Chacoty v. Tillerson
Chacoty v. Tillerson
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiffs are eighteen Israeli citizens
Plaintiffs filed this action against the United States, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and other State Department officials (collectively, "the Department") asserting claims under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. They contend that the State Department applied an impermissibly strict interpretation of the term "residence" in denying their applications, which is contrary to the plain terms of § 1401(c) ; that the Department departed from its prior, longstanding interpretation of the statute without following the requirements of the APA and the Department's Foreign Affairs Manual; and that the Department has not applied its new reading of the statute consistently nor embodied that reading in Department "policy."
The Department moves to dismiss on four grounds. Its principal contention is that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction because Plaintiffs' sole remedy lies in
As explained below, the Court concludes that for the most part, it has subject matter jurisdiction because Plaintiffs' claims arise under federal law and fall within the APA's waiver of sovereign immunity; it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the claims of four Plaintiffs, which are time barred; and the Department's limited challenges to the factual specificity of Plaintiffs' individual APA claims and due process claims are unpersuasive. The Court will, accordingly, GRANT the Department's motion to dismiss in part and DENY it in part.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Statutory Framework
"The general rules for acquiring U.S. citizenship are found in
Congress has charged the Secretary of State with "the administration and the enforcement of ... immigration and nationality laws relating to ... the determination of nationality of a person not in the United States."
In addition to prescribing conditions for birthright citizenship, the Immigration and Nationality Act provides a remedy for anyone who is denied a "right or privilege" by the federal government on "the ground that [s]he is not a national of the United States."
If the aggrieved party is "not within the United States," however, her route to relief under § 1503 is more difficult. Her starting point is § 1503(b), which permits an aggrieved party to apply for a "certificate of identity" from the U.S. diplomatic or consular officer in the country in which she resides.
B. Factual Background
Plaintiffs' Third Amended Complaint,
Of the nineteen Plaintiffs, sixteen are minor Israeli citizens from nine different families who reside in Israel and applied for CRBAs. See Dkt. 28 at 5-8 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2-11, 14-20). Their requests were rejected by officials at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem; the earliest denial occurred in November 2007, the latest in April 2016. Id. at 10-11 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 33, 39, 44). Two additional Plaintiffs, Kayla and Chana Sitzman, are Israeli citizens residing in Israel whose CRBAs were revoked. Id. at 7, 10 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 12-13, 32). The Consulate General cancelled both CRBAs in August 2010. Id. at 10 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 34-35). After the Sitzmans timely appealed, the State Department affirmed the revocations in February 2012. Id. at 10 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 34-35). The final Plaintiff, Kenton Manning, is a Canadian citizen residing in Canada. Id. at 8 (Am. Compl. ¶ 21). Manning's "claim to U.S. [c]itizenship" was denied in July 2006. Id. at 11-12 (Am. Compl. ¶ 45). The State Department affirmed the decision in May 2007. Id. at 12 (Am. Compl. ¶ 46).
According to the complaint, each Plaintiff's CRBA was either not approved or revoked based on the State Department's conclusion that neither of the applicant's parents satisfied § 1401(c)'s residency requirement. Id. at 10 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 32-33). Although the complaint does not set forth the rationales or decisions provided by the State Department in each case, it provides the following "example[s]." Id. at 13 (Am. Compl. ¶ 49).
First, in denying the application submitted on behalf of the three Chacoty children, the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem concluded that "[t]he activities described in [the] affidavits [submitted with the application] are the normal activities in which a person engages while on visit. There is no indication that the United States was ever the place of general abode." Id. (Am. Compl. ¶ 49). Second, in denying the application submitted on behalf of the Spector child, the Consulate General wrote, "Based on a thorough review of the information contained in your application ... it has been determined that your child did not acquire citizenship at birth because neither [parent] had a 'residence' in the United States prior to the child's birth." Id. (Am. Compl. ¶ 50). Third, in revoking the CRBAs issued to Chana and Kayla Sitzman, the State Department explained that "[t]he sole issue for decision at the revocation hearing was whether there was sufficient evidence ... that [their mother's] visits to the United States constituted residence," and the deciding official found that "the character of [her] visits to the United States d[id] not constitute 'residence' within the meaning of" § 1401(c). Id. (Am. Compl. ¶ 51). Finally, Plaintiffs attach to their complaint a letter from the Consul to the Consulate General rejecting the CRBA application of the Nachshon child, noting that the trips that his parents took to the United States before his birth never lasted longer than two months and concluding that those "short trips to the U.S. were visits and indicate [that they] never established a residence there." Dkt. 28-4 at 1.
According to Plaintiffs, the State Department's decisions denying their CRBA applications constitute a substantial departure from prior practice and, indeed, a departure from the practice at other embassies and consulates around the world. Until 2007, Plaintiffs assert, the Department "published and disseminated a fact sheet" explaining that "if both parents were [U.S.] citizens, they could transmit citizenship to their children provided that one of the parents could show one day of physical presence in the United States."
*300Dkt. 28-1 at 1; see Dkt. 28 at 32 (Am. Compl. Conclusion).
At some point, however, the Department adopted a new approach that requires more to establish "residence." This new approach is reflected in "updates" to the Department's Foreign Affairs Manual and in at least one administrative decision, which is also attached to the complaint. See Dkt. 28 at 15-16 (Am. Compl. ¶ 61-62); Dkt. 28-2 (final administrative decision). Under that new approach, the consular officer must "take[ ] into account the nature and quality of the person's connection to the place." Dkt. 28 at 15-16 (Am. Compl. ¶ 61) (quoting 7 FAM 1133.5(b)). As a result, more is required "than a temporary presence": "visits to the United States," without more, "are insufficient to establish residency for purposes of citizenship transmission under" § 1401(c). Id. (Am. Compl. ¶ 61) (quoting 7 FAM 1133.5(b)). Among other factors, the Department now considers whether the "person owns or rents property" and "the duration of [the] person's stay in a particular place in the United States." Id. (Am. Compl. ¶ 61) (quoting 7 FAM 1133.5(d), (f)); see also Dkt. 28-2 at 2 (final administrative decision) (noting that "[r]esidence is not determined solely by the length of time spent in a place, but also takes into account the nature and quality of the person's connection to the place," and that "[g]enerally, visits to the United States are insufficient," and, instead, the consular official must engage in "a close examination, on a case[-]by[-]case basis, of the facts related to one's stay in the United States").
The complaint alleges that the State Department further revised the relevant portions of the Foreign Affairs Manual on February 24, 2016. Dkt. 28 at 17 (Am. Compl. ¶ 66). The complaint does not, however, describe those revisions or whether or how they might bear on Plaintiffs' claims, all of which involve determinations made before February 24, 2016. Rather, the complaint merely asserts that these revisions demonstrate that the State Department's "interpretation" of § 1401(c) is a "moving target." Id. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 66).
Based on these allegations, Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief, including an order directing that the State Department issue CRBAs to all of the Plaintiffs, except Kenton Manning, "who should be issued a passport." Dkt. 28 at 33 (Prayer for Relief). This relief is warranted, in their view, for several reasons. They contend that the Department has misinterpreted § 1401(c) and has-at least implicitly-impermissibly read an "intent" standard into the statute. They also contend that the Department committed procedural errors in departing from its prior interpretation of the statute by failing (1) to engage in notice and comment rulemaking; (2) to follow the standards for revising the Foreign Affairs Manual set forth in the manual itself; and (3) to adopt a policy applicable to all consular offices. They conclude that, as a result of these errors, the Department has violated their rights under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
II. ANALYSIS
The Department moves to dismiss on multiple grounds. It argues that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction; that several claims are untimely; and that the complaint lacks sufficient detail to state a claim or to identify the proper defendants. The Court will consider each of these defenses in turn.
A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
The Court starts, as it must, with subject matter jurisdiction. See *301Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't ,
1. Affirmative Grant of Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Plaintiffs assert claims under the APA and the Due Process Clause. Because those claims are premised on federal law, Plaintiffs have properly invoked the Court's federal question jurisdiction.
2. Sovereign Immunity
Sovereign immunity is also "jurisdictional in nature" and, "[a]bsent a waiver, [it] shields the Federal Government and its agencies from suit." FDIC v. Meyer ,
Although Plaintiffs do not expressly address this issue, they at least hint that the APA,
Against this backdrop, the Court must answer two questions: "Does [ § 702 ] waive sovereign immunity with respect to [Plaintiffs'] claims, and does [some other statute] provide 'other limitations on judicial review' " or forbid the relief sought? Cohen ,
The answer to the second question, however, requires more extensive analysis; the Court must consider whether the proviso of § 702"takes away" what the preceding portion of § 702 grants. Harrison v. Bureau of Prisons ,
a.
The Department devotes the lion's share of its motion to its contention that § 1503 constitutes an exclusive remedy and thus impliedly forbids the relief sought by the Plaintiffs under other provisions of law. The Court is unpersuaded.
As explained above, § 1503 provides two paths to challenge the denial of a "right or privilege as a national of the United States" on the ground that the applicant "is not," in fact, "a national of the United States."
If the Department were correct that § 1503 establishes an exclusive remedy, the waiver of sovereign immunity contained *303in § 702 of the APA would be unavailable, and the Court would lack jurisdiction. See Sagar v. Lew ,
Nor is the Court convinced by the Department's efforts to distinguish Cort. It argues, first, that the plaintiff in Cort , unlike the Plaintiffs in this case, had been previously recognized by the United States as a citizen and, second, that there was a "near certainty" that the plaintiff in Cort would have been "arrested and prosecuted" if he had returned to the United States because of a pending indictment. Dkt. 34 at 7-8; see Cort ,
b. Section 704 of the APA
The Department also posits that another provision of the APA,
c. General Statute of Limitations
The Department advances one final theory for why the United States has not waived its sovereign immunity. Unlike its first two arguments, this one hits the mark-at least with respect to four of the Plaintiffs: the Mayerson child, the Shulem children, and Kenton Manning. Dkt. 31-1 at 46-47.
To decide which, if any, claims are barred, the Court must first determine when the claims accrued. Neither party grapples with this issue. The Department simply posits, without explanation, that the statute of limitations began to run when each of the CRBA applications was denied. See Dkt. 31-1 at 46-47. Plaintiffs, for their part, do not challenge that premise but, instead, argue that "any Plaintiffs who arguably fall outside of any applicable statutes *305of limitation[s] have reapplied, or are in the process of reapplying, for CRBAs, thus restarting any applicable clock." Dkt. 28 at 30 (Am. Compl. ¶ 93).
In the typical case, a right of action challenging administrative action accrues on the date of the final agency action. See Harris v. FAA ,
In some tension with its statute of limitations argument, the Department argues elsewhere in its brief that "the State Department's denial of CBRAs does not constitute final agency action." Dkt. 31-1 at 38. If true, that would mean that Plaintiffs' claims are premature-not that they are untimely. The Court, however, is unconvinced, at least on the present record, that the denial of a CBRA does not constitute a final agency action. The Department's argument to the contrary collapses back on its argument that § 1503 provides the exclusive remedy for the denial of a CRBA. It argues, in short, that the "denials of the CRBAs are an intermediate step in a regulatory and statutory structure that culminates in the process outlined in Section 1503"-that is, the process that requires one to obtain a certificate of identity, appear at the U.S. border, and seek entry. Id. at 39. But, for the reasons discussed above, the Court has already concluded that Plaintiffs are not required to proceed under § 1503 and that, in fact, they have not done so.
Were some other formal process of agency review required or permitted, that might well render Plaintiffs' claims premature. Neither party, however, has identified any such process. To be sure, the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual appears to permit an applicant's family to "submit additional evidence at any time" and to seek "reconsideration of the case." 7 FAM 1444.3-2(B)(7); see also 7 FAM 1445.9(b) ("No formal application or filing of an appeal need be taken when submitting such evidence."). But that process, at least as described in the quoted portions of the Foreign Affairs Manual, lacks the formality or structure required to postpone the finality of the denial of a CRBA; to the contrary, it permits the submission of additional evidence "at any time" and would, thus, delay final action indefinitely in most, if not all, cases.
Plaintiffs add their own twist, alleging that "any Plaintiffs who arguably fall outside of any applicable statute of limitations have reapplied, or are in the process of reapplying for CRBAs, thus restarting any applicable clock." Dkt. 28 at 30 (Compl. ¶ 93). Like the Department's argument, that argument is potentially self-defeating; to the extent those Plaintiffs are still pressing their claims before the State Department, they are not time-barred, but they are premature. Once again, however, the Court is unconvinced, at least on the present record, that Plaintiffs' claims remain inchoate. As the Supreme Court has observed:
[W]here a petition for reconsideration has been filed within a discretionary review *306period specifically provided by the agency (and within the period allotted for judicial review of the original order), ... the petition tolls the period for judicial review of the original order, which can therefore be appealed to the courts directly after the petition for reconsideration is denied.
I.C.C. v. Bhd. of Locomotive Eng'rs ,
The Court, accordingly, concludes that any Plaintiff who received a final denial (including the resolution of any administrative appeal) of his or her CRBA application before May 2, 2008, has not brought a timely challenge to that decision. The claims of the Mayerson Plaintiff (application denied on February 25, 2008) and the claims of the two Shulem Plaintiffs (applications denied on November 15, 2007) are thus untimely. Dkt. 28 at 11 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 39, 40). In addition, Kenton Manning's "claim to U.S. [c]itizenship" was initially denied on July 3, 2006, and affirmed by the State Department on May 24, 2007, and is, therefore, also untimely. Id. at 11-12 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 45-46).
The Court will, accordingly, dismiss the claims of the Mayerson Plaintiff, the Shulem Plaintiffs, and Kenton Manning for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
B. Adequacy of Complaint
1. Individual APA Claims
Although the Department raises a host of issues that it says deprive the Court of jurisdiction, its challenge to the legal sufficiency of Plaintiffs' claims on the merits is narrowly focused. It argues that, with the exception of the Sitzman Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs have failed "to allege any particularized facts relating to their parents' time in the United States or whether [one of their parents] had a residence in the United States before the birth of their children outside the United States." Dkt. 31-1 at 28. As a result, the Department concludes, Plaintiffs have not stated plausible claims for relief under any interpretation of § 1401(c)'s residency requirement. Id. at 27.
The complaint alleges that the Department denied Plaintiffs' applications for CRBAs "on [the] grounds that" the U.S. citizen parent did "not satisf[y]" the residency *307requirement of § 1401(c). Dkt. 28 at 12 (Am. Compl. ¶ 48). The complaint further asserts that the Department, "[i]n the denial letters," explained that the parents' "activities in the United States" were not "the activities of someone residing in the United States." Id. (Am. Compl. ¶ 48). These allegations permit the reasonable inference that at least one of the parents of each Plaintiff has, in fact, spent some period of time in the United States before the Plaintiff was born and that § 1401(c)'s other requirements were satisfied.
Because the thrust of the Department's motion to dismiss turns on the lack of factual specificity in the complaint, and not on the legal sufficiency of Plaintiffs' theory that a single day's presence in the United States is sufficient, the Court will deny the Department's motion and will leave for another day the question whether a single day or very brief visit is sufficient.
2. Due Process Claims
The Department notes that "it is unclear" whether Plaintiffs intend to assert their constitutional due process claims under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics ,
The Department has not raised any other objections to Plaintiffs' due process claims. The Court will, therefore, deny the Department's motion to dismiss these claims.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, it is hereby ORDERED that the Department's motion to dismiss, Dkt. 31, is hereby GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
SO ORDERED .
Technically, sixteen of these individuals are minors whose parents have brought this action on their behalf. See Dkt. 28 at 5-8 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2-11, 14-20). For the sake of concision, however, the Court uses the term "Plaintiffs" to denote the minors, not their parents.
For ease of reference, unless otherwise noted, the Court refers to the Third Amended Complaint simply as "the complaint."
Plaintiffs also contend that jurisdiction exists under the APA,
At the same time the Department argues that Plaintiffs have not brought any claims under § 1503, it argues that the Court should dismiss their (non-existent) § 1503 claims. The latter contention is without foundation. To be sure, Plaintiffs' opposition states that they are "willing ... to posit [§] 1503 as a plausible vehicle for this litigation," Dkt. 33-1 at 2, but their complaint does not, in fact, assert a cause of action under that statute. It goes without saying that the Court ought not adjudicate the merits of hypothetical claims that Plaintiffs could have, but did not, assert. For the same reason, the Court need not address the Department's argument that it is "[i]mpossible" to determine the proper defendant for Plaintiffs' hypothetical § 1503 claims. See Dkt. 31-1 at 44.
In Califano v. Sanders , the Supreme Court overruled Cort to the extent that Cort "assumed ... that the APA is an independent grant of subject-matter jurisdiction."
The Department also invokes § 704 to assert that the APA does not provide an affirmative grant of subject matter jurisdiction "unless a plaintiff is challenging a 'final agency action,' " Dkt. 31-1 at 38 (quoting
To the extent Plaintiffs intend to argue that their parents had more substantial contact with the United States and that the Department erred in denying their CRBA applications because of that more substantial contact, that theory is not set forth in the complaint.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Barak CHACOTY v. Rex W. TILLERSON, U.S. Secretary of State
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published