Channer v. Hall

Decision Date14 May 1997
Docket NumberNo. 95-30964,95-30964
Citation112 F.3d 214
PartiesClaudious W. CHANNER, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Keith HALL, Warden; Gail Haynes; Bill Strunk; Ron Justice; Immigration and Naturalization Service; Ms. Smith Food Services; Janet Reno; and Nancy L. Hooks, Respondents-Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Claudious W. Channer, Chesire, CT, pro se.

Carl Edward Perry, Immigration & Naturalization, Oakdale, LA, Thomas Burton Thompson, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Lafayette, LA, for Respondents-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

Before KING and HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judges, and KAZEN, 1 District Judge.

KAZEN, District Judge:

Background

Claudious W. Channer ("Channer"), a pro se appellant, was scheduled to complete a federal prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution at Oakdale, Louisiana ("Oakdale"), on March 2, 1994. At his request, the Bureau of Prisons recalculated his release date to January 29, 1994, to reflect jail-time credits. Channer was released into INS custody on January 31, 1994 pursuant to an Immigration and Naturalization Service ("INS") detainer. He was classified as an aggravated felon and held at Oakdale in "no bond" status. Channer conceded his deportability and sought to be deported prior to March 2, 1994, the date on which he had originally been scheduled to complete his federal sentence. He waived his right of appeal and received a final order of deportation on March 2, 1994. On March 23, 1994, however, before Channer could be deported, Connecticut officials executed a detainer against him and took him into their custody to serve a twenty-year state sentence for armed robbery. During Channer's detention at Oakdale, both as a federal prisoner and as an INS detainee, he worked in the Food Services Department from 4:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day.

Channer brought an action in the Western District of Louisiana, Lake Charles Division, against Keith Hall, the warden at Oakdale during Channer's detention, and other federal officials and employees ("Appellees"). In an amended complaint filed in March 1994 and in later filings, Channer alleged that Appellees failed expeditiously to deport him as allegedly required by the former 8 U.S.C. § 1252. He also alleged that the Appellees reduced him to involuntary servitude in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by compelling him to work in the Food Services Department while he was an INS detainee. He sought injunctive and monetary relief.

Appellees filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment in which they raised the defense of qualified immunity. After the magistrate judge issued his report and recommendations, Channer filed a motion to compel discovery on the Thirteenth Amendment issue. Appellees filed no summary judgment evidence. In separate orders, the district court granted their motion for summary judgment on all causes of action. The court did not rule on the motion to compel discovery.

Channer raises four issues on appeal, only two of which merit any discussion. First, he appeals the district court's order dismissing his claim for damages arising out of the INS's failure expeditiously to deport him pursuant to a since-repealed version of 8 U.S.C. § 1252. 2 Second, he appeals the order granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees on his Thirteenth Amendment claim for damages. Appellees again raise the qualified immunity defense, which the magistrate judge and district court did not reach. We affirm.

INS's Failure to Deport

While this appeal was pending, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act ("IIRIRA"), §§ 305-306, Pub.L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996), was enacted. This statute repealed 8 U.S.C § 1252. The new provision which governs the detention and removal of aliens ordered removed, 8 U.S.C.A. § 1231(h) (Supp.1997), provides that "[n]othing in this section shall be construed to create any substantive or procedural right or benefit that is legally enforceable by any party against the United States or its agencies or officers or any other person." The effective date of this provision was April 1, 1997. IIRIRA, § 309(a). Because, as discussed below, Channer fails to state a claim under the repealed version of § 1252, we need not reach the issue of whether the 1996 amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA") apply retroactively to his case.

Channer brings claims under the former 8 U.S.C. § 1252(c) and § 1252(i). The INA formerly provided that an alien who was not deported within six months of receiving a final order of deportation was to be released subject to supervision. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(c) (1994) (repealed 1996). The former 8 U.S.C. § 1252(i) provided that "[i]n the case of an alien who is convicted of an offense which makes the alien subject to deportation, the Attorney General shall begin any deportation proceeding as expeditiously as possible after the date of the conviction." 8 U.S.C. § 1252(i) (1994) (repealed 1996).

The INA also provided, however, that "[a]n alien sentenced to imprisonment shall not be deported until such imprisonment has been terminated by the release of the alien from confinement." 8 U.S.C. § 1252(h) (1994) (repealed 1996). When Channer was released to INS custody after completing his federal prison sentence, he had not yet begun to serve his Connecticut prison sentence for armed robbery. While no court appears to have addressed factual circumstances similar to Channer's case, we conclude that, had the INS "expeditiously" deported him before he began serving his Connecticut sentence, it would have violated § 1252(h).

Moreover, Channer has no implied private cause of action for damages for the INS's failure to expedite his deportation. In a similar case, we held that an alien lacks standing under the Mandamus and Venue Act ("Mandamus Act"), 28 U.S.C. § 1361, or the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. §§ 500-706, to compel the INS to commence deportation proceedings pursuant to section 1252(i). Giddings v. Chandler, 979 F.2d 1104, 1110 (5th Cir.1992). As stated in Giddings,

while § 1252(i) imposes a duty on the Attorney General to begin proceedings once an alien is deemed deportable because of a conviction, that statute also grants the Attorney General discretion to proceed "as expeditiously as possible." ... We read § 1252(i) as imposing a duty on the Attorney General to deport criminal aliens, but we stop short of concluding that this creates a duty owed to the alien.

Giddings, 979 F.2d at 1109-10 (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1252(i)). Neither the language nor the legislative history of this section suggests that Congress intended to create a private right of action for aliens, and no circuit has recognized a private right of action under section 1252(i). See, e.g., Urbina-Mauricio v. INS, 989 F.2d 1085, 1088 (9th Cir.1993). We decline to recognize such a right. Dismissal of Channer's INA claim was proper.

Thirteenth Amendment
A. Standard of Review

We review the granting of summary judgment de novo, examining the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. The moving party will prevail if he has demonstrated that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Hale v. Townley, 45 F.3d 914, 917 (5th Cir.1995). Furthermore, we must decide whether Channer has stated a claim for a violation of a constitutional right before reaching the issue of qualified immunity. Doe v. Rains County Indep. Sch. Dist., 66 F.3d 1402, 1404 (5th Cir.1995). 3

B. Analysis

The Thirteenth Amendment states:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Channer alleges that, by forcing him to work from 4:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. every day in Oakdale's Food Services Department, Appellees subjected him to involuntary servitude 4 in contravention of the Thirteenth Amendment's first section. 5 We will assume, arguendo, that the Thirteenth Amendment directly gives rise to a cause of action for damages under the analysis articulated in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971) and its progeny. We proceed to the question whether the actions about which Channer complains constitute involuntary servitude.

Our inquiry begins with United States v. Kozminski, 487 U.S. 931, 108 S.Ct. 2751, 101 L.Ed.2d 788 (1988). In that case, the Supreme Court held that

the term "involuntary servitude" necessarily means a condition of servitude in which the victim is forced to work for the defendant by the use or threat of physical restraint or physical injury, or by the use or threat of coercion through law or the legal process.

Id. at 952, 108 S.Ct. at 2765 (emphasis added). Kozminski involved a criminal prosecution, but we effectively extended its definition of involuntary servitude to civil suits. See Watson v. Graves, 909 F.2d 1549 (5th Cir.1990). 6 In Watson, inmates who had participated in a work-release program sued local law enforcement officials for subjecting them to involuntary servitude. We recognized that the inmates, despite their status as convicted criminals, retained their civil right not be subjected to involuntary servitude because they had not been sentenced to hard labor. See id. at 1551, 1552. "Involuntary servitude" was defined as

an action by the master causing the servant to have, or to believe he has, no way to avoid continued service or confinement. When the employee has a choice, even though it is a painful one, there is no involuntary servitude. A showing of compulsion is thus a prerequisite to proof of involuntary servitude.

Id. at 1552...

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