Perera v. Jennings

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJune 11, 2021
Docket5:21-cv-04136
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Perera v. Jennings, (N.D. Cal. 2021).

Opinion

1 2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 SAN JOSE DIVISION 6 7 IMESH PERERA, Case No. 21-cv-04136-BLF

8 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR 9 v. TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER

10 DAVID W. JENNINGS, et al., 11 Defendants.

12 Petitioner-Plaintiff Imesh Perera filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus and complaint for 13 14 injunctive and declarative relief in this action on June 1, 2021 against Respondent-Defendants U.S. 15 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) San Francisco Field Office Director David W. 16 Jennings, Acting ICE Director Tae D. Johnson, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Attorney 17 General Merrick Garland (collectively “Defendants”). ECF 1; Compl., ECF 18-2. Perera 18 simultaneously filed a motion seeking a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) and an order to show 19 cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue. ECF 4; Mot., ECF 18-3. The Court ordered 20 that notice be given to Defendants and held a motion hearing on June 10, 2021. 21 22 As set forth below, Perera’s motion is GRANTED. Respondents-Defendants, and their 23 agents and employees, are ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE before this Court why a preliminary 24 injunction should not issue under the same terms as this temporary restraining order. The hearing 25 on the Order to Show Cause will be held on July 15, 2021 at 9:00 am. Briefing shall be submitted 26 as provided in the Order Granting Motion for Temporary Restraining Order. 27 The declarations and associated exhibits of Judah Lakin and Scott Mossman establish the 1 2 following facts. See Lakin Decl., ECF 1-1; Mossman Decl., ECF 18-1. Perera was born in Sri Lanka 3 in 1990 to Marian and Prince Perera. Perera and his family came to the United States in 2002 based 4 on his mother’s H-1B visa. Mossman Decl. ¶ 4. Along with the rest of his family, Perera adjusted 5 to lawful permanent resident status in 2007. Id. ¶ 5. His parents became U.S. citizens in 2012. Id. 6 On May 21, 2010, Perera was convicted in the Superior Court of California, County of Placer, for 7 transportation of a controlled substance in violation of California Health and Safety Code § 8 11379(a). Id. ¶ 6. On August 18, 2010, Mr. Perera and ten co-defendants were indicted on federal 9 10 controlled substances charges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Id. On 11 March 20, 2015, Perera pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 12 MDMA and BZP in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). Id. ¶ 7. Because Perera had spent 13 nearly five years in custody at that point, the court ordered him released at the time of the plea. Id. 14 On September 10, 2015, the court sentenced Perera to 50 months with credit for time served and a 15 term of supervised release of 36 months. Id. 16 The past six years have proved transformative for Perera. He has successfully completed 17 18 probation and avoided further criminal arrests or charges. Perera Decl. ¶¶ 13-15; Lakin Decl. at Ex. 19 F (Letter from Probation Officer). He has pursued a college education, studying real estate and 20 business administration, while working full-time. Perera Decl. ¶ 16; Lakin Decl. at Ex. K (Sierra 21 College Transcript), Ex. L (Letter from counselor at Sierra College), Ex. Q (Letter from program 22 technician at Sierra College). He has climbed the ranks at Safeway, earning five promotions in four 23 years and ultimately becoming a store director responsible for 130 employees. Perera Decl. ¶ 17- 24 25 19. He has committed himself to spiritual development and devotion as well as his church 26 community. Perera Decl. ¶¶ 13, 30; Lakin Decl. at Ex. C (Letter from Marian and Prince Perera); 27 Lakin Decl. at Ex. M (Letter from Perera’s Priest). He is engaged to a U.S. citizen, who is pregnant so his son would have somewhere “safe and secure” to grow up. Perera Decl. ¶ 18. As Perera 1 2 explains: “I now know that time is the one thing you can’t get back and I have lived my life every 3 day since being released from federal custody with that understanding.” Perera Decl. ¶ 15. 4 On April 21, 2021, ICE took Perera into custody and initiated removal proceedings. 5 Mossman Decl. ¶ 8. Since then, ICE has detained Perera at Golden State Annex, a private detention 6 facility in McFarland, California. Id. ICE refused Perera the opportunity to post a bond for release 7 from custody during the removal proceedings. Id. ¶¶ 8, 15. On May 25, 2021, Perera denied the 8 charge of removability against him. Id. ¶ 13. If the immigration judge ultimately sustains the charge 9 10 of removability, Perera intends to apply for withholding of removal to Sri Lanka pursuant to INA § 11 241(b)(3), 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3) and the Convention Against Torture, and deferral of removal under 12 the Convention Against Torture. Id. ¶ 14; see also Perera Decl. ¶ 31. In particular, country conditions 13 research indicates that Sri Lankan government officials incite and acquiesce in violence against 14 Christians. Id. 15 On June 1, 2021, Perera filed the petition, complaint, and instant motion for a temporary 16 restraining order. ECF 1; ECF 4. The same day, the Court issued an order directing Defendants to 17 18 respond to the motion and directing Perera to serve Defendants with notice of the order via email. 19 See ECF 8. Plaintiff has confirmed service as authorized. ECF 9. On June 7, 2021, Defendants filed 20 an opposition brief. Opp., ECF 20. On June 8, 2021, with permission of the Court, Perera filed a 21 reply brief. Reply, ECF 22. 22 II. JURISDICTION 23 The Court first considers whether jurisdiction lies within this district. ICE is currently 24 25 detaining Perera at the Golden State Annex facility in McFarland, CA. Golden State Annex is a 26 private facility that falls within the area of responsibility of the San Francisco Field Office of ICE 27 Enforcement and Removal Operations. Respondent-Defendant Jennings is the Field Office Director In Rumsfeld v. Padilla, the Supreme Court applied the “immediate custodian rule” to a 1 2 habeas petition filed by a U.S. citizen detained in military custody in South Carolina. 542 U.S. 430- 3 432 (2004). The immediate custodian rule is the long-held “default rule” that the proper respondent 4 to a habeas petition challenging present physical confinement “is the warden of the facility where 5 [a] prisoner is being held, not the Attorney General or some other remote supervisory official.” Id. 6 at 435–39. Padilla refused to decide who the proper respondent is in the immigration detention 7 context, however. 8 “Courts in this district repeatedly have held, both before and since Lopez-Marroquin,1 that 9 10 Padilla does not extend to cases such as this one where the immediate custodian lacks any actual 11 authority over the immigrant detainee.” Domingo v. Barr, No. 20-CV-06089-YGR, 2020 WL 12 5798238, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 29, 2020). This Court concurs with the approach taken by Judge 13 Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Domingo as well as other courts in and beyond this district. See, e.g., 14 Montoya Echeverria v. Barr, No. 20-CV-02917-JSC, 2020 WL 2759731, at *3-4 (N.D. Cal. May 15 27, 2020); Zepeda Rivas v. Jennings, No. 20-CV-02731-VC, 2020 WL 2059848, at *2 (N.D. Cal. 16 April 29, 2020); Rodriguez Sanchez v. Decker, No. 18-CV-8798 (AJN), 2019 WL 3840977, at *2 17 18 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 15, 2019); Saravia v. Sessions, 280 F. Supp. 3d 1168, 1187 (N.D. Cal. 2017). As 19 such, this Court has subject matter jurisdiction and may grant relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. 20 III.

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