Aguilar v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Chi. Field Office

• Citation: 346 F.Supp.3d 1174
• Decision Date: 28 September 2018
• Docket Number: Case No. 17-cv-2296
• Parties: Rony Chavez AGUILAR, et al., Plaintiffs, v. U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

346 F.Supp.3d 1174

Rony Chavez AGUILAR, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 17-cv-2296

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

Signed September 28, 2018

Linda T. Coberly, Neha Nigam, Jason Zachary Pesick, Winston & Strawn LLP, Mark M. Fleming, Charles Roth, Keren Hart Zwick, National Immigrant Justice Center, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs.

J. Max Weintraub, Office of Immigr. Litigation, Washington, DC, Craig Arthur Oswald, United States Attorney's Office, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Robert M. Dow, Jr., United States District Judge

Plaintiffs Rony Chavez Aguilar and Irwin Rolle ("Plaintiffs") filed this putative class action on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated against Defendants U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chicago Field Office; Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary for Homeland Security; Thomas Homan, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Ricardo Wong, Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chicago Field Office; alleging that Defendants have failed to meet their obligations under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. (Count I) and have violated Plaintiffs' rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments (Counts II–III). Currently before the Court is Defendants' motion [27] to dismiss all claims in Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint [24] for lack of jurisdiction, or, in the alternative, for failure to state a claim. For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion [27] is granted. Counts I–III in the Second Amended Complaint are dismissed. Plaintiffs are given until October 29, 2018 to file an amended complaint if they choose to do so. This case is set for a further status hearing on November 13, 2018 at 9:00 a.m.

I. Background¹

Defendant United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chicago Field Office ("ICE Chicago") enforces immigration laws in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin. [24, ¶ 15.] ICE Chicago and its agents are responsible for the policies and practices related to the arrest and detention of individuals for prosecution in removal proceedings within that area. [Id. ]

Defendants Elaine Duke, Thomas Homan, and Ricardo Wong are the Acting Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), Acting Director of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), and Director of ICE Chicago, respectively. [Id. ¶¶ 16–18.] Defendants Duke and Homan are responsible for, among other things, the policies and practices of ICE related to the arrest and detention of individuals for prosecution in removal proceedings. [Id. ¶¶ 16–17.] Defendant Wong is responsible for, among other things, the development and implementation of ICE Chicago's policies and practices related to the arrest and detention of individuals for prosecution in removal proceedings. [Id. ¶ 18.] Each is sued in his or her official capacity. [Id. ¶¶ 16–18.]

Plaintiff Chavez was born in Guatemala in 1984 and entered the United States with his mother as a Lawful Permanent Resident ("LPR") in 1991. [Id. ¶¶ 22–23.] His mother became a U.S. citizen in 1999 through the naturalization process. [Id. ¶ 24.] Because Chavez was an LPR, 14 years old, and in his mother's legal and physical custody, he became a U.S. citizen by law no later than February 27, 2001. [Id. ¶¶ 24–25.] Since Chavez was at all times pertinent to this litigation a U.S. citizen, ICE had no lawful authority to arrest or detain him or subject him to removal proceedings. [Id. ¶ 27.]²

Plaintiff Rolle was born in Jamaica in October 1970 and entered the United States as a LPR in March 1988. [Id. ¶¶ 35–36.] When he entered the United States in March 1988, Rolle's mother was a naturalized U.S. citizen. [Id. ¶ 37.] Because Rolle was an LPR, 17 years old, and in his mother's legal and physical custody, he became a U.S. citizen by law upon his entry. [Id. ¶¶ 37–38.] Given that Rolle is a U.S. citizen, ICE has no lawful authority to arrest or detain him or subject him to removal proceedings. [Id. ¶ 39.]

Plaintiffs allege that ICE Chicago detains thousands of people each year, often waiting days or weeks before commencing removal proceedings. [24, ¶¶ 2, 7, 20,47, 49.] Even after the official commencement of proceedings, Defendants allegedly force many detainees to wait in custody for additional weeks before seeing a judge for the first time. [Id. ¶¶ 2, 20.] During this period, ICE does not provide the detainee: (1) a sworn, particularized statement of probable cause; (2) a determination of probable cause before a detached and neutral judicial officer; or (3) a hearing before an immigration judge regarding the charges against them, the availability of attorney representation and other rights, and judicial review of their continued custody. [Id. ¶ 3.]

Instead, according to Plaintiffs, ICE Chicago typically serves detainees with an I-200 administrative warrant after they are brought into ICE custody. [Id. ¶ 4.] Such warrants are not reviewed or approved by a detached and neutral judicial officer, nor supported by a sworn, particularized showing of probable cause. [Id. ] Rather, the warrant purports to be a based on the arresting officer's finding of probable cause. [Id. ex. A.] Plaintiffs allege that these practices and policies are insufficient to meet Defendants' responsibilities under the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq, specifically 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2), and violate Plaintiffs' Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights. [Id. ¶¶ 19–20.]

Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that on or around March 9, 2017, ICE Chicago assumed physical custody of Chavez after issuing an immigration detainer to a Kentucky law enforcement agency that previously had held him. [Id. ¶¶ 28–30.] When the instant lawsuit was filed on March 27, 2017 [1], Chavez had been in ICE custody for 18 days.³ [Id. ¶ 5.] While in ICE custody, Chavez received two different Notices to Appear ("NTA")⁴ and was mailed an I-200 administrative warrant. [Id. ¶ 31.] As of the initiation of this lawsuit, however, ICE Chicago had not filed an NTA against Chavez with the immigration court. [Id. ¶ 32.]

ICE Chicago assumed physical custody of Rolle on or around June 28, 2017 [id. ¶ 40], and issued him an NTA the same day, [id. ¶ 41.] ICE Chicago never informed Rolle if, or when, it filed the NTA with an immigration court. [Id. ] As of Rolle's intervention in this case on August 21, 2017 [see 20], no immigration court had scheduled a hearing in his case. [24, ¶ 42.] The Court infers from Plaintiffs' complaint that as of the date of the Court's approval of his intervention on September 5, 2017 [see 23], Rolle remained in custody at ICE Chicago's contract facility, Kenosha County Detention Center in Kenosha, Wisconsin. [Id. ¶ 40.]

Chavez filed the initial complaint in this case seeking to represent himself and a class of similarly situated individuals on March 27, 2017. [See 1.] Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the initial complaint for lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim on May 30, 2017. [See 11.] Shortly thereafter, Chavez filed an agreed motion to amend the complaint. [See 14–15.] The Court granted the motion [16], and Chavez filed his First Amended Complaint on June 6, 2017. [See 17.] On August 21, 2017, Rolle moved to intervene. [See 21.] After the parties stipulated to his intervention [see 22], the Court granted the motion on September 5, 2017. [23.] Thus, on September 19, 2017, Plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Complaint (the "Operative Complaint"). [See 24.] The Operative Complaint brought claims against Defendants for failing to meet their obligations to Plaintiffs under the INA (Count I) and violating Plaintiffs' Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights (Counts II–III). [See id. ] Like the initial complaint, the Operative Complaint also sought to represent the following class:

All persons who are detained under the authority of ICE within the Chicago Area of Responsibility, where ICE has not initiated removal proceedings by filing a Notice to Appear with the immigration court and has not initiated another form of removal proceedings.

[Id. ¶ 45.]

Defendants then filed the instant motion to dismiss, arguing that the Court lacks jurisdiction or, in the alternative, that the Operative Complaint fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted. [See 27, 27-1.] Plaintiffs filed a response [34], two briefs regarding supplemental authority [40, 45], and Defendants have filed a reply [54].

II. Legal Standard

Defendants have moved to dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint [24] under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 12(b)(1) and Rule 12(b)(6).

A Rule 12(b)(1) motion seeks dismissal of an action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. If a defendant challenges the sufficiency of the allegations regarding subject matter jurisdiction, the Court accepts all well-pleaded factual allegations as true and draws all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. See Apex Digital, Inc. v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. , 572 F.3d 440, 443–44 (7th Cir. 2009) ; United Phosphorus, Ltd. v. Angus Chem. Co. , 322 F.3d 942, 946 (7th Cir. 2003) (en banc), overruled on other grounds by Minn-Chem, Inc. v. Agrium, Inc. , 683 F.3d 845 (7th Cir. 2012). In ruling on the motion, a district court may also look beyond the jurisdictional allegations alleged in the complaint and take into consideration whatever evidence has been submitted on the issue to determine if subject matter jurisdiction exists. Evers v. Astrue , 536 F.3d 651, 656–57 (7th Cir. 2008) (quoting St. John's United Church of Christ v. City of Chicago, 502 F.3d 616, 625 (7th Cir. 2007) ). The party asserting jurisdiction bears the burden of establishing that jurisdiction is satisfied. Glaser v. Wound Care Consultants, Inc. , 570 F.3d 907, 913 (7th Cir. 2009).

To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to...