Diakhate v. Searls

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedNovember 25, 2024
Docket6:23-cv-06736
StatusUnknown

This text of Diakhate v. Searls (Diakhate v. Searls) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Diakhate v. Searls, (W.D.N.Y. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

CHEIKH DIAKHATE,

Petitioner, DECISION AND ORDER

v. 6:23-CV-06736 EAW

BRIAN CASEY1,

Respondent.

INTRODUCTION Pro se petitioner Cheikh Diakhate (“Petitioner”), a civil immigration detainee currently held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (“BFDF”) in Batavia, New York, has filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. (Dkt. 1).2 Petitioner previously sought an injunction barring his removal during the pendency of this action (Dkt. 8), which the Court denied (Dkt. 9).

1 Pursuant to Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Brian Casey has been substituted as Respondent in this action. The Clerk is directed to amend the case caption accordingly. 2 The petition also purports in the caption to be a “complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief.” (Dkt. 1 at 1). However, the relief sought by Petitioner is specifically release from custody. (See id. at 45-46). Petitioner’s attack on his detention falls “squarely within [the] traditional scope of habeas corpus,” Preiser v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 475, 487 (1973), he indicated on his civil cover sheet that this was a habeas corpus petition (Dkt. 1-2), and he has paid the $5.00 filing fee for a habeas corpus petition and not the $350 filing fee for a general civil action. The Court accordingly treats the case as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner has now filed nine motions: (1) a motion to file an amended petition (Dkt. 12); (2) a motion seeking an investigation into alleged misconduct by immigration judge (“IJ”) Robert P. Driscoll (Dkt. 13); (3) a motion for a stay of removal while this action is pending (Dkt. 14); (4) a motion for sanctions (Dkt. 15); (5) a motion seeking relief from

certain conditions of confinement at the BFDF (Dkt. 16); (6) a motion to file an amended petition and for class certification (Dkt. 17); (7) a motion for reconsideration of the Court’s denial of his request for injunctive relief (Dkt. 18); (8) another motion for a stay of removal while this action is pending (Dkt. 19); and (9) a third motion for a stay of removal while this action is pending (Dkt. 20). Respondent has moved to dismiss the petition. (Dkt. 21).

For the reasons that follow, Petitioner’s pending motions are denied, Respondent’s motion is granted in part and denied in part, and the parties are directed to make supplemental filings as described further below. BACKGROUND Petitioner is a citizen and national of Senegal. (Dkt. 21-2 at ¶ 5). Petitioner was

ordered removed to Senegal on July 17, 2023. (Id. at ¶ 39). He appealed that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). (Id. at ¶ 40). On December 12, 2023, the BIA dismissed Petitioner’s appeal. (Id. at ¶ 41). Petitioner had filed a Petition for Review (“PFR”) with the Second Circuit on December 19, 2022, while his removal proceedings were ongoing. (Id. at ¶ 30). His PFR was

dismissed by order dated November 13, 2023, with the mandate issuing on January 19, 2024. (Dkt. 21-3 at 54). The record before the Court is devoid of any information suggesting that Petitioner filed a second PFR after the BIA dismissed his appeal. (See Dkt. 20 at 9 (Petitioner indicating that he has no action pending in the Second Circuit)). Petitioner commenced this action on December 27, 2023. (Dkt. 1). He filed his initial motion for an injunction barring his removal during the pendency of this action on March 28,

2024. (Dkt. 8). The Court denied that motion on April 3, 2024. (Dkt. 9). Petitioner thereafter filed his nine pending motions and Respondent filed his motion to dismiss. (Dkt. 12; Dkt. 13; Dkt. 14; Dkt. 15; Dkt. 16; Dkt. 17; Dkt. 18; Dkt. 19; Dkt. 20; Dkt. 21). Neither party has filed response papers. However, after filing his pending motions, Petitioner filed a notice of interlocutory appeal as to the Court’s denial of his original motion

for an injunction barring his removal during the pendency of this action. (Dkt. 23). DISCUSSION I. Petitioner’s Motions A. Motions to Amend and for Class Certification The Court begins its analysis by considering Petitioner’s motions to amend and for

class certification. (Dkt. 12; Dkt. 17). Petitioner seeks to file an amended petition that asserts various claims on behalf of a class of detainees at the BFDF. (See, e.g., Dkt. 12 at 4-5). The members of the putative class are “typically citizens of” what Petitioner refers to as “AMMMLACCC countries”—“AMMMLACCC” standing for “Africa, Mexico, Majority Muslim, Latin America, the Caribbean and Communist Controlled.” (Id. at 6-7). In sum and

substance, Petitioner alleges that citizens of “AMMMLACCC” countries are ordered removed and held in immigration custody at rates disproportionate to citizens of “WECANZS” (“Western Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and/or Scandinavia”) countries, in violation of the equal protection clause. (Id. at 7-23). Petitioner is proceeding pro se and is not an attorney. In his proposed amended complaint, he explicitly states that he is “a layman, untrained in the law[.]” (Id. at 6).

“Because a nonlawyer cannot bring suit on behalf of others, a nonlawyer pro se plaintiff cannot act as a class representative and bring a class action.” Santos v. Quaker Oat Pesticide, No. 1:24-CV-5396 (LTS), 2024 WL 4627460, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 26, 2024); see also Rodriguez v. Eastman Kodak Co., 88 F. App’x 470, 471 (2d Cir. 2004) (affirming dismissal of pro se class action complaint and explaining that “[a]lthough plaintiffs have a right to

proceed pro se in civil actions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1654, a pro se plaintiff may not seek to represent the interests of third-parties”). The Court accordingly denies Petitioner’s motions seeking to amend the petition to assert claims on behalf of a class and for class certification. (Dkt. 12; Dkt. 17). B. Motion for an Investigation

The Court next considers Petitioner’s motion for an investigation into alleged misconduct by IJ Driscoll and other IJs at the BFDF. (Dkt. 13). Petitioner contends that these IJs have engaged in misconduct designed to cover up discriminatory animus towards detainees from “AMMMLACCC” countries. (See id.). To the extent Petitioner is asking the Court to conduct its own investigation, he has

misunderstood the Court’s role. The Court itself is not an investigatory agency and does not have general supervisory authority over the IJs at the BFDF, who are employees of the executive branch. There is no mechanism by which the Court could or should conduct a freestanding investigation into alleged misconduct at the BFDF. To the extent Petitioner is seeking to conduct discovery into alleged misconduct by the IJs at the BFDF in connection with this proceeding, “[a] habeas petitioner, unlike the usual

civil litigant in federal court, is not entitled to discovery as a matter of ordinary course.” Bracy v. Gramley, 520 U.S. 899, 904 (1997). “Courts have adopted the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases, including its discovery Rule 6 . . . in habeas proceedings under § 2241.” Toolasprashad v. Tryon, No. 12CV734, 2013 WL 1560176, at *2 (W.D.N.Y. Apr. 11, 2013); see also Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts, Rule 1(b)

(“The district court may apply any or all of these rules to a habeas corpus petition not covered by Rule 1(a).”).

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Preiser v. Rodriguez
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Bracy v. Gramley
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Diakhate v. Searls, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/diakhate-v-searls-nywd-2024.