Castanon Nava v. Department of Homeland Security

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJanuary 24, 2020
Docket1:18-cv-03757
StatusUnknown

This text of Castanon Nava v. Department of Homeland Security (Castanon Nava v. Department of Homeland Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Castanon Nava v. Department of Homeland Security, (N.D. Ill. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

MARGARITO CASTAÑON NAVA, et al. ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Case No. 18 C 3757 ) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND ) Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer SECURITY, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Five Individual Plaintiffs (Margarito Castañon Nava, John Doe, Miguel Cortes Torres, Guillermo Hernandez Hernandez, and Erick Rivera Sales) and two Organizational Plaintiffs (the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and Organized Communities Against Deportations) filed this putative class action to ensure that Defendant U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "complies with its clear statutory obligations under 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2) when conducting warrantless arrests." (Second Am. Compl. [58] ¶ 1.)1 Plaintiffs Nava, Hernandez, and Sales also seek, on behalf of a proposed sub-class, to ensure that ICE complies with the Fourth Amendment when making traffic stops. Before the court is Defendants' motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint for lack of jurisdiction or, in the alternative, for failure to state a claim. For the following reasons, Defendants' motion is denied. BACKGROUND

The court takes the following facts from the allegations in Plaintiffs' Second Amended

1 In addition to ICE, Defendants are the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, Acting ICE Director Ronald D. Vitiello, and Field Office Director of the ICE Chicago Field Office Ricardo Wong. (On April 11, 2019, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), Plaintiffs substituted Acting DHS Secretary McAleenan for former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. (See Pls.' Opp. to Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss ("Pls.' Opp.") [74], 1 n.1.) On December 18, 2018, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), Plaintiffs substituted Acting ICE Director Vitiello for former Acting ICE Director Thomas D. Homan. (See Second Am. Compl. n.1.).) Complaint. Defendant DHS is responsible for enforcing federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration. (Second Am. Compl. ¶ 24.) Defendant ICE is the component of DHS charged with enforcing federal immigration law. (Id. ¶ 25.) Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), immigration officials may conduct warrantless arrests, but only if the officials have "reason to believe" that the potential arrestee (1) "is in the United States in violation of [an immigration] law or regulation" and (2) "is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest." 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2). Courts equate "reason to believe" under the INA with probable cause. See, e.g., United States v. Cantu, 519 F.2d 494, 496 (7th Cir. 1975); Moreno v. Napolitano, 213 F. Supp. 3d 999, 1007 (N.D. Ill. 2016) ("[T]he phrase 'reason to believe' in § 1357(a)(2) requires the equivalent of probable cause, see Cantu, 519 F.2d at 496, which in turn requires a particularized inquiry."). Plaintiffs allege that "[i]n recent months, ICE has been conducting indiscriminate, large- scale immigration sweeps, principally targeting states and localities that have adopted so-called 'sanctuary laws,' which limit state and local participation in civil immigration enforcement." (Second Am. Compl. ¶ 29.) This lawsuit arises from a large-scale ICE enforcement action that occurred in the Chicago area during a week-long period in May 2018. (Id. ¶ 32.) Plaintiffs allege that ICE arrested 156 people during that time. (Id.) They further allege that by ICE's own account, 106 of the arrests were "at-large collateral arrests"—meaning "arrests of individuals for whom ICE lack[ed] an arrest warrant." (Id. ¶¶ 4, 32 (internal quotation marks omitted).) According to the Second Amended Complaint, the collateral arrests included those of the Individual Plaintiffs in this action, all of whom have lived in the Chicago area for at least four and as many as thirty years. (See id. ¶¶ 5, 8, 17-21.) Plaintiffs allege that ICE arrested and detained each Individual Plaintiff "without a warrant or an individualized determination that he is a flight risk," in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2). (Id. ¶¶ 17-21.) They allege, further, that ICE's actions reflect a widespread policy and practice of violating the INA in this manner. In Count I of the Second Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs assert a claim for violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. §§ 101-913, which governs the conduct of federal administrative agencies. Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that "ICE's policy and practice of making warrantless arrests without the required individualized flight risk analysis is 'final agency action' that is 'arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.'" (Second Am. Compl. ¶ 97 (quoting 5 U.S.C. §§ 704, 706(2)(A)). Plaintiffs also allege that the same policy and practice is "'final agency action' that is 'in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations' under § 1357(a)(2)." (Second Am. Compl. ¶ 98 (quoting 5 U.S.C. §§ 704, 706(2)(C)).) In addition to their APA claim, Plaintiffs assert a claim under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (See Second Am. Compl., Count II.) This claim is based on ICE's traffic stops of four Individual Plaintiffs, which ultimately led to their arrests and detention. (See id. ¶¶ 37, 42, 47, 52, 101-113.)2 Plaintiffs allege that ICE officers have authority to stop a vehicle only if they have "reasonable suspicion of an immigration violation" by a driver or passenger. (Id. ¶¶ 73- 75 (citing 8 U.S.C. §§ 1357(a)(4), (a)(5), which describe circumstances in which ICE officials can make criminal arrests and do not "include the authority to issue traffic citations").) According to the Second Amended Complaint, ICE officers stopped the Individual Plaintiffs without reasonable suspicion that they, or any other individuals in the vehicles, had violated an immigration law. (See, e.g., id. ¶¶ 104, 106, 108.) Plaintiffs allege, further, that the ICE officers stopped the Individual Plaintiffs' vehicles merely because the drivers and passengers therein appeared to be Hispanic. (See, e.g., id. ¶¶ 9, 104, 108.) And Plaintiffs allege that ICE's actions reflect a policy and practice of violating the Fourth Amendment while conducting traffic stops. (See id. ¶¶ 109-110.) As indicated above, Plaintiffs in this action include not only five individuals, but also two

2 ICE officers stopped the fifth Individual Plaintiff while he was walking down a sidewalk. (See id. ¶ 9.) organizations: the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD). ICIRR is a nonprofit, statewide organization "dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation" in "civic, cultural, social, and political life." (Second Am. Compl.

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Castanon Nava v. Department of Homeland Security, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/castanon-nava-v-department-of-homeland-security-ilnd-2020.