Medina v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec.
| Citation | 313 F.Supp.3d 1237 |
| Decision Date | 15 May 2018 |
| Docket Number | Case No. C17–0218RSM |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Washington |
| Parties | Daniel Ramirez MEDINA, Plaintiff, v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, et al., Defendants. |
Anne M. Hudson–Price, Pro Hac Vice, Elizabeth Hadaway, Pro Hac Vice, Judy London, Pro Hac Vice, Kathryn A. Eidmann, Pro Hac Vice, Mark D. Rosenbaum, Pro Hac Vice, Public Counsel, Jesse S. Gabriel, Pro Hac Vice, Katherine Marquart, Pro Hac Vice, Nathaniel L. Bach, Pro Hac Vice, Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., Pro Hac Vice, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Erwin Chemerinsky, Pro Hac Vice, Leah M. Litman, Pro Hac Vice, UC Irvine School of Law, Irvine, CA, Ethan D. Dettmer, Pro Hac Vice, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, San Francisco, CA, John Barrera, Pro Hac Vice, Jose Garcia, Pro Hac Vice, Luis Cortes Romero, Pro Hac Vice, Barrera Legal Group, PLLC, Kent, WA, Laurence H. Tribe, Pro Hac Vice, Hauser 420—harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, Mary Elizabeth Hawkins, Hawkins Law Group PLLC, Shoreline, WA, Matt Adams, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Seattle, WA, for Plaintiff.
Aaron S. Goldsmith, James J. Walker, Jeffrey S. Robins, US Department of Justice, Washington, DC, US Attorney Habeas, for Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction.
Dkt. # 122. The Court held oral argument on May 1, 2018, after which the Court directed the parties to submit additional briefing. Dkt. # 128. The parties have since submitted that briefing. Dkts. # 130 and # 131. Plaintiff now seeks an Order enjoining Defendants from terminating his DACA status and work authorization pending adjudication on the merits of his case, and enjoining Defendant USCIS from continuing to accuse him of being a gang member in any further proceedings. Dkt. # 130. Defendants oppose the motion, arguing that this Court lacks authority to hear and/or grant Plaintiff's request for new relief, and that Plaintiff's request goes too far beyond simply preserving the status quo. Dkt. # 131. For the reasons discussed herein, the Court disagrees with Defendants and GRANTS Plaintiff's motion.
Plaintiff, Daniel Ramirez Medina, is 25 years old, and the father of an American-born son. Dkt. # 78, Ex. O at ¶¶ 2 and 8. Mr. Ramirez was brought to this country from Mexico in or around 2003, when he was approximately 10 years old. Id. at ¶ 2. Mr. Ramirez alleges that he moved from California to Washington to obtain more lucrative employment to better support his son.1 Id. at ¶ 10.
In late 2013, Mr. Ramirez first applied for deferred action and work authorization pursuant to the government's "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" ("DACA") policy. Id. at 3. As part of this process, Mr. Ramirez provided the government with his birth certificate, school records, and information about where he lived, and was required to attend a biometrics appointment so that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") could take his fingerprints and photographs. Dkt. # 78, Ex. O at ¶ 3. Mr. Ramirez was granted deferred action and work authorization in 2014. Id. at ¶ 6.
In 2016, Mr. Ramirez reapplied for DACA status, and again was granted deferred action and work authorization. Id. at ¶ 9. As part of this process, Mr. Ramirez received an approval notice (the "2016 DACA Approval Notice") informing him that his request for deferred action had been granted. Id. The 2016 DACA Approval Notice provided that "[u]nless terminated, this decision to defer removal action will remain in effect for 2 years" and is valid until May 4, 2018. Dkt. # 78, Ex. G. The 2016 DACA Approval Notice also informed Mr. Ramirez that his deferred action could be terminated if he engaged in "[s]ubsequent criminal activity." Id.
On February 10, 2017, at approximately 9:00 a.m., a team of Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") agents arrested Mr. Ramirez's father outside of the apartment where Mr. Ramirez, his father, and his brother were then living. Dkt. # 78, Ex. O at ¶ 14. ICE agents entered the apartment.2 Id. The agents found Mr. Ramirez asleep, woke him up, and began to question him. Id. at ¶ 15. Mr. Ramirez provided the agents with his name and birthdate, and told them that he was born in Mexico. Mr. Ramirez was then placed in handcuffs. Id.
According to Mr. Ramirez, he told the ICE agents repeatedly that he had a legal work permit, but the ICE agents refused to release him. Id. at ¶ 17. Mr. Ramirez's father also repeatedly informed the ICE agents that Mr. Ramirez had a legal work permit, and questioned why he was being detained. Dkt. # 78 at ¶ 46.
Mr. Ramirez was then transported to an ICE holding facility in Tukwila, Washington. Id. at ¶ 47. At the holding facility, the ICE agents confiscated Mr. Ramirez's work permit. Id. at ¶ 48. That permit was marked with a "C33" designation, which identified Mr. Ramirez as a DACA recipient with work authorization. Dkt. # 78, Ex. F at 112. The ICE agents also fingerprinted Mr. Ramirez and used this information to access his records, which revealed that Mr. Ramirez has no criminal history, had twice been granted DACA status, and possessed valid employment authorization through May 4, 2018. Dkt. # 78 at ¶ 49. Defendants refused to release Mr. Ramirez even after they confirmed his DACA status. Id. at ¶ 50. Defendants subsequently cited Mr. Ramirez's receipt of DACA as evidence of his "illegal" status in this country. Id. , Ex. H at 3.
According to Mr. Ramirez, the ICE agents began to interrogate him, asking him numerous times whether he was in a gang, which he denied, and whether he had ever known anyone who was a gang member. Dkt. # 78 at ¶ 51. Mr. Ramirez told the agents that although that he knew students who had attended middle school and high school with him who were in gangs, he was not gang affiliated and never had been. Id. The ICE agents also asked Mr. Ramirez about the tattoo on his forearm (which consisted of the words "La Paz–BCS" and a nautical star). Id. at ¶ 52. Mr. Ramirez got the tattoo when he was 18 years old. La Paz is Mr. Ramirez's birthplace, and "BCS" stands for Baja California Sur, the region in which La Paz is located. Id. The agents apparently insisted to Mr. Ramirez that it was a gang tattoo, which he also denied. Id. at 53.
Prior to being transferred to the Northwest Detention Center, the ICE agents asked Mr. Ramirez if there were any gangs with which he would like to avoid being placed for his safety. Id. at ¶ 54. Mr. Ramirez again stated that he had no gang affiliation and would not have problems being placed with anyone. Dkt. # 78 at ¶ 54. Upon continued questioning, Mr. Ramirez ultimately indicated that if he had to be placed with any group, he would prefer "the Paisas." Id. Mr. Ramirez understands the colloquial use of "Paisas" to mean Mexicans, and was attempting to communicate that if given the option, he would prefer to be placed with other Mexicans. Id.
Mr. Ramirez was then transferred to Northwest Detention Center, where he remained in custody for the next 47 days. Id. at ¶ 55. While at the Detention Center, Defendants classified Mr. Ramirez as a "medium-high" security risk. Id. at ¶ 59. Mr. Ramirez requested that he be reclassified because he was not, and never had been, gang affiliated. Id. The request was denied. Id. During his detention, Mr. Ramirez asserts that he feared for his safety because many of the other inmates believed he was affiliated with a gang due to the statements made after his arrest. Id.
Defendants issued a Notice to Appear ("NTA") on February 10, 2017. Dkt. # 78, Ex. I. Defendants assert that Mr. Ramirez's DACA status terminated on the day the NTA was issued. Dkts. # 78 at ¶¶ 60 and 61, Ex. J and # 90 at 7.
USCIS then sent Mr. Ramirez a Notice of Action ("NOA") dated February 17, 2017. Dkt. # 78, Ex. J. The NOA states that Mr. Ramirez's deferred action and employment authorization terminated on the date the NTA was issued, and provides that "[a]n appeal or motion to reopen/reconsider this notice of action may not be filed." Id.
In the meantime, on February 13, 2017, Mr. Ramirez filed a Petition for Habeas Corpus in this Court. Dkt. # 1. This Court ultimately declined to order the release of Mr. Ramirez and directed him to file a motion in Immigration Court. Dkt. # 69. Pursuant to that Order, Mr. Ramirez filed such motion and received a bond hearing in Immigration Court on March 28, 2017. Dkt. # 78 at ¶ 78. Mr. Ramirez was released on bond on March 29, 2017. Id. , Ex. V.
On April 25, 2017, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint in this matter. Dkt. # 78. In that Complaint, Plaintiff dropped his habeas claim, and alleged claims against several federal agencies, as well as individual officers. Id. The claims against the individual Defendants have since been dismissed. Dkt. # 112. Against the remaining federal agencies, collectively, Plaintiff asserted the following claims: 1) violations of the Administrative Procedures Act ("APA") (Counts One and Two); and 2) violation of the Fifth Amendment (Count 8).3 Dkt. # 78 at ¶¶ 85–105 and 148–150.
The federal agency Defendants then filed a second motion to dismiss, which this Court denied on November 8, 2017. Dkt. # 116. Defendants filed their Answer to the Second Amended Complaint on December 6, 2017. Dkt. # 119.
On January 17, 2018, an Immigration Judge issued an Order of Removal directing Plaintiff's return to Mexico. See Dkt. # 122–1, Ex. B at ¶ 2.
On February 6, 2018, Plaintiff filed the instant motion. On the day the government's opposition to the motion was due, February 26, 2018, the United States District Court for the Central District of California certified a class that includes all DACA recipients "who, after January 19, 2017, have had or will have their DACA grant and employment authorization revoked without...
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