Category Archives: All Cases

East Bay Sanctuary, et al., v. Biden, et al.

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East Bay Sanctuary, et al., v. Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States, et al., No. 4:18-cv-06810 (N.D. Cal., amended complaint filed May 11, 2023) and No. 23-16032 (9th Cir., filed July 26, 2023)

Anticipating the end of the policy that allowed for the expulsion of asylum-seekers arriving at the U.S./Mexico border under Title 42, on May 10, 2023, the Biden administration issued a new final rule that bars certain asylum seekers from asylum if they did not apply for asylum in a country they passed through on their way to the United States or failed to obtain advance permission to arrive at a port of entry or travel to the United States. The exceptions to this new asylum ban are extremely narrow. This is the third in a string of asylum bans attempting to bar many people from the asylum process. The first two originated under the Trump administration and were found unlawful by the district court in this case and the Ninth Circuit.

Plaintiffs originally filed this lawsuit on November 9, 2018, in response to the Trump administration’s first asylum ban, which barred anyone who did not enter the United States at a port of entry from receiving asylum. The district court found this first ban unlawful and enjoined it. The Ninth Circuit affirmed those orders on February 28, 2020, (and in an amended opinion on March 24, 2021). The case was stayed.

On July 16, 2019, East Bay Sanctuary and others filed a related lawsuit in the same court challenging the second asylum ban, which barred those who did not apply for asylum in a country they transited through on their way to the United States from seeking asylum in the United States. The district court similarly preliminarily enjoined the second asylum rule as likely unlawful and the Ninth Circuit ultimately affirmed that order on July 6, 2020, (amended April 8, 2021).

On May 11, 2023, Plaintiffs sought leave to amend their complaint in this case to challenge the third asylum ban. Defendants consented to the filing of the amended complaint and to lifting the stay on the case. Plaintiffs argue that the new rule is unlawful for the same reasons the first two asylum bans were unlawful. It will effectively eliminate asylum for nearly all non-Mexican asylum seekers who enter between designated ports of entry, and even for those who present at a port of entry if they have not first secured an appointment.

On July 25, 2023, the district court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and denied Defendants’ cross-motion, vacating the rule yet again. The government appealed the order, and on August 3, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the administration’s transit ban can continue through September, staying the lower court decision. The Ninth Circuit held oral argument on November 7, 2023, and the parties await a decision of the court. On February 21, 2024, the Ninth Circuit granted a motion filed by the parties to hold the case in abeyance pending settlement negotiations in this case and a related case, M.A. v. Mayorkas, No. 1:23-cv-1843 (D.D.C.). On October 21, 2024, the Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari filed by the states of Kansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and West Virginia, challenging the Ninth Circuit’s order granting the hold.

Documents:

Counsel: ACLU Immigrant Rights Project | Center for Gender & Refugee Studies | National Immigrant Justice Center | ACLU of Northern California

Contact: Katrina Eiland | ACLU Immigrant Rights Project | keiland@aclu.org

Press:

American Oversight v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al.

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American Oversight v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., No. 1:23-cv-01395 (D.D.C., filed May 17, 2023)

On December 20, 2018, then-Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen M. Nielsen, announced a new government policy, the so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), which would force noncitizens seeking admission from Mexico to return to Mexico to await their removal proceedings. The Trump administration voiced its intention to implement the policy “on a large scale basis,” beginning first with San Ysidro Port of Entry in California on January 28, 2019. MPP sparked litigation and in 2021, the Biden administration terminated the program. More information about MPP and related litigation is available here.

On May 17, 2023, American Oversight filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking to compel the release of communications from Trump administration political appointees to anti-immigrant groups concerning MPP. Defendants filed their answer to the complaint on July 26, 2023. As of June 2024, the parties continue to file joint status reports with the court while production is ongoing.

Documents:

Counsel: American Oversight

Contact: Hart W. Wood | American Oversight | hart.wood@americanoversight.org

Civil Rights Complaints Regarding CBP’s Expanded Use of Open-Air Detention

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On May 13, 2023, the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) submitted a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL). The complaint, which is supported by multiple detailed affidavits and graphic photographs, documents an ongoing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) practice of detaining people outdoors between two fences in deplorable conditions near the San Ysidro port of entry.

Since at least late 2022, U.S. Border Patrol agents have been detaining people arriving at the U.S./Mexico border in California between two parallel border walls—a primary and a secondary wall near San Ysidro. Border Patrol agents are holding people—including children—on U.S. soil for days or weeks in open-air custody without adequate food, water, shelter, or medical care. CBP has provided only one port-a-potty for hundreds of people and the smell of feces is overwhelming.

Extended periods exposed to the elements without sufficient water, food, or sanitary conditions have caused migrants to suffer from serious medical conditions for which Border Patrol is not providing adequate care. SBCC submitted images of a man with a severely infected leg injury, a woman experiencing a severe allergic reaction, and described a child who suffered an epileptic seizure.

The May 2023 complaint explained that these conditions, and the prolonged period of time that Border Patrol is holding people between the walls, are in clear violation of CBP’s own detention standards and international law governing the treatment of migrants.

In September 2023, CRCL responded to the complaint, indicating that it had expressed concerns to CBP about this open-air detention, but that the people detained there had been processed – suggesting the issue had been resolved.

On December 13, 2023, Al Otro Lado, the American Friends Service Committee, Border Kindness, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the International Refugee Assistance Project, and the National Immigration Law Center joined SBCC in filing a new complaint with CRCL documenting the ongoing detention between the walls at San Ysidro and the expanded use of open-air detention near the remote desert town of Jacumba, California. This complaint is similarly supported by declarations and photographic evidence.

The December 2023 complaint reports that CBP continues to hold people between fences at San Ysidro in dangerous conditions. In October 2023, just weeks after CRCL closed its initial investigation, a 29-year-old Guinean woman died after suffering a medical emergency.

Rather than respond to CRCL’s concerns, CBP has expanded outdoor detention. The complaint documents new open-air detention sites near Jacumba — a remote town where temperatures can drop a low as 20 degrees in the winter and hit over 100 degrees in the summer. CBP is holding asylum seekers and other migrants along the border fence with only donated tents or tarps to protect them from the elements. People are trapped by mountains, the harsh surrounding desert, and constant surveillance. The daily population at these sites ranges from 100 to over 750, yet CBP provides only limited water and snacks. Volunteers offer the only meals, shelter (in the form of tents), and warm clothing available. CBP does not provide adequate medical care and in some instances interferes with migrants and volunteers seeking to obtain emergency services. In December, a 13-year-old boy died after EMS took over an hour to reach the remote site. The December 2023 complaint urges CRCL to reopen its investigation and ensure that CBP, at a minimum, comply with its own detention standards if it cannot promptly process people.

Documents:

Counsel: Al Otro Lado, the American Friends Service Committee, Border Kindness, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the International Refugee Assistance Project, the National Immigration Law Center, Southern Border Communities Coalition

Contact: Erika Pinheiro | Al Otro Lado

Madrigales Vasquez, et al., v. United States of America

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Madrigales Vasquez, et al., v. United States of America, No. 3:23-cv-5397, (W.D. Wash., filed May 2, 2023)

On February 21, 2021, a family of asylum seekers—two minor children and their parents—entered the United States seeking protection from persecution in Guatemala. After a long and arduous journey on foot and by bus, federal immigration officers arrested the family, dropped them off under an international border bridge near McAllen, Texas, and held the family there for three days, where hundreds of other migrants were similarly being held. 

The family expressed to officers their intention to apply for asylum right away, but officers ignored the family’s vulnerable situation and instead continued to detain them under the bridge in inhumane and unsafe conditions that violated their basic rights and sense of dignity as human beings. 

While held under the bridge, the family lacked adequate access to basic necessities, including food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. They were constantly exposed to the elements and forced to sleep on the bare ground, with hardly any protection from freezing night conditions. For three days, they constantly felt cold, sore, famished, and exhausted. When one of the parents became ill from the conditions, she was denied medical care. Moreover, officers put the family and other asylum seekers at risk of contracting COVID-19 during a time when the vast majority of the United States and world population remained unvaccinated. In the holding area under the bridge, asylum seekers had no access to running water or hygiene items like soap, and social distancing was impossible in the crowded conditions.

During their three days under the bridge, officers refused to provide the family with any explanation regarding their situation, why they were detained, or what was going to happen to them. As a direct result of this unlawful conduct, the family suffered severe physical, mental, and psychological harm. 

On June 21, 2022, the family submitted an administrative claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) against the government actors who detained them, and on May 2, 2023, they filed a complaint in federal court in the Western District of Washington, where they currently reside. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim on August 7, 2023. Briefing on the motion to dismiss was completed on September 22, 2023. On March 28, 2024, the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss, agreeing with the government’s argument that plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the FTCA’s discretionary function exception (DFE), given that CBP made a policy decision to address the overburdened and under-resourced situation. The court therefore dismissed plaintiffs’ claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Documents:

Counsel: Northwest Immigrant Rights Project

Contact: Matt Adams | Northwest Immigrant Rights Project | 206.957.8611 | matt@nwirp.org

Borowski v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection

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Borowski v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, No. 1:23-cv-00257 (W.D.N.Y., filed Mar. 22, 2023)

Matthew Borowski is an immigration attorney and U.S. citizen who resides in Canada but manages an immigration law firm in Buffalo, New York. As such, he routinely commutes across the U.S./Canadian border for work. He has maintained a NEXUS card since 2012. NEXUS is a trusted traveler program that permits faster travel across the border.

Mr. Borowski and his family have had several encounters with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers while traveling across the border. In one incident, a CBP officer assaulted Mr. Borowski’s wife and took the families’ NEXUS cards. CBP ultimately returned the NEXUS cards. Mr. Borowski and his wife sued the assaulting CBP officer, who continued to harass the family while the lawsuit was pending. In 2017, Mr. Borowski successfully renewed his NEXUS card.

During the Trump administration, Mr. Borowski was outspoken about his opposition to new immigration policies and engaged in a range of activity to express his views, including a protest in immigration court. Mr. Borowksi continued to travel back and forth across the U.S./Canadian border, and though he was routinely sent to secondary inspection for no apparent reason, he was always permitted to continue his travel. In December 2022, CBP declined his request to renew his NEXUS card without explanation. A NEXUS Supervisor indicated to Mr. Borowski that prior incidents had led to the denial.

Mr. Borowski submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking the reason for the denial. CBP has yet to respond. On March 22, 2023, Mr. Borowski filed suit alleging that the denial of his request to renew his NEXUS card was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and challenging the failure to respond to his FOIA request. Defendant CBP filed a motion to dismiss, and Mr. Borowski filed an amended complaint on June 20, 2023. Defendant CBP filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint on July 21, 2023, and plaintiff filed his response August 21, 2023.  Defendant submitted a motion for partial summary judgment on October 16, 2023, arguing that the court should dismiss Plaintiff’s claim that CBP improperly withheld responsive documents because information was properly withheld under the FOIA statute.

The court granted the motion to dismiss in part on February 21, 2024, dismissing Mr. Borowski’s FTCA and constitutional claims without prejudice but denying the motion to dismiss as to his APA claim. Defendant filed an answer to the amended complaint on March 5, 2024. On May 10, 2024, the court denied Defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment, concluding that CBP had not adequately addressed the deficiencies Plaintiff identified in its production, nor adequately justifying the information it had withheld pursuant to FOIA exemptions. On July 9, 2024, Defendant CBP filed a renewed motion for partial summary judgment, claiming that it had run a new search for documents and all withheld documents were properly done so pursuant to FOIA’s exemptions. Briefing is ongoing.

Documents:

Counsel: Matthew Borowski

Contact: Matthew Borowski | (716) 330-1503

Press:

Daniel Telvock, NEXUS pass dispute pits attorney vs. U.S. Customs, WIVB4, Aug. 3, 2023.

Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project v. Department of Homeland Security

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Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, et al., v. DHS, et al., No. 1:23-cv-10479 (D. Mass, filed Mar. 2, 2023)

On December 14, 2021, the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (FIRRP) and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) submitted a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seeking information about how CBP adjudicates humanitarian parole requests. Immigration law authorizes CBP and other agencies to parole noncitizens into the United States for “humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” As the government sets up more obstacles to legal entry—such as the former bar on entry pursuant to Title 42 and other limits on processing asylum seekers at ports of entry—humanitarian parole is often the only vehicle to seek temporary protection in the United States.

CBP has provided little information about how it adjudicates these urgent requests. Since 2017, FIRRP has been providing legal services to asylum seekers in Nogales, Sonora, just across the border from the Nogales Port of Entry into Nogales, Arizona. For their most vulnerable clients, FIRRP submits humanitarian parole applications, but the overwhelming majority of these clients have received boilerplate denials or no response at all. FIRRP and LCR submitted a FOIA request seeking CBP’s policies and procedures for processing these requests and data regarding processing times and outcomes.

After CBP failed to provide any responsive records for over a year, on March 2, 2023, FIRRP and LCR filed a lawsuit under FOIA to compel CBP to respond. The parties jointly proposed a briefing schedule to permit the government to produce responsive records to plaintiffs’ FOIA request, with production to be completed by November 3, 2023. The parties jointly proposed a briefing schedule to permit the government to produce responsive records to plaintiffs’ FOIA request. On March 19, 2024, the court stayed the case while the parties continue to cooperatively attempt to satisfy the FOIA request.

Documents:

Counsel: Lawyers for Civil Rights | Florence Immigration & Refugee Rights Project

Contact: Marian Albert | Lawyers for Civil Rights | (617) 482-1145

Guerra-Castaneda v. United States of America

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Guerra-Castaneda v. United States of America, No. 1:22-cv-10711 (filed D. Mass. May 10, 2022) 

On May 10, 2022, the ACLU of New Hampshire along with Preti Flaherty LLP filed this lawsuit on behalf of Plaintiff Jose Daniel Guerra-Castaneda. Mr. Guerra-Castaneda is an asylum seeker from El Salvador. After his asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture application was unsuccessful before an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals, he sought judicial review before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.   

When the federal government attempted to deport Mr. Guerra-Castaneda to El Salvador during the judicial review, the First Circuit stopped the government’s plan and shared the court’s concerns over the likelihood of Mr. Guerra-Castaneda being tortured upon his deportation. Notwithstanding this command from the court, in September 2019, the federal government mistakenly deported Mr. Guerra-Castaneda to El Salvador, despite two federal court orders to keep him in the United States while his case for asylum was pending. 

After Plaintiff was deported, he was detained in a prison in El Salvador for 297 days where he was tortured, experienced inhumane conditions, and endured physical and emotional trauma. With the First Circuit threatening to find the U.S. Attorney General in contempt, the federal government brought Mr. Guerra-Castaneda back to the United States. After his return, Mr. Guerra-Castaneda filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government under the Federal Tort Claim Act (FTCA) seeking damages based on his unlawful deportation by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As a response, the federal government moved to dismiss the case based on several grounds. One of the legal grounds raised was the foreign country exception of the FTCA. The federal government argued that it could not be responsible for the imprisonment and torture Mr. Guerra-Castaneda suffered in El Salvador because they occurred outside of the United States. The District Court for the District of Massachusetts rejected the federal government’s argument on February 16, 2023, and denied Defendants’ motion. The parties advised the court that the case settled on April 5, 2024, and the court dismissed the case on April 16, 2024.

Documents:

Counsel: ACLU of New Hampshire | Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios PLLP

Contact: SangYeob Kim | ACLU of New Hampshire | SangYeob@aclu-nh.org.

Bautista v. Mayorkas

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Bautista v. Mayorkas, No. 3:22-cv-1185 (S.D. Cal., filed Dec. 8, 2022)

Plaintiff, Mr. Bautista, filed a complaint against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seeking the return of his vehicle. Plaintiff alleges violations of the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments.

On November 4, 2021, Plaintiff’s wife, who is the registered owner of the vehicle, met a friend in Tijuana, Mexico to give her a ride to her job in San Diego. While there, the wife loaned her car to her friend while the wife went to the store. Without the wife’s knowledge, her friend picked up two people who did not have legal status in the United States and concealed them in the trunk. When the wife and friend were stopped at the San Ysidro checkpoint, the wife was made aware of the two individuals. The wife was released without criminal charge because her friend was operating the vehicle when it was seized.

That same day, CBP seized the vehicle. The wife received a Notice of Seizure on November 9, 2021, indicating that the CBP was commencing forfeiture action against the vehicle and provided guidance on how to proceed. On November 19, 2021, the wife filed a petition for return with CBP. Following receipt of notice of seizure, Plaintiff and his wife both filed petitions for return of the seized vehicle with CBP. CBP did not return the vehicle.

On August 12, 2022, Plaintiff filed a complaint with the Southern District of California. On September 21, 2022, Plaintiff filed an ex parte motion for preliminary injunction enjoining Defendants from disposing of his 2021 Nissan Sentra. After full briefing, on October 11, 2022, the court denied the ex parte motion for preliminary injunction as moot because Defendants declared they would hold onto the vehicle until judgment is entered in the case. Subsequently, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the Civil Asset Forfeiture Act of 2000 divests the court of jurisdiction. The district court granted Defendants’ motion, finding it lacked jurisdiction over the claimant’s challenge to merits of agency’s determination. The Court also denied Plaintiff’s request for leave to file an amended complaint on December 8, 2022.

Documents:

Counsel: Jason E. Ankeny, Jason E. Ankeny P.S.; Kirsten Zittlau, Zittlau Law

K.O. and E.O. Jr., v. United States

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K.O. and E.O. Jr., v. United States, No. 4:20-cv-12015 (D. Mass., filed Nov. 9, 2020)

Plaintiffs nine-year-old K.O. and her older brother, seventeen-year-old E.O. Jr., were forcibly separated by CBP agents from their mother upon entry to the United States, during the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance Policy.” Plaintiffs brought a class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), among other federal agencies. The Plaintiffs allege claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, asserting common law claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, false arrest, assault and battery, negligent supervision, tortious interference with parent-child relationship, and loss of consortium.

On May 19, 2018, plaintiffs K.O. and E.O., along with their mother, entered the U.S. at the southern border to seek asylum from violence and persecution in Guatemala. They were apprehended by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent and forcibly separated from their mother. The mother was never charged with a crime. CBP agents also called the father and told him his children were in custody, separate from their mother, and would be placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

As the father began the ORR reunification process, the children were reunited and placed back into an ICE facility where they were detained in separate cells that faced each other. They spent two days there and were not allowed to speak with each other. They only had access to thermal blankets. Plaintiffs allege that there was no supervision, no support for children as young as two or three years of age, and the guards physically and verbally abused the children. After two days, ICE agents told the children their mother had been deported. The children were then transferred to ORR facilities in Michigan and were once again separated from each other. One child was placed in an ORR foster care home and the other was placed in an ORR group home. The children were eventually reunited with their father on June 19, 2018. Meanwhile, the mother remained detained in Texas and was unable to contact her husband. After she passed her credible fear interview, she was released on June 28, 2018. The children were separated from their father for 31 days, and their mother for 38 days.

Similarly, Plaintiff C.J., was eleven years old when CBP separated him from his father after travelling to the United States to seek asylum from persecution in Guatemala. They were separated for a total of 36 days. In addition to the trauma from the forcible separation, C.J. was assaulted by another child while he was detained in an ORR facility. 

Plaintiffs seek damages and to establish a fund for the mental health treatment of all class members that were forcibly separated from their parents.  

Plaintiffs filed their complaint on November 9, 2020. On February 28, 2022, Defendants filed a motion to transfer the case to Western District of Texas or in the alternative dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district court held that change of venue was not warranted and denied the motion to transfer. The court also granted the motion to dismiss in part and denied it in part. All claims brought by the parents in their personal capacities were dismissed. Any claims of negligent supervision or negligence in causing the family separation were dismissed. All other claims remain.

Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on April 11, 2022. On May 10, 2022, Defendants filed a motion to transfer or alternatively a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. On January 9, 2023, the court reiterated its decision denying the transfer and granting and denying in part the motion to dismiss. Defendants filed their answer to the complaint on March 2, 2023. In May 2023, Plaintiffs filed a motion for protective order, and a few days later, Defendants filed a motion to preclude plaintiffs from increasing the sum certain demanded in their administrative claim. The court held a hearing on both motions on May 31, 2023, and subsequently granted both motions. In March 2024, the parties reported fact discovery is ongoing, and agreed to referral to a magistrate judge for mediation. The parties advised the court on April 5, 2024, that the case settled. On August 6, 2024, the court granted the motion for settlement and extended the time to enter a settlement order of dismissal to October 7, 2024. On October 7, 2024, Plaintiffs entered a stipulation of dismissal.

Documents:

Counsel: Todd & Weld LLP | Demissie & Church | The Law Offices of Jeff Goldman | Nixon Peabody LLP | Lawyers for Civil Rights

Contact:  Iván Espinoza-Madrigal | Lawyers for Civil Rights | iespinoza@lawyersforcivilrights.org

ACLU and 137 organizations send letter to CBP Commissioner urging CBP not to detain pregnant, postpartum, and nursing people

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Following a February 2020 incident where a pregnant woman was forced to give birth in a California Border Patrol station and then forced to return to the Border Patrol station for postpartum detention after a short trip to the hospital, the ACLU and Jewish Family Service filed a complaint with the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG). OIG subsequently investigated and issued a report on the incident, along with recommendations to improve CBP’s processes relating to childbirth. On November 23, 2021, CBP issued its current policy, “Policy Statement and Required Actions Regarding Pregnant, Postpartum, Nursing Individuals, and Infants in Custody.” 

In its October 20, 2022 letter, the ACLU, Jewish Family Services of San Diego, the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy, along with 82 advocacy organizations and 52 medical professionals, urged the Commissioner to expand the current CBP policy to include the following: (1) limit the time people who are pregnant, postpartum, and/or nursing are detained in CBP custody to no more than 12 hours from the initial apprehension, and (2) ensure that people who are pregnant, postpartum, and/or nursing, along with their families, are not transferred back to CBP detention for any reason following discharge from any offsite hospital.

Counsel: Shaw Drake, ACLU; Jewish Family Services; and Monika Langarica, UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy

Contact: Monika Langarica | UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy | langarica@law.ucla.edu

Additional Links:

Send a message to CBP today demanding that pregnant, postpartum, and nursing persons and infants must be released as soon as possible: Uphold the reproductive rights and health of migrants | American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org)