Angeles v. Ilchert

700 F. Supp. 1048, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15861, 1988 WL 129800
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedNovember 29, 1988
DocketNo. C-88-1342 JPV
StatusPublished

This text of 700 F. Supp. 1048 (Angeles v. Ilchert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Angeles v. Ilchert, 700 F. Supp. 1048, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15861, 1988 WL 129800 (N.D. Cal. 1988).

Opinion

[1049]*1049OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT WITH PREJUDICE

YUKASIN, District Judge.

This cause of action arises out of the defendant’s denial of the plaintiff’s application labeled “Application for Stay of Deportation.” Specifically, the plaintiff seeks an order enjoining the defendant from refusing to follow the guidelines applicable to the family fairness policy enunciated to the Congress on October 21, 1987 and declaring that under these guidelines, the plaintiff is eligible for indefinite deferral of his deportation. Both parties moved for summary judgment.

This Court finds that it must grant the defendant’s motion for summary judgment and deny the plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment with prejudice. The Court concludes that (1) it does not have the authority to grant the relief the plaintiff seeks and (2) that a memorandum prepared by the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (hereinafter “INS”) in 1987 did not promulgate guidelines for a new relief based upon “family fairness” which would permit an indefinite deferment of deportation for spouses of amnesty qualified individuals where compelling or humanitarian factors are present.

I. BACKGROUND

The plaintiff, born December 25, 1917, is a native and citizen of the Philippines currently residing in the United States. The plaintiff entered the United States on December 8, 1983 with a visitor’s visa, the terms of which he subsequently overstayed. The plaintiff’s wife of thirty-five years, also a Filipino citizen, entered the United States in 1979. On June 2, 1987, the plaintiff’s wife qualified for amnesty under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Pub.L. 99-603, 100 Stat. 3359 (1986).

In 1986, the plaintiff applied for political asylum with the INS. His application was denied on February 21, 1986. An immigration judge subsequently ordered the plaintiff to report for deportation on the ground that he had overstayed his visitor’s visa. The plaintiff appealed the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (hereinafter “BIA”), which, on September 17, 1987, affirmed the immigration judge’s order of deportation and denial of the plaintiff’s application for asylum. On October 21, 1987, the INS ordered the plaintiff to report for deportation.

On November 9, 1987, the plaintiff, in a separate proceeding, filed an application on INS Form 1-246 with the defendant David Ilchert, the San Francisco District Director of the INS. Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 243.4, INS Form 1-246 must be used when an alien who is under a final administrative order of deportation seeks to have an INS district director discretionarily grant a stay of deportation. The plaintiff’s application was labeled “Application for Stay of Deportation.”

The plaintiff claims that on October 21, 1987, guidelines for a new relief based upon “family fairness” were promulgated by the Commissioner of the INS. This new relief allegedly permits an “indefinite deferment of deportation” for spouses of amnesty qualified individuals where compelling or humanitarian factors are present. The plaintiff further claims that this new relief is procedurally encompassed in 8 C.F. R. § 244.2. Under Section 244.2, an INS district director may discretionarily extend the time within which an alien must depart voluntary. The plaintiff repeatedly contends that this application was not one for stay of deportation under Section 243.4, as the INS states, but was, instead, an application for “indefinite deferment of deportation (or extended voluntary departure)”. See Plaintiff’s Brief in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Complaint and for Summary Judgment at 4. The plaintiff alleges he used the stay of deportation form only at the insistence of the INS.

[1050]*1050On November 16, 1987, the plaintiff filed a petition for review of the BIA’s final order of deportation with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Apparently construing the plaintiff’s INS Form 1-246 as seeking a stay of deportation, the defendant subsequently denied it on the ground that it was moot because the plaintiff had received a statutory stay of deportation pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(3) upon the filing of his petition for review with the Court of Appeals. This Court now holds that the defendant acted properly and is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

II. DISCUSSION

1. Jurisdiction

The plaintiff contends that this Court has jurisdiction to hear this case under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 because he has asserted a claim arising under the federal law. While this Court does not find that it has jurisdiction under § 1331, this Court does find that it has jurisdiction to hear this action pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1105a(a)(9). Section 1105a(a)(9) grants a district court habeas corpus jurisdiction to review an order denying a stay of deportation where the proceedings are separate from the deportation proceedings. See Dhangu v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 812 F.2d 455, 459 (9th Cir.1987).

2. The Defendant’s Denial of the Stay of Deportation

Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 243.4, an INS district director may discretionarily grant a stay of deportation to an alien who is under a final administrative order of deportation. An application for such a stay is to be made on INS Form 1-246. The District Director may grant a stay “for such time and under such conditions as he may deem appropriate.”

The plaintiff filed an INS Form 1-246 on November 9, 1987. Nowhere in the application did the plaintiff mention that he was seeking “indefinite deferment of deportation (or extended voluntary departure)” pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 244.2. Instead, the plaintiff requested that “[s]tay is requested based on respondent’s marriage to a person who has qualified for amnesty and the existence of compelling humanitarian factors.”

The defendant treated the plaintiff's application as one for stay of deportation pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 243.4. However, by the time the defendant adjudicated the application, the plaintiff had received a statutory stay of deportation pursuant to 8 U.S. C. Section 1105a(a)(9), which requires the INS to stay the deportation of any alien who has petitioned the Court of Appeals for review of the BIA’s final order of deportation.

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Bluebook (online)
700 F. Supp. 1048, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15861, 1988 WL 129800, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/angeles-v-ilchert-cand-1988.