Compere v. Riordan
Compere v. Riordan
Opinion of the Court
This case arises out of removal proceedings brought against Patrice Compere ("Compere"). Compere and his mother, Marly Compere Bernado, also known as Marly Brizard ("Brizard" or collectively "plaintiffs"), filed a complaint against the Department of Homeland Security and various officers and officials of the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (the "USCIS") and Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") (collectively "defendants") alleging that they have unlawfully deprived Compere the opportunity to adjudicate his application for adjustment of status. Specifically, plaintiffs submit that defendants violated the Administrative Procedure Act,
Plaintiffs seek a writ of mandamus to compel the USCIS to adjudicate Compere's application for adjustment of status nunc pro tunc to April, 2004, when the USCIS first failed to produce the necessary documentation to plaintiffs for that application. On March 20, 2019, this Court entered an order denying plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction (Docket No. 26). For the reasons that follow, the Court will now allow defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
I. Background
For a recitation of the facts of this case and the parties' arguments relevant thereto, *165see the Court's prior order on plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction.
II. Motion to Dismiss
A. Legal Standard
To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to "state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly,
Neither party has addressed the standard for granting a writ of mandamus. The First Circuit Court of Appeals has, however, explained that a writ of mandamus is an extraordinary remedy in which the plaintiff must demonstrate 1) a clear and indisputable right to issuance of the writ, 2) no other adequate source of relief such that without such issuance the plaintiff is subject to "irreparable harm" and 3) the equities, on balance, favor issuance of the writ. In re Bulger,
reserved for the immediate correction of acts or omissions by the district court amounting to an usurpation of power.
In re Tsarnaev,
B. Application
As explained in this Court's prior order denying plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, plaintiffs have not established that they have a clear and indisputable right to the ultimate relief sought. The relevant caselaw is unclear as to whether this Court has the authority to compel the USCIS to accept and adjudicate Compere's application to adjust his immigration status nunc pro tunc to April, 2004.
Furthermore, plaintiff's complaint does not seek review of the exercise of the discretionary authority of this or any other adjudicatory forum for which a writ of mandamus is intended. See In re Tsarnaev,
ORDER
Accordingly, defendants' motion to dismiss (Docket No. 20) is ALLOWED and defendants' earlier motion to dismiss (Docket No. 13) is DENIED as moot .
So ordered.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Patrice COMPERE and Marly Compere Bernado v. Denis RIORDAN, Lee Francis Cissna, the Department of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen and Todd Lyons
- Status
- Published