Santas Reyes Avila Garcia v. Kristi Noem et al.

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedNovember 20, 2025
Docket3:25-cv-06008
StatusUnknown

This text of Santas Reyes Avila Garcia v. Kristi Noem et al. (Santas Reyes Avila Garcia v. Kristi Noem et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Santas Reyes Avila Garcia v. Kristi Noem et al., (W.D. Wash. 2025).

Opinion

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5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA 9 10 SANTAS REYES AVILA GARCIA, CASE NO. 3:25-cv-06008-DGE 11 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S 12 v. MOTION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER (DKT. NO. 13 KRISTI NOEM et al., 2) 14 Defendants. 15

16 Plaintiff is subject to a final order of removal. On August 26, 2025, Plaintiff submitted a 17 T Visa application with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). 18 Notwithstanding, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) detained Plaintiff on 19 September 15, 2025 and now seeks to enforce the removal order. 20 On November 11, 2025, Plaintiff filed a complaint asserting two causes of action: 21 Mandamus and Violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”). Plaintiff asserts 22 Defendants have unreasonably delayed the adjudication of Plaintiff’s T visa application. She 23 seeks a judgment (1) declaring Defendants have unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed 24 1 adjudication of Plaintiff’s T visa application and (2) ordering Defendants to adjudicate or issue a 2 bona fide determination pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 214.205(a) within 30 days or within a reasonable 3 period of time. (Dkt. No. 1 at 12.) 4 Plaintiff now moves the Court for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) staying

5 Plaintiff’s removal from the United States pending the Court’s decision on her Mandamus and 6 APA claims. (Dkt. No. 2 at 7.) For the reasons discussed herein, Plaintiff’s motion is DENIED. 7 I. BACKGROUND 8 Plaintiff is a native of Guatemala. (Dkt. No. 9 at 2.) Plaintiff last entered the United 9 States in the early-1990s. (Id.) Plaintiff applied for and was denied asylum. (Id.) After failing 10 to appear at an immigration court proceeding, Plaintiff was ordered removed in absentia on 11 October 30, 1997. (Id.) ICE arrested Plaintiff in Yakima, Washington on December 6, 2007. 12 (Id.) Plaintiff filed a motion to reopen her immigration proceedings on December 12, 2007, and 13 the motion was granted on January 11, 2008. (Id.) Plaintiff then filed for cancellation of 14 removal. (Id.) On April 24, 2009, an immigration judge denied Plaintiff cancellation of removal

15 because she did not have the requisite ten years of physical presence in the United States 16 necessary for relief. (Id.) Plaintiff was then granted voluntary departure on May 21, 2009. (Id.) 17 Plaintiff did not depart, and the order became a final order of removal. (Id.) Plaintiff then filed 18 another motion to reopen on August 11, 2009. (Id.) On October 26, 2009, the order was denied. 19 (Id.) Plaintiff appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). (Id.) The BIA denied her 20 appeal on June 19, 2012 and her motion to reconsider on November 21, 2012. (Id. at 3.) 21 Plaintiff filed a Form I-914 Application for T Nonimmigrant Status on August 26, 2025. 22 (Dkt. No. 2-1 at 1.) On September 4, 2025, Plaintiff’s request for a stay of removal was filed, 23

24 1 but it was denied.1 (Id. at 2.) Plaintiff reported to the Richland, Washington ICE office on 2 September 15, 2025 where she was taken into custody and then transferred to Northwest ICE 3 Processing Center (“NWIPC”) for removal. (Id.; Dkt. No. 9 at 3.) Plaintiff remains detained. 4 On November 11, 2025, Plaintiff received a notice she would be removed “imminently.”

5 (Dkt. No. 2-1 at 2.) Plaintiff’s husband had received a similar letter the day prior; he was 6 transferred to El Paso, Texas on either November 10, 2025 or November 11, 2025. (Id.) On 7 November 11, 2025, Plaintiff filed her complaint and moved for a TRO. (Dkt. Nos. 1, 2.) On 8 November 12, 2025, the Court conditionally granted Plaintiff’s TRO enjoining Defendants from 9 transferring or removing her from NWIPC until the TRO was adjudicated. (Dkt. No. 7.)2 As of 10 November 18, 2025, Defendants had not responded to Plaintiff’s request for a T visa bona fide 11 determination. 12 II. DISCUSSION 13 A. Legal Standard 14 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(b) governs the issuance of a TRO. “The legal

15 standard for a TRO is substantially identical to the standard for a preliminary injunction.” 16 Facebook, Inc. v. BrandTotal Ltd., 499 F. Supp. 3d 720, 732 (N.D. Cal. 2020). To obtain 17 injunctive relief, the moving party must show: (1) a likelihood of success on the merits; (2) a 18 likelihood of irreparable harm to the moving party in the absence of preliminary relief; (3) that 19 the balance of equities tips in favor of the moving party; and (4) that an injunction is in the 20

21 1 Plaintiff asserts it was denied, but a copy of the denial decision was not provided. At oral argument on November 18, 2025, counsel for the Defendants stated she requested information 22 about Plaintiff’s stay request but was uncertain as to the final outcome. 2 Plaintiff was briefly transported to another detention facility prior to the Court’s November 12, 23 2025 provisional order. The Parties confirmed Plaintiff has since been returned to the NWIPC and remains in detention. 24 1 public interest. Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008). Generally, a TRO 2 is “an extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is 3 entitled to such relief.” Id. at 22. The moving party has the burden of persuasion. Hill v. 4 McDonough, 547 U.S. 573, 584 (2006). The third and fourth “factors merge when the

5 Government is the opposing party.” Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 435 (2009). 6 The Ninth Circuit has also articulated an alternative “sliding scale” approach pursuant to 7 which the first and third Winter factors are analyzed on a continuum; under such standard, a 8 weaker showing on the merits, combined with a stronger demonstration on the balancing test, 9 might warrant preliminary injunctive relief, assuming the second and fourth Winter elements are 10 met. Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1131–1135 (9th Cir. 2011). 11 Under this “sliding scale” method, the movant need only raise “serious questions going to the 12 merits,” but the balance of hardships must tip “sharply” in the movant’s favor. Id. at 1131–1132; 13 see also Farris v. Seabrook, 677 F.3d 858, 864 (9th Cir. 2012). 14 B. Jurisdiction

15 The Defendants challenge the Court’s authority to hear Plaintiff’s claims asserting that 16 the Court “lacks jurisdiction to halt the execution of a valid order of removal.” (Dkt. No. 8 at 6.) 17 Defendants argue 8 U.S.C. §§ 1252(a)(5), (b)(9), and (g) bar jurisdiction. 18 1. 8 U.S.C. 1252(g) 19 In general, “no court shall have jurisdiction to hear any cause or claim by or on behalf of 20 any alien arising from the decision or action by the Attorney General to commence proceedings, 21 adjudicate cases, or execute removal orders against any alien.” 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g). However, 22 where a plaintiff’s claim “instead constitute[s] general collateral challenges to unconstitutional 23 practices and policies used by the agency,” § 1252(g) will not bar jurisdiction. Barahona-Gomez

24 1 v.

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