Banda v. McAleenan

385 F. Supp. 3d 1099
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedJune 12, 2019
DocketCASE NO. C18-1841JLR
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 385 F. Supp. 3d 1099 (Banda v. McAleenan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Banda v. McAleenan, 385 F. Supp. 3d 1099 (W.D. Wash. 2019).

Opinion

JAMES L. ROBART, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the court on the report and recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler (R&R (Dkt. # 14)), and Respondents' objections thereto (Objections (Dkt. # 15)).

*1105Having carefully reviewed the foregoing, along with Petitioner Vincent Fredrics Banda's response (Resp. (Dkt. # 16), all other relevant documents, and the governing law, the court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation (Dkt. # 14), GRANTS Petitioner's habeas corpus petition (Dkt. # 1), DENIES Respondents' motion to dismiss (Dkt. # 6), and ORDERS Respondents, within 30 days of the filing date of this order, to provide Petitioner with an individualized bond hearing that complies with the requirements set forth in Singh v. Holder , 638 F.3d 1196 (9th Cir. 2011).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A district court has jurisdiction to review a Magistrate Judge's report and recommendation on dispositive matters. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b). "The district judge must determine de novo any part of the magistrate judge's disposition that has been properly objected to." Id. "A judge of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge." 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). The court reviews de novo those portions of the report and recommendation to which specific written objection is made. United States v. Reyna-Tapia , 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc). "The statute makes it clear that the district judge must review the magistrate judge's findings and recommendations de novo if objection is made, but not otherwise." Id.

III. DISCUSSION

Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1), Respondents have detained Petitioner, an asylum seeker from Malawi, in immigration detention at the Northwest Detention Center for more than 18 months. (See R&R at 2-3.) Section 1225(b)(1) permits Respondents to detain, among others, noncitizens who were initially determined to be inadmissible due to fraud, misrepresentation, or a lack of valid documentation, but who have not yet been removed pending a decision on an asylum application. See 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1).

Respondents have not provided Petitioner with a hearing where they must justify his continued detention. (See R&R at 7.) In her report and recommendation to this court, Magistrate Judge Theiler concluded that such continued detention without the opportunity for an individualized hearing before a neutral decision-maker where Respondents bear the burden of justifying Petitioner's continued detention violates the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. (See id at 10-23.) Respondents timely filed objections to Magistrate Judge Theiler's report and recommendation. (See generally Objections.) The court now considers Respondents' objections and in doing so reviews Magistrate Judge Theiler's report and recommendation de novo.

A. Petitioner's Due Process Right to a Bond Hearing

In their first objection, Respondents assert that "[b]oth the Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit have recognized that Section 235(b) [ 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b) ] is constitutional as applied to ... aliens seeking admission to the United States." (Objections at 3 (citing Jennings v. Rodriguez , --- U.S. ----, 138 S. Ct. 830, 842, 200 L.Ed.2d 122 (2018) ).) However, as Magistrate Judge Theiler explained, that argument fails. In Jennings , the case upon which Respondents rely, the Supreme Court only addressed an issue of statutory interpretation and expressly avoided constitutional questions. 138 S. Ct. at 851. The Supreme Court concluded that the text of 8 U.S.C. § 1225 was clear, rendering unnecessary the Ninth Circuit's resort to the *1106canon of constitutional avoidance to construe the statute. See id. Magistrate Judge Theiler correctly concluded that, "[r]ather than considering the parties' constitutional due process arguments, the [Supreme] Court remanded to the Ninth Circuit for further proceedings" (R&R at 14 (citing Jennings , 138 S. Ct. at 851-52 )), which in turn "remanded to the district court to determine 'the minimum requirements of due process' for noncitizens detained under each statute" (id. at 14 (quoting Rodriguez v. Marin , 909 F.3d 252, 255 (9th Cir. 2018) )).

Further, Magistrate Judge Theiler also correctly found that "unreasonably prolonged detention under § 1225(b) without a bond hearing violates due process." (R&R at 16.) Since the Supreme Court's decision in Jennings

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Bluebook (online)
385 F. Supp. 3d 1099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/banda-v-mcaleenan-wawd-2019.