Senbin Hou v. ICE Field Office Director

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT AT SEATTLE SENBIN HOU, CASE NO. C26-1828-KKE

Petitioner(s), ORDER ON MOTION TO APPEAR AS v. NEXT FRIEND AND MOTION TO EXTEND THE DEADLINE FOR FILING ICE FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, PETITIONER’S TRAVERSE

Respondent(s).

Petitioner’s fiancé, Tiara Collier, moved for permission to file Petitioner’s traverse on his behalf as his “next friend.” Dkt. No. 10. Subsequently, Petitioner filed a slightly different traverse and a motion to extend the deadline for filing the traverse, which had passed several weeks ago. Dkt. Nos. 11, 12. To litigate on behalf of another as their “next friend,” a third party must provide, among other things, “an adequate explanation—such as inaccessibility, mental incompetence, or other disability—why the real party in interest cannot appear on his own behalf to prosecute the action.” Dennis ex rel. Butko v. Budge, 378 F.3d 880, 888 (9th Cir. 2004) (quoting Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 163–164 (1990)). Here, Petitioner has appeared in this action and prosecuted it by, among other things, filing his own traverse. Ms. Collier’s motion (Dkt. No. 10) is therefore DENIED. The Court will consider the traverse filed by Petitioner (Dkt. No. 12) rather than the one filed by Ms. Collier (Dkt. No. 10-1) (although the two make similar arguments). Petitioner’s motion to extend the time to file his traverse explains that, due to delays in mailing and receiving documents in immigration detention, Petitioner was unable to meet his traverse deadline. Petitioner has demonstrated good cause to extend the deadline, and his motion (Dkt. No. 11) is

therefore GRANTED. The petition is now fully briefed, and the Court will resolve it as soon as practicable. The Clerk is DIRECTED to re-note the Government’s return (Dkt. No. 6) to July 21, 2026. Dated this 21st day of July, 2026. A Kymberly K. Evanson United S tates District Judge