United States ex rel. Stellas v. Esperdy

250 F. Supp. 85, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6404
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 2, 1966
StatusPublished

This text of 250 F. Supp. 85 (United States ex rel. Stellas v. Esperdy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States ex rel. Stellas v. Esperdy, 250 F. Supp. 85, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6404 (S.D.N.Y. 1966).

Opinion

„ FREDERICK van PELT BRYAN, District Judge:

Relator Stellas petitions for habeas corpus claiming that he is illegally detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for summary deportation.

Stellas, a native and subject of Greece, arrived in New York on June 23, 1961, as a member of the crew of the M/T Andreas. He was found to be in need of medical treatment and was paroled for that purpose under the provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d) (5),1 *and the applicable regulation.2 Upon expiration of his parole period Stellas absconded and remained at large until July 11, 1963, when be surrendered himself to immigration officials in New York City,

In the interim, however, Stellas had married an American citizen, Nancy Arnold> in New York on January 15, 1962. a child was born of this marriage on June 12 of that year, and at the time of Stellas’s surrender on July 11, 1963, his wife was expecting a second child.

In view of the famÜy Situati°n thG Immigration and Naturalization Service re.paroled Stellas to afford him an opportunity to adjust his immigrant status. 0n July 25, 1963, Stellas’s wife filed a visa petition with the District Director pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1155(b) 3 in order j.0 accord her husband nonquota immigrant status under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a) (27) (A).4 The petition was approved on August 4,1963, see 8 U.S.C. § 1155(c), [87]*87and forwarded to the American Consulate at Caracas, Venezuela, where Stellas was to perfect his nonquota status.5 However, for the following two years Stellas did nothing to pursue actively his application in Caracas. This procrastination was claimed to be due to financial difficulties. Under the circumstances the parole period was extended from time to time by the Immigration Service. The most recent extension was to expire on March 16,1966.

However, on November 10, 1965, Mrs. Stellas filed a written statement with the Service withdrawing the visa petition she had previously filed on behalf of her husband. Thereupon on November 18 the Service notified Stellas that his parole had been revoked pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d) (5). Stellas appeared voluntarily, and on November 19 he had been taken to the airport for deportation when this writ issued.

On December 6 Mrs. Stellas filed a new petition, apparently in response to pressure from her husband’s friends. But on December 15 she withdrew this petition, as well, when she appeared at the office of the Service for further questioning.

Relator Stellas first contends that the summary revocation of his parole without a hearing denies due process, or at least constitutes an abuse of administrative discretion which would justify granting the writ.

The power of Congress to determine the conditions under which aliens may enter and remain in the United States is beyond question. Shaughnessy v. United States ex rel. Mezei, 345 U.S. 206, 73 S.Ct. 625, 97 L.Ed. 956 (1953); United States ex rel. Knauff v. Shaughnessy, 338 U.S. 537, 70 S.Ct. 309, 94 L.Ed. 317 (1950). Section 212(d) (5) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d) (5), states unequivocally that parole “shall not be regarded as an admission of the alien” and that after his return to custody “his case shall continue to be dealt with in the same manner as that of any other applicant for admission to the United States.” Thus parole functions simply as a device to avoid the necessity of needless confinement. See Leng May Ma v. Barber, 357 U.S. 185, 190, 78 S.Ct. 1072, 2 L.Ed.2d 1246 (1958); Licea-Gomez v. Pilliod, 193 F.Supp. 577 (N.D.Ill.1960). In legal fiction the parolee is treated as if he were “stopped at the boundary line.” Kaplan v. Tod, 267 U.S. 228, 230, 45 S.Ct. 257, 69 L.Ed. 585 (1925); see Leng May Ma v. Barber, supra; Rogers v. Quan, 357 U.S. 193, 78 S.Ct. 1076, 2 L.Ed.2d 1252 (1958).

As a result an alien paroled under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d) (5.) cannot claim the procedural protections — including a full hearing on revocation — -which are generally afforded to those who have already gained admission to the country, whether legally or illegally.6 This is not to say that summary revocation of parole will never amount to a deprivation of due process. See United States ex rel. Paktorovics v. Murff, 260 F.2d 610 (2 Cir. 1958); Hart & Wechsler, The Federal Courts and the Federal System 328-35 (1953); cf. Note, Deportation and Exclusion: A Continuing Dialogue Between Congress and Courts, 71 Yale L.J. 760, 788 n. 136 (1962). Indeed, the legal fiction strains credulity where, as here, one “stopped at the boundary line” has nevertheless managed to marry and to father two children in the United States.

However, the Second Circuit has squarely held that an alien on temporary parole is not entitled — either as a matter [88]*88of statutory interpretation 7 or constitutional due process — to a hearing on the revocation of his parole precedent to deportation from the country. Wong Hing Fun v. Esperdy, 335 F.2d 656 (2 Cir. 1964), cert. den., Ng Sui Sang v. Esperdy, 379 U.S. 970, 85 S.Ct. 667, 13 L.Ed.2d 562 (1965); see Ahrens v. Rojas, 292 F.2d 406 (5 Cir. 1961) (same). And this conclusion was reaffirmed in United States ex rel. Lam Hai Cheung v. Esperdy, 345 F.2d 989 (2 Cir. 1965), where the court held that a medical parolee who had overstayed his temporary parole stood in no better position with respect to a hearing.

Under the present circumstances relator’s contention that constitutional rights are infringed by a failure to afford an alien parolee a hearing on the question of the revocation of his parole is untenable. Stellas’s parole was terminated because his wife1 withdrew the visa petition which was the only avenue available for adjusting his immigrant status. Since the purpose for the parole no longer existed, the revocation was in full conformity with statutory requirements, and under the case law no hearing was required. Compare Brownell v.

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Related

Kaplan v. Tod
267 U.S. 228 (Supreme Court, 1925)
United States Ex Rel. Knauff v. Shaughnessy
338 U.S. 537 (Supreme Court, 1950)
Shaughnessy v. United States Ex Rel. Mezei
345 U.S. 206 (Supreme Court, 1953)
Brownell v. Tom We Shung
352 U.S. 180 (Supreme Court, 1956)
Leng May Ma v. Barber
357 U.S. 185 (Supreme Court, 1958)
Rogers v. Quan
357 U.S. 193 (Supreme Court, 1958)
Licea-Gomez v. Pilliod
193 F. Supp. 577 (N.D. Illinois, 1960)
Scalzo v. Hurney
225 F. Supp. 560 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1963)
United States ex rel Paktorovics v. Murff
260 F.2d 610 (Second Circuit, 1958)
Pankey v. Hiram Walker & Sons, Inc.
167 F. Supp. 609 (S.D. Illinois, 1958)
United States ex rel. Lam Hai Cheung v. Esperdy
345 F.2d 989 (Second Circuit, 1965)

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Bluebook (online)
250 F. Supp. 85, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6404, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-ex-rel-stellas-v-esperdy-nysd-1966.