German Najera v. United States
Opinion
German Hernandez Najera, a foreign national from Honduras, claims that he was falsely imprisoned by federal immigration authorities. The district court entered summary judgment for the United States. We affirm.
I.
Najera first entered the United States in 1998. He received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2000. 1
In 2012, Najera left the United States, without permission from federal immigration authorities, to visit his parents in Honduras. He returned to the United States about seven months later, at a place other than one designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security. At that time, Border Patrol agents arrested him and sent him to the McAllen Border Station for further processing. There, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a warrant of arrest and notice to appear and served Najera with these documents while he was in custody.
See
CBP held Najera from the time of his initial arrest until his transfer to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 17, 2013. ICE held Najera in custody for twenty-three days, while awaiting confirmation that Najera's criminal history was clear and that his TPS was still current. On July 10, 2013, ICE released Najera with instructions to report to the ICE office in Fairfax, Virginia, on July 31, 2013. ICE filed the notice to appear with the Arlington Immigration Court in Arlington, Virginia, on July 12, 2013-two days after his release.
Najera filed this suit in the Eastern District of Virginia under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), claiming, inter alia , false imprisonment. The court transferred the claims arising out of the events that took place in Texas to the Southern District of Texas, where the district court granted summary judgment to the United States on all claims.
Najera appeals only his false imprisonment claim. On appeal, the United States argues that the district court lacked jurisdiction to review Najera's false imprisonment claim under both
II.
The government first argues that § 1252(g) precludes jurisdiction in this case. We disagree. This section states that "no court shall have jurisdiction to hear any cause or claim by or on behalf of any alien arising from the decision or action by the Attorney General to commence proceedings, adjudicate cases, or execute removal orders against any alien under this chapter."
The government next argues that the district court lacked jurisdiction under § 1226(e) to hear this case. Again, we disagree. Section 1226(e) generally bars jurisdiction in cases challenging the Attorney General's discretionary judgment to detain aliens pending removal proceedings:
The Attorney General's discretionary judgment regarding the application of this section shall not be subject to review. No court may set aside any action or decision by the Attorney General under this section regarding the detention or release of any alien or the grant, revocation, or denial of bond or parole.
This court has likewise held that § 1226(e) "does not deprive us of all authority to review statutory and constitutional challenges."
Oyelude v. Chertoff
,
III.
We turn next to the merits of Najera's false imprisonment claim. We review a grant of summary judgment
de novo
.
Pierce v. Dep't of the Air Force
,
In order to establish a valid false imprisonment claim under Texas law, Najera must show: "(1) willful detention, (2) without consent, and (3) without authority of law."
Davila v. United States
,
"The plaintiff must prove the absence of authority in order to establish the third element of a false imprisonment cause of action."
Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Castillo
,
The district court correctly determined that the Border Patrol and ICE agents acted with authority of law. Najera illegally entered the United States, and Border Patrol agents lawfully apprehended him at that time. Najera's signature appears on both the arrest warrant and notice to appear issued by CBP prior to his detention. In light of these undisputed facts, Najera did not meet his burden to show that the Border Patrol and ICE agents lacked authority of law to arrest and detain him.
* * *
For these reasons, we affirm.
TPS allows eligible persons from certain countries designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security to live and work temporarily in the United States, due to certain conditions in their home country such as ongoing armed conflict and environmental disaster. 8 U.S.C. § 1254a.
See also
In
Jennings
, Justice Breyer, joined by Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor, dissented on the ground that, unlike the plurality, they would have granted the relief sought by plaintiffs-suggesting that they agreed with the plurality that the district court properly exercised jurisdiction to decide the case.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- German Hernandez NAJERA, Plaintiff-Appellant v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant-Appellee
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published