Karam v. Garland
| Decision Date | 30 September 2022 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action 21-0915 (CKK) |
| Parties | BHAN W. KARAM, Plaintiff v. MERRICK GARLAND, et al, Defendants |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Plaintiff Bhan W. Karam is a citizen and resident of the United States who seeks to compel
Defendants to render a decision regarding the eligibility of his mother and siblings to be admitted to the United States as refugees. Plaintiff argues that Defendants have unreasonably delayed consideration of his family's eligibility to be admitted to the United States as refugees, and have thereby violated the Administrative Procedure Act, Mandamus Act, and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Pending before the Court is Defendants' [21] Motion to Dismiss or, in the alternative, for Summary Judgment. Upon review of the pleadings,[1] the relevant legal authorities, and the record as a whole, the Court concludes that it lacks jurisdiction to consider Plaintiff's APA and Mandamus Act claims, and that the Complaint fails to state a claim for relief under the Fifth Amendment. Accordingly, the Court shall GRANT Defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Complaint.
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (“USRAP”) manages the admission of refugees to the United States. See Declaration of Joanna Ruppel (“Ruppel Decl.”) ¶ 12, ECF No. 21-2.[2] The Secretary of Homeland Security has delegated to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) the authority to determine “eligibility for refugee status” under the INA. Id. The International and Refugee Affairs Division (“IRAD”), a component of USCIS's Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate, is responsible for adjudicating all refugee cases. Id.
Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1157(c)(1), “the Attorney General may, in the Attorney General's discretion and pursuant to such regulations as the Attorney General may prescribe, admit any refugee who is not firmly resettled in any foreign country, is determined to be of special humanitarian concern to the United States, and is admissible . . . as an immigrant.” 8 U.S.C. § 1157(c)(1) (emphasis added). The USRAP has established three “processing priorities” to identify individuals of “special humanitarian concern to the United States and who are eligible for refugee resettlement consideration” Ruppel Decl. ¶ 13. One of these categories-“Priority 3” (or “P-3”)-includes individuals “from designated nationalities granted access for purposes of reunification with family members already in the United States.” Id. The assignment of a “processing priority” does not determine the order in which cases will be processed; rather, once a case is established as “eligible for access” under one of the three processing priorities, it will undergo the same adjudicative process conducted by IRAD as all other eligible refugees. Id. ¶ 14.
The P-3 category “provides USRAP access” to prospective refugees who have certain immediate family members in the United States. Id. ¶ 15. To proceed under P-3, an “anchor relative”-who (a) resides in the United States and (b) entered the United States as a refugee- must submit an Affidavit of Relationship on behalf of his or her overseas relative(s). See Defs.' Mot. at 4; Ruppel. Decl. ¶ 17. The Affidavit of Relationship seeks information regarding the “anchor relative” and his family members overseas seeking refugee status. Defs.' Mot. at 4; Ruppel. Decl. ¶ 17.[3] The Affidavit of Relationship is available as State Department Form DS-7656, which provides in its instructions:
See DS-7656, Affidavit of Relationship at 1, ECF No. 25-3.
Upon submission of the Affidavit of Relationship, the Refugee Access Verification Unit (“RAVU”) verifies the relationship between the “anchor relative” in the United States and the individuals overseas seeking refugee status. See Ruppel Decl. ¶ 17. If RAVU verifies the relationship, the application is returned to the Refugee Processing Center, which then sends the application to a Resettlement Support Center for “further processing, including scheduling for interview.” Id.
Adjudication of refugee applications must be conducted by “specially trained officers.” Second Declaration of Joanna Ruppel (“2d Ruppel Decl.”) ¶ 8, ECF No. 25-1 (citing 8 U.S.C. § 207(f)). And interviews must be conducted “in person” before an “immigration officer.” Id. ¶ (citing 78 C.F.R. § 207.2(a)). IRAD currently employs approximately 110 Refugee Officers with “primary responsibility for adjudicating refugee applicant requests for resettlement.” Ruppel Decl. ¶ 18. Defendants indicate that “[n]ormally, each fiscal quarter, the State Department sends to USCIS proposed refugee processing locations and dates for refugee processing trips and the number of applicants to be interviewed per location.” Defs.' Mot. at 4-5; Ruppel Decl. ¶ 19. These trips are called “circuit rides.” Defs.' Mot. at 5; Ruppel Decl. ¶ 19. During these “circuit rides,” Refugee Officers “review the information that the Resettlement Support Center has collected and the results of security screening processes and conduct in-person interviews with each refugee applicant . . . before deciding whether to approve an applicant for classification as a refugee.” Ruppel Decl. ¶ 20.
IRAD and the State Department determine the schedule and number of available interviews during circuit rides based on “several factors, including available staffing, security risks, and travel restrictions, such as those related to COVID-19.” Defs.' Mot. at 5; Ruppel Decl. ¶ 21. These planned circuit rides “can be disrupted and even cancelled” due to “war, civil unrest, and other factors of concern to the refugee officers' safety and security.” Ruppel Decl. ¶ 21. As pertinent to the pending action, IRAD suspended all overseas refugee circuit rides in March 2020, including those in Ethiopia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Id. ¶ 22. In the final quarter of the government's 2021 fiscal year, IRAD resumed circuit rides “on a small scale.” Id. The location of circuit rides is dependent on “USRAP processing priorities,” as well as “movement restrictions issued by local governments, post-by-post restrictions issued by the Department of State, and the ability to safely conduct in-person interviews while protecting the health of officers, Resettlement Support Center staff, refugee applicants, and interpreters.” Id. ¶ 23.
IRAD did not conduct any circuit rides in Ethiopia in FY2020 or FY2021. Id. ¶ 28. It also did not schedule any circuit rides to Ethiopia during the first two quarters of FY2022 due to “continuing armed conflict and civil unrest in the country.” Id. Notably, as of November 5, 2021, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and their family members from Ethiopia. Id.
After conducting an interview and completing security background checks, USCIS officers render a decision on a refugee application. If USCIS approves a refugee application, IRAD notifies the State Department and the prospective refugee applicant is required to undergo medical screening. Ruppel Decl. ¶ 24. Once the eligible person passes required medical examinations, the Resettlement Support Center refers the case to an international organization called the International Organization for Migration to coordinate transportation to the United States. Id.
Plaintiff Bhan W. Karam (“Plaintiff”) was born in South Sudan and admitted as a refugee to the United States in 2014. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 25. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 2019. Id. ¶¶ 1, 15. In 2017, Plaintiff's mother, Nyalieth Chuol Dech (“Ms. Dech”), her three younger children, and her stepdaughter fled South Sudan, eventually landing at the Jewi refugee camp near Gambella, Ethiopia. Id. ¶ 2.
In December 2017, Plaintiff filed an Affidavit of Relationship with USRAP, initiating the process of having Ms. Dech and her other children come to the United States under the “P-3” refugee resettlement program. Id. ¶¶ 3, 28; Ruppel Decl. ¶ 26. Plaintiff and Ms. Dech completed DNA testing in 2019, which confirmed that they are mother and son. Compl. ¶ 30.
Mr Karam states that, since he submitted his Affidavit of Relationship in 2017, Ms. Dech's health has been declining and she has been unable to obtain adequate medical care at the refugee camp. Id. ¶¶ 6, 36, 43, 44. Ms. Dech has been “experiencing problems with her legs” since 2015, and suffers from “weakness and temporary paralysis that affects her ability to walk and do other daily activities.” Id. ¶ 44. In addition, a civil war in Ethiopia has made “an already strained situation in the refugee camp even worse”; the Complaint indicates that due to “security risks,” people “are afraid to leave the camp,” Mr. Dech and her children are “lacking sufficient food.” Id. ¶¶ 7, 46. And the “children have not been able to attend school” due...
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