Anas Elhady v. Unidentified CBP Agents, et al., No. 20-01339 (6th Cir., filed Apr 22, 2020); No. 2:17-cv-12969 (E.D. Mich,, filed Sept. 10, 2017)

In 2015, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stopped Anas Elhady, a naturalized citizen living in Michigan who was returning to the United States from Canada. CBP detained him for six hours at the Ambassador Bridge Facility, where officers left him in a freezing cold cell without his outerwear.

Mr. Elhady sued several CBP officers in September 2017, seeking monetary damages under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). On February 10, 2020, the district court granted motions for summary judgment for all of the defendants except one, Officer Blake Bradley. Bradley appealed to the Sixth Circuit. On November 19, 2021, the court of appeals reversed the district court’s denial of summary judgment and held that this case presented a new Bivens context under Hernandez v. Mesa, 140 S. Ct. 735, 741 (2020), because it implicated national security and raised questions reserved for the political branches. The court of appeals rejected Mr. Elhady’s argument that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the issue on interlocutory appeal and that Bradley had waived the issue by failing to raise the availability of Bivens on appeal. The appeals court maintained that they held jurisdiction over the Bivens issue on interlocutory appeal because it was necessary to evaluate the defense of qualified immunity. On January 25, 2022, the Sixth Circuit denied Mr. Elhady’s petition for rehearing en banc. Mr. Elhady filed a petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court on May 25, 2022. On October 13, 2022, the Supreme Court denied the petition for writ of certiorari. 

Documents:
● Complaint
● Second Amended Complaint
● Motion to Dismiss
● Summary Judgment Order
● Defendant-Appellant’s Opening Brief
● Plaintiff-Appellee’s Opposition Brief
● Defendant-Appellant’s Supplemental Brief
● Plaintiff-Appellee’s Supplemental Brief
● Sixth Circuit Decision

Counsel:
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Contact:
Justin Sadowsky | jsadowsky@cair.com
Lena Masri | lmasri@cair.com
Gadeir Abbas | gabbas@cair.com