Aguilar v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Chi. Field Office

346 F. Supp. 3d 1174
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois
DecidedSeptember 28, 2018
DocketCase No. 17-cv-2296
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 346 F. Supp. 3d 1174 (Aguilar v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Chi. Field Office) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aguilar v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Chi. Field Office, 346 F. Supp. 3d 1174 (illinoised 2018).

Opinion

Robert M. Dow, Jr., United States District Judge

Plaintiffs Rony Chavez Aguilar and Irwin Rolle ("Plaintiffs") filed this putative class action on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated against Defendants U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chicago Field Office; Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary for Homeland Security; Thomas Homan, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Ricardo Wong, Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chicago Field Office; alleging that Defendants have failed to meet their obligations under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. (Count I) and have violated Plaintiffs' rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments (Counts II-III). Currently before the Court is Defendants' motion [27] to *1178dismiss all claims in Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint [24] for lack of jurisdiction, or, in the alternative, for failure to state a claim. For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion [27] is granted. Counts I-III in the Second Amended Complaint are dismissed. Plaintiffs are given until October 29, 2018 to file an amended complaint if they choose to do so. This case is set for a further status hearing on November 13, 2018 at 9:00 a.m.

I. Background1

Defendant United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chicago Field Office ("ICE Chicago") enforces immigration laws in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin. [24, ¶ 15.] ICE Chicago and its agents are responsible for the policies and practices related to the arrest and detention of individuals for prosecution in removal proceedings within that area. [Id. ]

Defendants Elaine Duke, Thomas Homan, and Ricardo Wong are the Acting Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), Acting Director of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE"), and Director of ICE Chicago, respectively. [Id. ¶¶ 16-18.] Defendants Duke and Homan are responsible for, among other things, the policies and practices of ICE related to the arrest and detention of individuals for prosecution in removal proceedings. [Id. ¶¶ 16-17.] Defendant Wong is responsible for, among other things, the development and implementation of ICE Chicago's policies and practices related to the arrest and detention of individuals for prosecution in removal proceedings. [Id. ¶ 18.] Each is sued in his or her official capacity. [Id. ¶¶ 16-18.]

Plaintiff Chavez was born in Guatemala in 1984 and entered the United States with his mother as a Lawful Permanent Resident ("LPR") in 1991. [Id. ¶¶ 22-23.] His mother became a U.S. citizen in 1999 through the naturalization process. [Id. ¶ 24.] Because Chavez was an LPR, 14 years old, and in his mother's legal and physical custody, he became a U.S. citizen by law no later than February 27, 2001. [Id. ¶¶ 24-25.] Since Chavez was at all times pertinent to this litigation a U.S. citizen, ICE had no lawful authority to arrest or detain him or subject him to removal proceedings. [Id. ¶ 27.]2

Plaintiff Rolle was born in Jamaica in October 1970 and entered the United States as a LPR in March 1988. [Id. ¶¶ 35-36.] When he entered the United States in March 1988, Rolle's mother was a naturalized U.S. citizen. [Id. ¶ 37.] Because Rolle was an LPR, 17 years old, and in his mother's legal and physical custody, he became a U.S. citizen by law upon his entry. [Id. ¶¶ 37-38.] Given that Rolle is a U.S. citizen, ICE has no lawful authority to arrest or detain him or subject him to removal proceedings. [Id. ¶ 39.]

Plaintiffs allege that ICE Chicago detains thousands of people each year, often waiting days or weeks before commencing removal proceedings. [24, ¶¶ 2, 7, 20,47, 49.] Even after the official commencement of proceedings, Defendants allegedly force many detainees to wait in custody for additional weeks before seeing a judge for the first time. [Id. ¶¶ 2, 20.] During this period, *1179ICE does not provide the detainee: (1) a sworn, particularized statement of probable cause; (2) a determination of probable cause before a detached and neutral judicial officer; or (3) a hearing before an immigration judge regarding the charges against them, the availability of attorney representation and other rights, and judicial review of their continued custody. [Id. ¶ 3.]

Instead, according to Plaintiffs, ICE Chicago typically serves detainees with an I-200 administrative warrant after they are brought into ICE custody. [Id. ¶ 4.] Such warrants are not reviewed or approved by a detached and neutral judicial officer, nor supported by a sworn, particularized showing of probable cause. [Id. ] Rather, the warrant purports to be a based on the arresting officer's finding of probable cause. [Id. ex. A.] Plaintiffs allege that these practices and policies are insufficient to meet Defendants' responsibilities under the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq, specifically 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2), and violate Plaintiffs' Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights. [Id. ¶¶ 19-20.]

Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that on or around March 9, 2017, ICE Chicago assumed physical custody of Chavez after issuing an immigration detainer to a Kentucky law enforcement agency that previously had held him. [Id. ¶¶ 28-30.] When the instant lawsuit was filed on March 27, 2017 [1], Chavez had been in ICE custody for 18 days.3 [Id. ¶ 5.] While in ICE custody, Chavez received two different Notices to Appear ("NTA")4 and was mailed an I-200 administrative warrant. [Id. ¶ 31.] As of the initiation of this lawsuit, however, ICE Chicago had not filed an NTA against Chavez with the immigration court. [Id. ¶ 32.]

ICE Chicago assumed physical custody of Rolle on or around June 28, 2017 [id. ¶ 40], and issued him an NTA the same day, [id. ¶ 41.] ICE Chicago never informed Rolle if, or when, it filed the NTA with an immigration court. [Id. ] As of Rolle's intervention in this case on August 21, 2017 [see 20], no immigration court had scheduled a hearing in his case. [24, ¶ 42.] The Court infers from Plaintiffs' complaint that as of the date of the Court's approval of his intervention on September 5, 2017 [see 23], Rolle remained in custody at ICE Chicago's contract facility, Kenosha County Detention Center in Kenosha, Wisconsin. [Id. ¶ 40.]

Chavez filed the initial complaint in this case seeking to represent himself and a class of similarly situated individuals on March 27, 2017.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Castellar v. McAleenan
388 F. Supp. 3d 1218 (S.D. California, 2019)
Vargas v. Beth
378 F. Supp. 3d 716 (E.D. Wisconsin, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
346 F. Supp. 3d 1174, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aguilar-v-us-immigration-customs-enforcement-chi-field-office-illinoised-2018.