Linea Area Nacional de Chile SA v. Sale, Civ-No. 93-CV-2658.
| Decision Date | 14 September 1994 |
| Docket Number | Civ-No. 93-CV-2658. |
| Citation | 865 F. Supp. 971 |
| Parties | LINEA AREA NACIONAL de CHILE S.A., d/b/a Lan-Chile Airlines, Plaintiff, v. Chris SALE, Acting Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, United States Department of Justice, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
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Celestino Pena, Whitestone, NY, David Coburn, Steptoe & Johnson, Washington, DC, for plaintiff.
Scott Dunn, Sp. Asst. U.S. Atty., Brooklyn, NY, for defendant.
Before the court is a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 by plaintiff Linea Area Nacional de Chile S.A. d/b/a Lan-Chile Airlines ("Lan-Chile"), and the cross-motion for summary judgment by defendant Chris Sale, Acting Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, United States Department of Justice ("INS" or the "Service"). At issue is a policy of the INS which holds carriers such as Lan-Chile responsible for detaining certain excludable aliens pending resolution of their applications for political asylum. For the following reasons, plaintiff Lan-Chile's motion is granted and the cross-motion of defendant INS is denied.
The material facts are not in dispute. Lan-Chile is a corporation organized under the laws of Chile with its principal place of business in Miami, Florida. Complaint, ¶ 4. Lan-Chile is a foreign air carrier authorized by a permit issued to it under Section 402 of the Federal Aviation Act to provide air transportation services between the United States and Chile. Id. Lan-Chile operates regularly scheduled flights between various cities in South America and John F. Kennedy International Airport ("JFK Airport") in New York City. Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement, ¶ 1.
Pursuant to an agreement between Lan-Chile and INS — the "Immediate and Continuous Transit Agreement" (the "Transit Agreement") (Form I-426)1 — Lan-Chile is allowed to transit aliens through the United States if the aliens carry the appropriate travel documentation establishing permission to enter a country other than the United States. Complaint, Ex. A.2 Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement, ¶ 2; INS's Response to Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement at 2. Aliens who travel through the United States pursuant to Form I-426 are commonly referred to as "transits without visas," or "TWOVs." The typical lay-over at JFK Airport for TWOVs is less than eight hours. Lan-Chile's Reply Memorandum of Law at 20 n. 11.
On September 3, 1990, a group of three aliens presented themselves to Lan-Chile representatives in Santiago, Chile with airplane tickets to travel on a Lan-Chile flight transiting through JFK Airport to Seoul, South Korea with a layover at JFK Airport. Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement, ¶ 3; INS's Response to Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement at 2. When they arrived at JFK Airport, these aliens requested political asylum in the United States,3 and Lan-Chile was instructed by INS to assume custody of the aliens pending further investigation. Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement, ¶ 4; INS's Response to Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement at 2. Lan-Chile then retained a private security firm to guard the aliens in a motel. Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement, ¶ 5; INS's Response to Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement at 2.
On October 22, 1990, and December 19, 1992, a group of six aliens and nine aliens, respectively, arrived at JFK Airport on a Lan-Chile carrier with documentation evidencing an intent to travel to Seoul, South Korea. When they arrived at JFK Airport they also requested political asylum. INS ordered Lan-Chile to assume custody of these aliens. They were delivered to the private security firm for detention and placed under 24-hour armed guard. The aliens who arrived on September 3, 1990 and December 19, 1992, were detained by Lan-Chile for "several months" before they were paroled by INS. Affidavit of Pablo Cuevas (Station Manager for Lan-Chile at JFK Airport), August 27, 1993, ¶ 7; Affidavit of John Zulueta (former Station Manager for Lan-Chile at JFK Airport) ("Zulueta Aff'd"), August 17, 1993, ¶ 7. The aliens who arrived on October 22, 1990, remained in detention for approximately four months until paroled by INS. Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement, ¶ 8; INS's Response to Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement at 2-3. During the time period in which the nine aliens who arrived on December 19, 1992, were detained by Lan-Chile under armed guard, several escaped and others required medical attention at a hospital. Zulueta Aff'd, ¶ 7. On at least one occasion, two of the aliens ordered by INS to be detained by Lan-Chile overpowered one of the private security guards and had to be chased through the streets of New York City. Affidavit of David H. Coburn ("Coburn Aff'd"), September 2, 1993, ¶ 4.
In accordance with the INS's instructions for detention, Lan-Chile paid for the hotel rooms, the private security guards, and food for the detained aliens. Coburn Aff'd, ¶ 3. Lan-Chile also arranged for medical attention when needed. Letter from David H. Coburn to Edward Grant, INS, March 8, 1993 at 1 (Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment, Ex. 3). Lan-Chile has expended several hundred thousand dollars in fees to the private security firm and the motel in response to the INS's detention order. Coburn Aff'd, ¶ 6; Lan-Chile's 3(g) Statement, ¶ 17.4
On or about June 15, 1993, Lan-Chile served and filed its complaint. Lan-Chile seeks (i) a declaration that INS's policies, which assign responsibility to Lan-Chile for the detention of these aliens pending the processing of their political asylum applications, exceeds INS's statutory authority and are in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (the "APA"), and that INS is responsible for assuming custody and paying all expenses incurred in detaining these aliens (Count I); and (ii) a declaration that these policies are arbitrary and capricious and in violation of the APA (Count II). Plaintiff also seeks an order requiring INS to "reimburse Lan-Chile for amounts that Lan-Chile has paid or may become obligated to pay ... in connection with the detention of these aliens." Complaint, ¶ 42.
Summary judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if ... there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In opposing a properly supported summary judgment motion, "an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of its pleading, but its response, by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). "The moving party is `entitled to a judgment as a matter of law' if the nonmoving party has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of her case with respect to which she has the burden of proof." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
In deciding a summary judgment motion the court need not resolve disputed issues of fact but need only determine whether there is any genuine issue to be tried. Eastman Mach. Co. v. United States, 841 F.2d 469, 473 (2d Cir.1988). A genuine factual issue exists if there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmovant such that a jury could return a verdict in its favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "Rule 56(e) ... requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by her own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. "In assessing the record to determine whether there is a genuine issue of fact, the court is required to draw all factual inferences in favor of the party against whom summary judgment is sought." Ramseur v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 865 F.2d 460, 465 (2d Cir.1989).
In this case, the issues are entirely legal and the resolution of the motion and cross-motion turn on a proper interpretation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. (the "INA"), the relevant regulations promulgated thereunder, and INS's interpretation of the statute, the regulations and the Transit Agreement. Summary judgment, therefore, is appropriate. Dia Navigation Co. v. Reno, 831 F.Supp. 360, 365 (D.N.J.1993) () (quoting Crain v. Board of Police Comm'rs, 920 F.2d 1402, 1405-06 (8th Cir.1990)), rev'd on other grounds sub nom., Dia Navigation Co. v. Pomeroy, 34 F.3d 1255 (3d Cir.1994).
Prior to 1986, Section 233 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1223, provided that carriers bore the financial responsibility for detaining aliens who were temporarily removed for examination and inspection prior to the determination of their eligibility to enter the United States. This section provided in relevant part that "whenever a temporary removal of aliens is made under this section, the vessels or aircraft ... shall pay all expenses of such removal to a designated place for examination ... and all expenses arising during subsequent detention...." 8 U.S.C. § 1223(b) (1970) (emphasis added) (repealed Pub.L. No. 99-500, 100 Stat. 1783-56 (1986)).5 Like its predecessor section, Section 1223(b) allowed immigration officials to impose on the carrier the duty of safekeeping the alien and maintaining him at the carrier's expense. Low King Yong v. Pan Am Airways, 74 F.Supp. 657, 659 (D.Hawaii 1947).
Regulations issued by the Service stated that aliens in the country...
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