valley Processing Center.

"Mr. A. came to the United States seeking asylum. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained Mr. A. without a bond hearing for 13 months, with no end in sight," he related in his petition.

Representing himself, Askarov complained that he has not received a bail hearing or been offered any other option to end his detention.

"This period (of detention) is unquestionably prolonged. Mr. A. has no factors in his history that could indicate any danger to the community," he stated.

He contends that individuals like himself who are classified as "arriving aliens" do not have the same due process rights with respect to judicial review of their removal proceedings as those who have already entered the United States, but they still have the Fifth Amendment right to be free from "unreasonable detention."

In addition, Askarov stated, not only is his detention prolonged, but he complains that conditions at Moshannon Valley are "identical to, or worse than, those of county jail inmates serving criminal sentences."

He stated Moshannon Valley "is indistinguishable from a federal or state prison."

In his petition, he is asking that the federal court in Johnstown assume jurisdiction over his case and that it declare his continued detention violates the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.

He is seeking immediate release.

His petition has been referred to Magistrate Judge Keith A. Pesto, who presides in Johnstown, for review.

Askarov's legal action is one of more than 30 petitions filed in recent months by residents of Moshannon Valley.

Most of them have been put under seal by the Johnstown court.

The named defendants in Askarov's filing include Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas, as well as field ICE officers in New York and Philadelphia.