Haitian Refugee Center, Inc. v. Nelson

872 F.2d 1555, 1989 U.S. App. LEXIS 7154
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedMay 23, 1989
Docket88-5934
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 872 F.2d 1555 (Haitian Refugee Center, Inc. v. Nelson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Haitian Refugee Center, Inc. v. Nelson, 872 F.2d 1555, 1989 U.S. App. LEXIS 7154 (11th Cir. 1989).

Opinion

872 F.2d 1555

HAITIAN REFUGEE CENTER, INC., a not-for-profit corporation,
Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, Marie Gizele Angrand,
Germaine Cadet, Rosita Delva, Dieumercie Desir, Joseph
Saintil Dieudonne, Gerard Henry, Marie France Jean-Philippe,
Novamise Julien, Francklin Joseph, Sylvia Lindor, Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
Alan C. NELSON, Commissioner of Immigration and
Naturalization Service, Perry Rivkind, District Director,
Immigration and Naturalization Service, District Office
Number 6, Kenneth Pasquarell, District Director, Immigration
and Naturalization Service, District Office Number 26,
William Chambers, Director, Immigration and Naturalization
Service Regional Processing Facility for the Southern
Region, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department
of Justice, Richard Norton, Associate Commissioner of
Examination, Immigration and Naturalization Service,
Defendants-Appellants.

No. 88-5934.

United States Court of Appeals,
Eleventh Circuit.

May 23, 1989.

Allen W. Hausman, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Div. Washington, D.C., for defendants-appellants.

David V. Bernal, Office of Immigration Lit. Civ. Div., Washington, D.C., for Alan C. Nelson.

Ira J. Kurzban, Kurzban, Kurzban & Weinger, Cheryl Little, Haitian Refugee Center, Inc., Miami, Fla., for plaintiffs-appellees.

Robert A. Williams, Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc., Immokalee, Fla., Michael Guare, Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc., Bartow, Fla., for Rosita Delva, Hector Trejo Tamayo, Juan Tamayo Vega, et al.

Niels W. Frenzen, Public Counsel, Los Angeles, Cal., for amicus curiae American Immigration Lawyers Ass'n.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Before RONEY, Chief Judge, VANCE, Circuit Judge, and KAUFMAN*, Senior District Judge.

VANCE, Circuit Judge:

This action was filed on June 13, 1988 on behalf of the Haitian Refugee Center, the Migration and Refugee Services of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida, and seventeen applicants for temporary residence under the Special Agricultural Worker ("SAW") program provided for in section 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA") (codified as amended by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 ("IRCA"), Pub.L. No. 99-603, 100 Stat. 3359, 3417 at 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1160 (Supp.1986)). Plaintiffs sought declaratory, mandatory and injunctive relief for themselves and a class of persons who have applied for or who will apply for temporary lawful residence status under the SAW program and who have been denied or who will be denied SAW status as a result of defendants' allegedly unlawful practices.1

Plaintiffs contended that a number of system-wide practices employed by INS officials in processing applications resulted in the improper denial of thousands of applications for SAW status. After an extensive hearing at which the parties presented testimony and offered evidence the district court certified the plaintiff class, ruled that it had jurisdiction and granted plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction. The court's order requires defendant to reopen cases in which: (1) the notices of denial were defective; (2) the INS considered evidence adverse to the applicant without the applicant's knowledge; and (3) the application was adjudicated under an incorrect burden of proof. Appellants do not challenge these provisions of the district court's order. They take issue only with paragraphs (6) through (8) of the injunction, which provide:

(6) The Legalization Offices shall maintain competent translators, at a minimum, in Spanish and Haitian Creole, and translators in other languages shall be made available if necessary;

(7) The INS shall afford the applicants the opportunity to present witnesses at the interview including but not limited to growers, farm labor contractors, co-workers, and any other individual who may offer testimony in support of the applicant;

(8) The interviewers shall be directed to particularize the evidence offered, testimony taken, credibility determinations, and any other relevant information on the form I-696.

Haitian Refugee Center, Inc. v. Nelson, 694 F.Supp. 864, 881 (S.D.Fla.1988). Appellants also contend that the district court lacked jurisdiction.

I. Statutory Background

The Special Agricultural Workers program was promulgated as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The law establishes a seven-year program for the adjustment and admission of foreign agricultural workers to meet the special labor needs of American growers of perishable commodities. See H.R.Conf.Rep. No. 99-1000, 99th Cong., 2d Sess. 95, reprinted in 1986 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 5649, 5840, 5850-51. The program directs the Attorney General to adjust the status of any qualifying alien to that of an alien admitted for temporary residence. To be eligible for the program, the alien must have applied for adjustment between June 1, 1987 and November 30, 1988 and establish that she is otherwise admissible to the United States as an immigrant. She is further required to demonstrate that she has resided in the United States and has performed seasonal agricultural services for at least ninety man-days during the twelve-month period ending on May 1, 1986. See 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1160(a)(1). An alien who is granted temporary residence under the SAW program is ultimately eligible for admission as a permanent resident. Id. Sec. 1160(a)(2).

The application process begins at the local Legalization Office ("LO") of the INS. The LO reviews each application for completeness and conducts an interview of the applicant. 8 C.F.R. Sec. 210.2(c)(2)(iv). Based on the interview, the adjudicator may deny the application or make a recommendation that the application be approved or denied. Where a recommendation is made, the reasons for the recommendation are recorded on the "I-696" worksheet, which accompanies the application through the remainder of the process. The completed case file is then forwarded to one of four regional processing facilities ("RPF") for final review and decision. 53 Fed.Reg. 10065 (to be codified at 8 C.F.R. Sec. 210.1(p)). A denial of the application by either the LO or the RPF may be appealed to the Administrative Appeals Unit. 8 C.F.R. Sec. 103.3(a)(2)(iii).2 The Administrative Appeals Unit is the final level of administrative review, id; judicial review of an application for SAW status is available only in the context of review of an alien's exclusion or deportation order. 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1160(e)(3).

At the LO, the interviewing officer must determine whether a completed application is "nonfrivolous." Id. Sec. 1160(d)(2).3 The regulations initially restricted denial at the LO level to cases where "the alien clearly fails to meet statutory requirements or the alien admits fraud or misrepresentation in the application process." 8 C.F.R. Sec. 103.1(n)(2).

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Bluebook (online)
872 F.2d 1555, 1989 U.S. App. LEXIS 7154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haitian-refugee-center-inc-v-nelson-ca11-1989.