M.M.M. ex rel. J.M.A. v. Sessions

319 F. Supp. 3d 290
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedAugust 3, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 18-1759 (PLF)
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 319 F. Supp. 3d 290 (M.M.M. ex rel. J.M.A. v. Sessions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
M.M.M. ex rel. J.M.A. v. Sessions, 319 F. Supp. 3d 290 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

PAUL L. FRIEDMAN, United States District Judge

This case arises out of the government's controversial "zero-tolerance" immigration policy, under which immigrant parents unlawfully entering the United States with their young children were subject to criminal prosecution and forcibly separated from their children for several weeks. On June 26, 2018, Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California certified a nationwide class of separated parents and issued a class-wide preliminary injunction requiring the government to reunify separated families by July 26, 2018. See Ms. L. v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enf't, 310 F.Supp.3d 1133 (S.D. Cal. 2018). With approximately 1,800 families reunified to date, attention has turned to what lies ahead for these parents and their children.

Plaintiffs in this action are a putative class of non-citizen children who were separated from their parents shortly after crossing the United States-Mexico border. They allege that defendants-various federal agencies and officials responsible for enforcing immigration laws and regulations-recently adopted a policy of removing families from the United States immediately after reunification and, as a result, have denied plaintiffs access to certain asylum procedures guaranteed by statute and under the Constitution.

On July 27, 2018, plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction [Dkt. No. 6]. Following expedited briefing, the Court held a hearing on the motion on July 31, 2018. At the hearing, defendants orally moved to transfer venue to the Southern District of California pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a). The following day, defendants submitted a written supplement in support of their oral motion to transfer venue [Dkt. No. 19], and plaintiffs addressed the transfer issue in two supplemental filings [Dkt. Nos. 18 and 23]. Upon careful consideration of the parties' written submissions, the relevant legal authorities, the arguments of counsel in open court on July 31, 2018, and the entire record in this case, the Court will grant defendants' motion to transfer venue, subject to certain modifications.1

*293I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs filed this action on July 27, 2018. Plaintiffs are six immigrant children ages six through thirteen who were forcibly separated from their parents shortly after entering the United States. See Compl. ¶¶ 68-105. Having recently been reunified with their parents after spending several weeks apart, they now face the prospect of another lengthy separation: their parents are subject to expedited removal orders and may soon be removed from the country. See ibr.US_Case_Law.Schema.Case_Body:v1">id. Plaintiffs bring this action by and through their parents and next friends under Rule 17(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. They also bring class action claims under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on behalf of "all non-citizens under the age of 18 who were separated from their parents or guardians upon (or after) entry into the United States and who are, have been, or will be detained by the U.S. government at any time since January 1, 2018." See id. ¶¶ 10-16, 106.

Plaintiffs' core allegation is that defendants have deprived them of their right to pursue their own, independent asylum claims after reunification with their parents. See Compl. ¶ 42. Plaintiffs allege that this right is separate from the right of a parent to seek asylum on his or her own behalf, see ibr.US_Case_Law.Schema.Case_Body:v1">id. ¶ 46, and may not be waived by the parent on behalf of the child, particularly when the waiver is not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary, see ibr.US_Case_Law.Schema.Case_Body:v1">id. ¶ 50. According to plaintiffs, defendants have coerced parents into abandoning their children's asylum claims in order to remain together as a family unit. See ibr.US_Case_Law.Schema.Case_Body:v1">id. ¶ 46. Plaintiffs further allege that defendants have obtained invalid waivers from parents that purport to waive the rights of their children to pursue asylum and to be accompanied by their parent while their asylum application is pending. See id. They maintain that parents do not have the legal authority to waive their children's rights in this manner. See id. ¶ 50.

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Bluebook (online)
319 F. Supp. 3d 290, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mmm-ex-rel-jma-v-sessions-cadc-2018.