Moshannon Valley Processing Center detainee files lawsuit, claiming his detention illegal
Native of India, held since 2024, seeks hearing
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A native of India, who contends his detention in the Moshannon Valley Processing Center is illegal, has filed a federal petition seeking release from the facility, or, at the very least, that he receive a bond hearing.
The petition was filed late last week by Philadelphia attorney Rizwan M. Khalid who represents the citizen of India, Nikhil Chauban.
The petition claims that Chauban was apprehended by United States Border Patrol near Mooers, N.Y., which is located on the United States-Canadian border.
His date of apprehension was June 16, 2024.
Like many residents of Moshannon Valley, Chauban is contesting a ruling by the Board of Immigration Appeals issued on Sept. 5, 2025, that reinterpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act.
As Chauban's petition explained, for the last 30 years, noncitizens living in the United States were entitled to bond hearings upon their apprehension.
Under the new interpretation of the law, although already living in the United States, persons like Chauban are now classified as "applicants for admission" to the United States and are therefore subject to mandatory detention, meaning no bond.
The new policy, as explained in the Chauban petition, concludes he is "now considered subject to mandatory detention."
According to the petition, the change in regulations began in July 2025 when Immigration and Customs Enforcement "began asserting that all individuals who entered (the United States) without inspection should be considered seeking admission and therefore subject to mandatory detention."
It was on Sept. 5, 2025, when the Board of Immigration Appeals issued its decision adopting the new interpretation.
Chauban's petition argues he is entitled to a bond hearing, and that his continued detention is unlawful.
The petition also contends he is being held in violation of the Fifth Amendment right to due process.
U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone on Friday issued a case management order.
"This Court has reviewed the petition and supporting materials and finds the threshold issue concerns whether (Chauban) is entitled to a bond healing, or whether he is subject to mandatory detention."
Based on recent decisions, including some involving residents of Moshannon Valley, Cercone stated, "The court tentatively intends to grant relief in the form of an individualized bond hearing before an immigration judge."
The defendants in the case include the director of the ICE field office in Philadelphia, and representatives of the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General.
Cercone gave the defendants up to 14 days to reply -- if they believe there are factual or legal differences between the Chauban case and the many other similar cases that have already been heard in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Khalid noted that Chauban, who is seeking asylum in the United States, has lived in the United States for two years and "has been abiding by all the laws and norms."
He concluded Chauban has "deep ties to the community and has always taken care of his family."