Tenorio-Serrano v. Driscoll

324 F. Supp. 3d 1053
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedJuly 5, 2018
DocketNo. CV-18-08075-PCT-DGC (BSB)
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 324 F. Supp. 3d 1053 (Tenorio-Serrano v. Driscoll) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tenorio-Serrano v. Driscoll, 324 F. Supp. 3d 1053 (D. Ariz. 2018).

Opinion

Plaintiff Guillermo Tenorio-Serrano is in custody on a DUI charge in Coconino County, Arizona. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency ("ICE") has determined that Plaintiff is not lawfully present in the United States and has issued a detainer and administrative warrant for his arrest, which could lead to his removal from the country. Plaintiff brings this lawsuit against Coconino County Sheriff James Driscoll, Coconino County Jail Commander Matt Figueroa, the Coconino County Jail District, and members of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, challenging their policy of holding persons in state custody for up to 48 additional hours as requested in ICE detainers and warrants. Plaintiff asks the Court to preliminarily enjoin the Sheriff's Office and the Coconino County Detention Facility ("CCDF") from detaining him on the ICE warrant after he posts bail or resolves his state charges. Doc. 14. Plaintiff's preliminary injunction motion is fully briefed, and the Court heard oral argument on June 28, 2018. Doc. 56. For the reasons that follow, the Court will deny the request for a preliminary injunction.

I. Facts.

On December 11, 2017, Plaintiff was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence in violation of Arizona misdemeanor statutes and was confined in CCDF as a pretrial detainee. Doc. 18 ¶ 2. On December 12, 2017, the Flagstaff Justice Court set Plaintiff's bail at $2,000. Id. ¶ 3. The bail was the only condition of Plaintiff's release. Id. ¶ 118. The same day, Plaintiff's sister visited CCDF to inquire whether Plaintiff would be released if the $2,000 bail was posted. Id. ¶ 120. A CCDF employee told her that payment of the bail would not result in Plaintiff's release because an ICE detainer had been lodged against him. Id. ¶ 121. On December 15, 2017, Joseph Breckinridge offered to post Plaintiff's bail with a personal credit card, and was told by a CCDF employee that while it typically takes pre-trial detainees one hour to be released after bail is posted, Plaintiff would be held for up to 48 hours due to an "ICE hold." Id. ¶¶ 122-28. Given this statement, Mr. Breckinridge did not tender Plaintiff's bail. Id. ¶ 130.

A Sheriff's Detention Facility Policy and Procedure effective since 2008, and revised on July 28, 2017, provides that upon reasonable suspicion that an inmate in the facility is unlawfully present in the United States, CCDF staff must notify the Detention Removal Office ("DRO"), a subsidiary of ICE, and have the inmate speak to the DRO over the telephone. Doc. 18-1 at 1. If the DRO determines that the inmate is in the country illegally, ICE will fax two forms to CCDF to be placed in the inmate's file: a Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") Form I-247A Notice of Action - Immigration Detainer ("detainer"), and either a DHS Form I-200 Warrant for Arrest of Alien or a DHS Form I-205 Warrant of Removal/Deportation ("ICE warrant"). Id. A hold will then be placed in the inmate's file, and, when the inmate posts bail or resolves his state charges, detention staff will notify the DRO. Id. at 1-2.

The policy further provides that "the detainer will remain in effect and the inmate will remain in custody until" (1) the DRO or ICE sends a Form I-247A release notifying CCDF to remove the detainer, (2) ICE takes custody of the inmate, or (3) the "detainer period" expires. Id. at 2. The detainer period "commences when the local or state criminal justice agency has no *1058other legal basis for continuing the detention[,]" and "shall not exceed 48 hours." Id. "In the event DHS/ICE fails to assume actual physical custody of the detainee within 48 hours of the onset of the federal detainer (including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) the detainee must be released." Id.

On December 12, 2017, ICE officials in Phoenix, Arizona became aware that Plaintiff was in the custody of the Sheriff and faxed two documents to CCDF: a Form I-247A detainer and a Form I-200 ICE warrant. Doc. 18 ¶¶ 82-83; Doc. 18-4. The detainer is signed by an ICE deportation officer and states that there exists probable cause to believe that Plaintiff is a removable alien based on "[s]tatements made by the alien to an immigration officer and/or other reliable evidence." Doc. 18-4 at 1. It is addressed to CCDF, and requests that CCDF maintain custody of Plaintiff for a period not to exceed 48 hours beyond the time he would otherwise be released. Id. The ICE warrant is signed by Barry Jansen, an authorized immigration officer, and is addressed to "any immigration officer authorized pursuant to Sections 236 and 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and part 287 of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations, to serve warrants of arrest for immigration violations." Id. at 2. Neither the Sheriff's Office nor CCDF has a written "287(g)" agreement with the federal government. Doc. 18 ¶ 98; see 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g).

Plaintiff argues that the Sheriff's policy of continuing to hold pre-trial detainees after they have satisfied all conditions for release on their state charges is unlawful because the Sheriff lacks authority under state and federal law to detain on the basis of an ICE warrant and detainer, and such detention violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article II, § 8 of the Arizona Constitution. Doc. 14. Plaintiff seeks a preliminary injunction ordering Defendants to release him immediately upon posting of his $2,000 bail. Id. Defendants oppose the request for injunctive relief (Docs. 22, 28), as does the United States, which has filed a detailed statement of interest pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 517 and 518 (Doc. 41).

II. Legal Standard.

"A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy never awarded as a matter of right." Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc. , 555 U.S. 7, 24, 129 S.Ct. 365, 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008). To obtain a preliminary injunction, a plaintiff must show "that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest." Id. at 20, 129 S.Ct. 365 ; see also All.

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Bluebook (online)
324 F. Supp. 3d 1053, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tenorio-serrano-v-driscoll-azd-2018.