Mugwaheza v. Jaddou

1 District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE MARIAM HUSSEIN MUGWAHEZA, Case No. 2:23-cv-01329-JNW Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION TO HOLD 11 v. CASE IN ABEYANCE AND [PROPOSED] ORDER UR M. JADDOU, et al., Noted for Consideration: 13 Defendants. February 23, 2024 15 Plaintiff brought this litigation pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act seeking, inter alia, to compel the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) adjudicate her Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. This case is currently stayed through February 27, 2024. Dkt. No. 6. The parties continue to work towards a resolution to this litigation. For good cause, the parties request that the Court continue to hold the case in abeyance until April 12, 2024.

21 Courts have “broad discretion” to stay proceedings. Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 706 (1997). “[T]he power to stay proceedings is incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936); see also Fed. R. Civ. 2 P. 1.

3 With additional time, this case may be resolved without the need of further judicial intervention. Since the parties’ last filing, USCIS interviewed Plaintiff in November. However, USCIS has scheduled Plaintiff for a reinterview on March 13, 2024. Plaintiff will submit all supplemental documents and evidence, if any, to USCIS seven to ten days prior to the reinterview date. After the interview, USCIS will need time to adjudicate her asylum application. Once the application is adjudicated, Plaintiff will dismiss the case with each party to bear their own litigation costs and attorneys’ fees. Accordingly, the parties request this abeyance to allow USCIS to conduct Plaintiff’s asylum reinterview and then process her asylum application.

11 As additional time is necessary for this to occur, the parties request that the Court continue to hold the case in abeyance until April 12, 2024. The parties will submit a joint status report on or before April 12, 2024.

14 // // // // // // // // // // 1 DATED this 23rd day of February, 2024.

2 Respectfully submitted, TESSA M. GORMAN GIBBS HOUSTON PAUW TESSA M. GORMAN United States Attorney s/Minda A. Thorward 5 MINDA A. THORWARD, WSBA# 47594 /s/Michelle R. Lambert 1000 Second Avenue, Suite 1600 MICHELLE R. LAMBERT, NYS #4666657 Seattle, Washington 98104-1003 Assistant United States Attorney Phone: (206) 682-1080 United States Attorney’s Office Email: [email protected] Western District of Washington 1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 700 Attorney for Plaintiff Tacoma, Washington 98402 Phone: (253) 428-3824 Email: [email protected] Attorneys for Defendants I certify that this memorandum contains 298 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules.

1 [PROPOSED] ORDER 2 The case is held in abeyance until April 12, 2024. The parties shall submit a joint status report on or before April 12, 2024. It is so ORDERED.

DATED this 6th day of March, 2024.

A Jamal N. Whitehead 8 United States District Judge