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WALTERS v. RENO | FindLaw
Maria WALTERS; William Walters; Cesar Corona-Alvarez; Antonio Alvarez; Ninfa de Adames, Guadalupe Adames, husband and wife; Camila Garcia-Cruz; Omar Kayyam Meziab, Leslie Meziab, husband and wife, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Janet RENO, Attorney General of the United States; Doris M. Meissner, Commissioner of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service; United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, Defendants-Appellants.
No. 96-36304.
Before: GOODWIN and REINHARDT, Circuit Judges, and KING, Senior District Judge.* Karen Fletcher Torstenson, Asst. U.S. Atty., Washington, DC, for defendants-appellants. Linton Joaquin, Los Angeles, CA, for plaintiffs-appellees.
The Attorney General of the United States and other parts of the U.S. government (collectively, “the government”) appeal from the district court's determination that certain administrative procedures employed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) violated the constitutional requirements of due process. The government also appeals the district court's certification of the plaintiff class and the court's entry of permanent injunctive relief. We agree with the district court that the nationwide procedures by which the INS obtained waivers in document fraud cases violated the aliens' rights to due process of law. We also agree that certification of plaintiffs as a class under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) was appropriate. And although we modify one of the provisions in the injunction, we uphold its principal terms.
The plaintiffs brought suit against the government on behalf of themselves and similarly situated noncitizens, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief on the ground that the administrative procedures used by the INS to obtain final orders under the document fraud provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1990 (“INA” or “the Act”) violated their rights to procedural due process. Under § 274C of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1324c, the INS may issue an unappealable final order against an alien who has been accused of document fraud if the alien does not request a hearing in writing within 60 days of receiving the notice of intent to fine (“the fine notice”) and the notice of rights/waiver (“the rights/waiver notice”) forms. Such an order renders the alien deportable and permanently excludable. Deportation is automatic, except in narrowly limited circumstances. If the alien signs a statement waiving his rights with respect to the document fraud charges, including his right to a hearing, the INS will immediately issue an unappealable final order assessing a fine and requiring the alien to cease and desist from his wrongful conduct, but the ultimate result that ordinarily will follow soon thereafter will be the issuance of an order of deportation.
All non-citizens who have or will become subject to a final order under § 274C of the Immigration and Naturalization Act because they received notice forms that did not adequately advise them of their rights, of the consequences of waiving their rights or of the consequences of failing to request a hearing.
In October 1996, Judge Coughenour entered final judgment in favor of the plaintiffs and granted a permanent injunction requiring the INS to take a variety of actions to remedy the constitutional violations. According to the terms of the injunction, the INS must: (1) revise the two misleading forms (the fine notice and the rights/waiver notice); (2) send notice to possible class members at their last known addresses, and, through a publicity campaign that must include specific attempts to contact all class members inside and outside of the country, publicize the opportunity for class members to reopen their document fraud proceedings; (3) refrain from deporting noncitizens on the basis of § 274C final orders that were entered without a hearing until class members have the opportunity to pursue reopening procedures; (4) reopen § 274C proceedings for each class member who was subject to a § 274C final order, unless the government can show that alien received adequate notice; (5) parole or make other arrangements for class members outside the United States to pursue reopened proceedings; and (6) recharge any alien charged with deficient forms who failed to request a hearing but has not yet been subjected to a final order, unless the government can show that the alien received adequate notice.
In its order certifying the class and finding due process violations, the district court did not resolve all of the claims raised by the plaintiffs. However, after the government moved for summary judgment in its favor on the remaining claims,1 the district court stated in its order for a permanent injunction that “there is no reason to rule on the alternate grounds for that relief represented by the three issues defendants ask the Court to decide.” The district court dismissed without prejudice the leftover claims.
Although there is no question that the United States has extraordinarily broad powers in the area of immigration and border control, it is also well established that aliens facing deportation from this country are entitled to due process rights under the Fifth Amendment. Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67, 77, 96 S.Ct. 1883, 48 L.Ed.2d 478 (1976). As the Supreme Court has explained on a number of occasions, “once [an] alien gains admission to our country and begins to develop the ties that go with permanent residence his constitutional status changes accordingly.” Landon v. Plasencia, 459 U.S. 21, 32, 103 S.Ct. 321, 74 L.Ed.2d 21 (1982). Thus, the government is not free to deport an alien from the United States unless it has first accorded him the most basic procedural protections-notice and a hearing at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner. Id. at 32-33, 103 S.Ct. 321.2 The plaintiffs assert that the INS regularly violates these constitutional precepts in the context of document fraud proceedings.
I. The Forms
An alien who is alleged to have committed civil document fraud in violation of § 274C learns of the charges against him by means of several INS forms that are served upon him. Two forms-the fine notice and the rights/waiver notice-are served simultaneously. Because aliens who commit civil document fraud are subject to immediate deportation, they also receive another form, an Order to Show Cause (“OSC”) regarding deportation. The OSC is frequently served at the same time as the initial two forms.
Notwithstanding the notice's statement that the failure to file a request for a hearing will result in a final order imposing a fine and a cease and desist requirement, the notice does not explain or even mention the severe immigration consequences that will ordinarily result if the alien fails to request a hearing-specifically, the high probability that the alien will be deported immediately. Nor does it advise the alien that document fraud constitutes a deportable offense and that he will not be able to contest the charge at his deportation hearing.
The rights/waiver notice is a very dense form. It is divided roughly into thirds. In the top third, it lists the various rights to which the alien is entitled in the context of document fraud proceedings, such as the right to be represented by an attorney and the right to file a written request for a hearing. Buried in the middle third of the form, just above a line on which the INS official signs his name to indicate personal service, is a statement that an alien who is subject to a final order under § 274C “will be excludable pursuant to Section (a)(6)(F) of the Act and deportable pursuant to Section 241(a)(3)(C) of the Act.” In the bottom third of the notice, the INS provides a section in which the alien may waive his right to a hearing and admit that he engaged in document fraud. The acknowledgement reads:
I acknowledge that I have (read) (had interpreted and explained to me in the _ language) and understand the contents of this document, a copy of which I have received. I further understand that I waive the right to request a hearing before an administrative law judge and agree to pay the penalty amount, as specified in the Final Order. I understand that this waiver shall result in the entry of a Final Order for a violation of Section 274C of the Act, from which there is no appeal.
The acknowledgement does not state that the alien understands that by waiving his right to a hearing as to the document fraud charges he also waives his right to challenge his deportability and excludability on that account, and he will in most instances be permanently barred from re-entering the country. The acknowledgement only asks the alien to acknowledge that he is agreeing to pay a fine and that an order will be issued “for a violation of Section 274C of the Act.” It does not ask him to acknowledge that he is consenting to his deportability and that the deportation hearing he will receive will in most instances be rendered meaningless. Further, neither the fine notice nor the rights/waiver notice provides a form the alien can use to request a hearing on the charges of document fraud.
It further explains that a hearing will be scheduled “no sooner than 14 days from the date [the alien] was served with [the OSC]” and that at this hearing, the alien “will be given the opportunity to admit or deny any or all of the allegations in this Order to Show Cause, and whether [he is] deportable on the charges set forth [in the order].” It does not, however, advise an alien who has been charged in the OSC with document fraud that unless he requests a separate hearing on those charges, he will not be able to contest them at the deportation hearing, and that he will not be able to contest his deportability or excludability at any time thereafter. Nor does it tell him that in order to obtain the separate hearing on the document fraud charges, he must file a separate written request, unlike in the case of the deportation hearing, which, he is told, he will receive automatically. It also does not advise those aliens who are charged with offenses other than document fraud that the document fraud charges, which were contained in the other forms that were simultaneously served on him, or were served on him during the same general time period, cannot be contested at the deportation hearing. Finally, it does not provide the alien with any form that will enable him to request the separate hearing that is required on the document fraud charges.
In sum, an alien charged with civil document fraud receives three forms advising him of two hearings. One hearing, he is told-the hearing on the document fraud charges, the consequence for which is stated to be a fine and a cease and desist order-will be held only if the alien submits a written request. The other hearing, the alien is advised-the hearing on the far graver issue whether he will be deported-will be held automatically, without the need for him to do anything. He is also told that at that hearing he will be able to respond to the allegations that constitute the basis for the threatened deportation. None of the forms advises the alien that if he fails to request a separate hearing on the document fraud charges, the deportation hearing he receives will ordinarily be meaningless, that he will be found deportable and excludable on the ground of document fraud without any further opportunity to challenge that determination, and that his deportation will in most instances be virtually automatic.
First, the district court found that because the forms are written in complex and legalistic language, they “fail to indicate in clear, simple terms that a document fraud final order leads to immediate deportation with almost no chance of readmission.” In reaching its conclusion that the members of the plaintiff class were unable to understand the import of the fine notice and rights/waiver notice forms, the district court relied on statistical evidence to show that noncitizens generally do not understand that when they sign the rights/waiver form, they are waiving their right to contest the document fraud charges. Additionally, the district court relied on specific testimony by class members who testified that when they signed the waivers, they did not fully understand that they were relinquishing their right to be heard on the document fraud charges; rather, they believed that they could still contest the document fraud charges at their deportation hearing.
Further, the district court found that class members who signed waivers did not understand the severe immigration consequences attendant on the document fraud charges. Specifically, they did not understand that by relinquishing their right to a hearing as to the document fraud charges, they were effectively relinquishing their right to contest their deportability or excludability. In its order granting summary judgment, the district court stated that “[m]ost, if not all, of the aliens who testified stated that they did not understand the forms, and did not realize that they faced permanent exclusion.” Indeed, the district court observed that the forms are so obscure and confusing with respect to this point that even some of the INS agents who administer them are unable to explain adequately the immigration consequences of a final order on document fraud charges. According to the district court, the agents' ignorance not only demonstrates that the forms themselves are inadequate, but also shows that the agents are incapable of remedying the insufficiency of the forms by providing an explanation to the aliens.
For example, the government points out that a factual dispute exists regarding the language abilities of the class members. The government contends that, while the district court stated that it is “uncontestable that most respondents speak primarily or only Spanish,” evidence in the record demonstrates that in fact, “[m]any 274C respondents speak English well, have a working knowledge of English, or worked and lived in the United States a significant length of time.” In making this argument, the government apparently wants us to attribute to the district court a categorical conclusion that the members of the plaintiff class do not speak any English. However, we do not read the district court's statement to mean anything more than what it says. That some class members may be able to communicate to a certain extent in English does not contradict the point upon which the district court relied-those who are charged with document fraud are, for the most part, aliens whose primary language is not English. Moreover, we conclude that the documents are so bureaucratic and cumbersome and in some respects so uninformative and in others so misleading that even those aliens with a reasonable command of the English language would not receive adequate notice from them.
We have likewise considered the remaining issues of fact identified by the government as being in dispute and conclude that none of them is of any consequence to the determination that the forms are constitutionally inadequate. We emphasize that summary judgment may be proper even in light of existing factual disputes, as long as none of the facts in dispute is material. Given the essential facts that determine the outcome in this case-the complexity and ineptness of the forms and the fact that they are designed to provide essential information of constitutional significance to persons of foreign birth-we conclude that the district court properly found that no issues of material fact precluded summary judgment.
1. Contents/Language of the Forms
Initially, the government contests the district court's decision that the forms fail adequately to inform aliens of their rights and of the consequences of waiving them. Our review of the forms leads us to conclude that the district court properly evaluated them in light of all the relevant circumstances and correctly determined “that a confluence of factors ” rendered them constitutionally inadequate. Whether or not any one of the factors alone might be insufficient to create a due process violation, the combination of factors-the forms' failure to advise the alien in clear terms of the need to request a separate hearing on the document fraud charges in order to contest deportability on that ground; the forms' failure to explain the drastic immigration consequences that ensue from a final order on the document fraud charges; the fact that the fine notice informs the alien that the penalty for document fraud is simply the imposition of a fine and the issuance of a cease and desist order; the fact that the acknowledgement in the rights/waiver form does not state that a failure to request a hearing will result in a finding of deportability and permanent excludability, and in most instances immediate deportation (although the acknowledgement purports to set forth the consequences of that failure); the legalistic language and confusing references to sections of the INA; the practice of presenting the monolingual fine notice and rights/waiver notice forms simultaneously with the bilingual OSC; 4 the failure to provide translations or explanations of the forms (other than the OSC) to aliens who have difficulty comprehending English; and the statements in the OSC assuring the alien that he will receive a deportation hearing at which he may refute the charges that will serve as the basis for deportation-produces a high likelihood that aliens receiving the forms will be confused and misled.
We reject the government's argument that the document fraud forms satisfy the notice component of due process even if they do not apprise the alien of the drastic consequences regarding deportation.5 Informing an alien that a final order under § 274C will result in a finding of deportability and permanent excludability, and in most instances immediate deportation, is necessary in order to ensure that the alien understands that he must request a separate hearing on the document fraud charges in order to preserve his rights. Otherwise, the alien has no reason to know that by waiving his opportunity for a document fraud hearing, he is waiving his right to a meaningful deportation hearing. See Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314, 70 S.Ct. 652, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950) (“The notice must be of such a nature as reasonably to convey the required information.”). Here, the alien never learns how to take advantage of the deportation procedures because the combined effect of all the forms together is confusion. See also Perkins v. City of West Covina, 113 F.3d 1004, 1012 (9th Cir.1997) (explaining what kind of notice is constitutionally sufficient).
2. Mathews v. Eldridge
It is clear that the plaintiffs' interests in this case are significant. See Plasencia, 459 U.S. at 34, 103 S.Ct. 321 (noting that the alien's interest in deportation proceedings “is, without question, a weighty one” because “[s]he stands to lose the right ‘to stay and live and work in this land of freedom.’ ”) (quoting Bridges v. Wixon, 326 U.S. 135, 154, 65 S.Ct. 1443, 89 L.Ed. 2103 (1945)). The government's interests in the administration of its immigration laws and in preventing document fraud are likewise considerable. Id. Striking the proper balance between these interests can be achieved by adopting procedures that reduce the risk of erroneous deprivation without imposing an undue burden on the government.
Requiring the government to alter slightly its procedures in document fraud proceedings will achieve the desired effect-additional safeguards-without visiting upon it any inordinate hardship. Specifically, it is possible to reduce the risk of erroneous deprivation (i.e., erroneous deportation) by ensuring that aliens facing charges of document fraud are adequately notified that they must request a separate hearing to contest those charges and that their failure to do so will ordinarily foreclose their ability to challenge their status as deportable aliens.6 Providing constitutionally adequate notice requires only minor changes in the content of the forms themselves and equally slight adaptations in the INS's method of presenting the forms. Requiring the INS to ensure that there are no significant inconsistencies in the written language of forms that affect whether or not an alien will be rendered deportable and permanently excludable, and requiring minor modifications to the written content of the forms will not be unduly burdensome, particularly in light of the benefits of such safeguards.
When it is necessary to demonstrate prejudice as a result of a constitutional violation, the alien must show that the inadequate procedures occurred “in a manner so as potentially to affect the outcome of the proceedings.” Hartooni v. INS, 21 F.3d 336, 340 (9th Cir.1994); see also United States v. Jimenez-Marmolejo, 104 F.3d 1083, 1086 (9th Cir.1996) (holding that in order to show prejudice, an alien need not prove that he would not have been deported, just that he had “plausible grounds for relief”). Ordinarily, there must be plausible scenarios in which the outcome of the proceedings would have been different, absent the constitutional violation. See United States v. Leon-Leon, 35 F.3d 1428, 1430 (9th Cir.1994).
Rule 23(a) provides that a court should certify a class only if the following prerequisites are met: (1) the class is too numerous, making joinder of the parties impracticable; (2) common questions of law or fact exist among the class members; (3) the claims of the class representatives are typical of the claims of the class; and (4) the class representatives will adequately represent the interest of the class. In addition to satisfying the mandatory prerequisites in Rule 23(a), the potential class members must also demonstrate that they meet at least one of the alternative requirements under Rule 23(b). In this case, the government disputes the existence of two of these requirements-commonality and adequacy of representation. Additionally, the government challenges the district court's certification of the class under Rule 23(b)(2).
The government maintains that the commonality requirement is lacking because the actual experiences of the class members are not sufficiently similar. Some individual INS agents and branch offices, for example, have consistently disregarded the Agency's official policy regarding the use of forms in § 274C proceedings and have instituted supplemental explanations of the potential immigration consequences. Therefore, some aliens who were subject to document fraud charges may have received adequate notice in spite of the constitutionally deficient official procedures.
To support its contention that the class members' claims lack commonality, the government points to terms of the injunction that provide for individualized proceedings. Specifically, it relies on the portions of the injunction providing the government with the opportunity to demonstrate that an individual class member “received constitutionally adequate notice despite having received the section 274C notice forms that the Court has found defective.” According to the government, these proceedings demonstrate that there is no common factual or legal basis for the class claims; if commonality existed, there would be no need for such individualized procedures.
We think the government misses the point. There is nothing wrong with the district court's presumption that the INS actually employed its constitutionally deficient policies and procedures. The government made no showing in the district court that its procedures were modified by more than just a few agents and branch offices. Thus, it is reasonable to presume that class members involved in document fraud proceedings did not receive due process because of the inadequate forms. Moreover, as the district court observed, it would be “a twisted result” to permit an administrative agency to avoid nationwide litigation that challenges the constitutionality of its general practices simply by pointing to minor variations in procedure among branch offices and individual INS agents, particularly because the variations were designed to avoid the precise constitutional inadequacies identified by the plaintiffs in this action.
The government further argues that commonality is nonexistent on account of factual distinctions in the class members' underlying claims. Differences among the class members with respect to the merits of their actual document fraud cases, however, are simply insufficient to defeat the propriety of class certification. What makes the plaintiffs' claims suitable for a class action is the common allegation that the INS's procedures provide insufficient notice. See Forbush v. J.C. Penney Co., Inc., 994 F.2d 1101, 1106 (5th Cir.1993) (noting that the need for subsequent individual proceedings, even complex ones, “does not supply a basis for concluding that [the named plaintiff] has not met the commonality requirement”).
Requiring the claims of the class representatives to be adequately representative of the class as a whole ensures that the interests of absent class members are adequately protected. Hansberry v. Lee, 311 U.S. 32, 42, 61 S.Ct. 115, 85 L.Ed. 22 (1940). Whether the class representatives satisfy the adequacy requirement depends on “the qualifications of counsel for the representatives, an absence of antagonism, a sharing of interests between representatives and absentees, and the unlikelihood that the suit is collusive.” Crawford v. Honig, 37 F.3d 485, 487 (9th Cir.1994) (quoting Brown v. Ticor Title Ins. Co., 982 F.2d 386, 390 (9th Cir.1992)). Here, the district court specifically found that the attorneys for the class representatives were well qualified and that the class representatives themselves were adequate because they were not antagonistic to the interests of the class and were “interested and involved in obtaining relief.”
In challenging the adequacy of the class representatives, the government primarily relies on the fact that some of the named plaintiffs have admitted under grants of immunity that they committed document fraud. According to the government, these admissions preclude the possibility that these representative class members would have prevailed at a hearing on their document fraud charges, and because some of the class representatives cannot demonstrate prejudice-which, as we noted above, the parties assume to be a prerequisite to a finding of a due process violation-the class representatives are hindered in their ability to represent the class before the district court.
C. Rule 23(b)(2) Certification
With respect to certification under Rule 23(b)(2), the government's primary objection appears to be that certifying this class does not further the purposes of Rule 23. Again, the government points to the individual proceedings that will result from the district court's injunction as evidence that judicial efficiency will actually be undermined by the class action. While the government correctly observes that numerous individual administrative proceedings may flow from the district court's decision, it fails to acknowledge that the district court's decision eliminates the need for individual litigation regarding the constitutionality of INS's official forms and procedures. Absent a class action decision, individual aliens across the country could file complaints against the INS in federal court, each of them raising precisely the same legal challenge to the constitutionality of the § 274C forms. Contrary to the government's assertion, therefore, class certification in this case is entirely proper in light of the general purposes of Rule 23, avoiding duplicative litigation.
We note that with respect to 23(b)(2) in particular, the government's dogged focus on the factual differences among the class members appears to demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the rule. Although common issues must predominate for class certification under Rule 23(b)(3), no such requirement exists under 23(b)(2). It is sufficient if class members complain of a pattern or practice that is generally applicable to the class as a whole. Even if some class members have not been injured by the challenged practice, a class may nevertheless be appropriate. See 7A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice & Procedure § 1775 (2d ed. 1986) (“All the class members need not be aggrieved by or desire to challenge the defendant's conduct in order for some of them to seek relief under Rule 23(b)(2).”); see also Adamson v. Bowen, 855 F.2d 668, 676 (10th Cir.1988) (emphasizing that although “the claims of individual class members may differ factually,” certification under Rule 23(b)(2) is a proper vehicle for challenging “a common policy”).
Injunctive relief is appropriate in cases involving challenges to government policies that result in a pattern of constitutional violations. See Allee v. Medrano, 416 U.S. 802, 815, 94 S.Ct. 2191, 40 L.Ed.2d 566 (1974) (noting that a permanent injunction is proper when there is a persistent pattern of government misconduct); see also Orantes-Hernandez v. Thornburgh, 919 F.2d 549, 558 (9th Cir.1990) (upholding permanent injunctive relief “based on findings that the INS engaged in a persistent pattern of misconduct violating aliens' rights”). To qualify for injunctive relief, the class members must demonstrate that they will sustain irreparable injury and that remedies at law are inadequate. Id. In order to meet this standard,
A. Adequacy of Legal Remedies
In Lewis, the constitutional violation was not the violation of the right to adequate law libraries in prisons, but was instead the deprivation of the right of meaningful access to the courts. There was no showing that more than two prisoners suffered deprivation of that constitutional right and thus there was no showing of the need for systemwide relief. By contrast, the constitutional violation in this case is the inadequate notice itself. Thus, once the district court determined that the constitutionally insufficient forms and procedures were employed by the INS on a systemwide basis, the court had also determined systemwide injury. Every alien who received the fine notice and the rights/waiver notice forms suffered an injury because he did not receive the notice to which he was constitutionally entitled. Moreover, the lack of notice directly resulted in the failure of the class members to obtain constitutionally required hearings-a further constitutional injury.
To be sure, at least some aliens who faced document fraud charges were given adequate notice because a few INS offices employed different procedures; such aliens, however, are the exception rather than the rule. As we have already noted, it is uncontested that the constitutionally deficient forms were in widespread use across the country. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that more than a handful of agents and one or two branch offices adopted procedures that attempted to remedy the inadequacy of the forms. Given the extent of the constitutional violation, the district court acted within its discretion in ordering systemwide relief. Cf. Thomas v. County of Los Angeles, 978 F.2d 504, 509 (9th Cir.1992) (“Specific findings of a persistent pattern of misconduct supported by a fully defined record can support broad injunctive relief.”).
D. Specific Terms
1. Publicity Campaign
In order to notify potential class members 11 of the judgment in their favor, the district court's injunction requires the INS to implement a thorough notice and publicity campaign. Specifically, the injunction calls on the INS to 1) send notice 12 to class members, if the INS is in possession of their last known addresses; 2) issue a newswire press release to news organizations in Central and South America; 3) distribute notice to the nonprofit organizations that regularly assist immigrants; 4) distribute notice to “appropriate international organizations and community outreach networks”; and 5) publish the notice in the Federal Register. Because the INS will have difficulty in effecting personal service on all class members, we think the district court's decision to order notice via press release is sound.
2. Parole
In determining that parole was a permissible component of an effective remedy in this case, the district court relied on language in 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5). The government points out, however, that this particular provision of the INA has recently been amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRIRA”), Pub.L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996). Whereas the law formerly permitted the Attorney General to parole an alien into the United States “for emergent reasons or for reasons deemed strictly in the public interest,” it now permits her to do so “only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5). Under the new statute, argues the government, classwide parole is not available.
Assuming arguendo that the provisions governing the Attorney General's parole power impose limits on the federal courts' ability to remedy constitutional violations, an assumption we are not at all certain is correct, we do not agree that the change in the statutory language has any effect on the validity of the parole provision of the injunction. Although the district court's injunction pertains to the entire class, the parole provisions apply only to certain of those members who have already been deported; further, they are to be implemented by the Attorney General on an individual basis. Specifically, the injunction provides that the government must parole “an alien” who is entitled to reopen his document fraud proceedings; as we noted above, not all class members-not even all those who have been deported-will be entitled to reopen their proceedings. Rather, in order to be entitled to a hearing, an alien must first attest that he in fact received inadequate notice. Then, if and when a hearing is scheduled in his case, an alien who has been deported will be allowed on an individual basis to enter the country in order to attend his hearing. Thus, parole will be ordered by the Attorney General only on a case-by-case basis. Further, we note that parole for the purpose of remedying a constitutional violation clearly works a “significant public benefit.”
In determining that granting parole was a necessary and permissible component of an effective remedy in this case, the district court also relied on our decision in Mendez v. INS, 563 F.2d 956 (9th Cir.1977). In Mendez, we ordered the government to admit into the United States an alien who had been deported without first receiving due process of law. Parole was required in order to permit the alien “to pursue any administrative and judicial remedies to which he is lawfully entitled.” Mendez, 563 F.2d at 959. In its effort to persuade us that Mendez does not support the district court's order in this case, the government seizes on an inconsequential distinction: “Mendez was not paroled to ‘attend reopened deportation proceedings' but to ‘pursue administrative and judicial remedies.’ ” This is simply a distinction without a difference. In both instances, the parole power is invoked in order to permit an alien to take advantage of procedures to which he is entitled.
3. Enjoining Deportation
8 U.S.C. § 1252(g). On the basis of this jurisdiction-limiting statute, the government contends that the district court did not have jurisdiction to order any relief that interferes with its attempt to execute deportation orders against the class members. We reject this contention.
As we noted above, the government does not assert that the district court was without jurisdiction to hear the claims brought by the plaintiffs, nor could it. By its terms, the statutory provision relied upon by the government does not prevent the district court from exercising jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' due process claims. Those claims do not arise from a “decision or action by the Attorney General to commence proceedings, adjudicate cases, or execute removal orders against any alien,” but instead constitute “general collateral challenges to unconstitutional practices and policies used by the agency.” 15 McNary v. Haitian Refugee Ctr., Inc., 498 U.S. 479, 492, 111 S.Ct. 888, 112 L.Ed.2d 1005 (1991).
We are also mindful that “where possible, jurisdiction-limiting statutes should be interpreted to preserve the authority of the courts to consider constitutional claims.” American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Comm. v. Reno, 119 F.3d 1367, 1372 (9th Cir.1997). And we reiterate that any legislation that completely immunizes an agency's practices and procedures from due process challenges “would raise difficult constitutional issues.” Catholic Soc. Servs., 134 F.3d at 927; see also Califano v. Sanders, 430 U.S. 99, 108, 97 S.Ct. 980, 51 L.Ed.2d 192 (1977) (noting that “when constitutional questions are in issue, the availability of judicial review is presumed, and we will not read a statutory scheme to take the ‘extraordinary’ step of foreclosing jurisdiction unless Congress' intent to do so is manifested by ‘clear and convincing’ evidence”) (quoting Weinberger v. Salfi, 422 U.S. 749, 762, 95 S.Ct. 2457, 45 L.Ed.2d 522 (1975)). In light of these concerns, we conclude that the statute does not impose a jurisdictional bar to the plaintiffs' claims or the relief the district court awarded.
4. Other Provisions
In addition to these provisions, which the government challenges as unduly burdensome, the district court also ordered the INS to take the following measures: 1) the INS must cease using the forms that were found to be constitutionally inadequate; 2) the INS cannot use forms “that are not written in English and Spanish, or that do not simply and plainly communicate the nature and consequences of the section 274C charges and the procedures for contesting them”; and 3) if the INS serves a deportation-related OSC simultaneously with the § 274C forms, all the forms must “simply and plainly communicate in English and Spanish the importance and separate nature of the section 274C proceedings.” The district court also established monitoring mechanisms in the injunction, such as a procedure that permits both the court and the plaintiffs to review the INS's modified forms.
While we think that the district court's requirements regarding the content of the forms are generally well-founded, we are reluctant to insist that the relevant forms be prepared in both English and Spanish. We recognize that many of the recipients primarily speak a language other than English, and we agree with the district court that multilingual forms would be an effective means of ensuring adequate notice. However, we prefer not to impose such an obligation on the government. Instead, we think it more appropriate to leave it to the INS to determine in the first instance how best to revise its forms so as to “simply and plainly communicate” the necessary information and advice to the aliens against whom it brings charges. In doing so, the INS should bear in mind that among the flaws the district court properly identified in the agency's procedures was the furnishing to aliens of related documents that were inconsistent as to the language or languages in which they were written. That inconsistency contributed substantially to the finding of a due process violation.
1. The three remaining claims are: (1) the plaintiffs' assertion that they are entitled to translations of the fine notice and the rights/waiver notice in languages other than Spanish and to oral translations of the forms into all other languages; (2) the plaintiffs' assertion that the INS was required to serve the fine notice forms on plaintiffs' attorneys and that the INS is prohibited from obtaining waivers without letting aliens consult with counsel; and (3) the plaintiffs' assertion that INS agents coerced at least some of the plaintiffs into waiving their rights to a hearing on the document fraud charges.
2. A waiver of either of these basic rights is valid only if the government demonstrates that the alien intentionally relinquished a known right or privilege. See United States v. Lopez-Vasquez, 1 F.3d 751, 754 (9th Cir.1993); see also Davies v. Grossmont Union High Sch. Dist., 930 F.2d 1390, 1394 (9th Cir.1991) (stating that “[c]onstitutional rights may ordinarily be waived [only] if it can be established by clear and convincing evidence that the waiver is voluntary, knowing, and intelligent”).
3. As the district court pointed out, under limited circumstances the Attorney General has the discretion to waive deportation for certain aliens who have received final orders on document fraud charges. The record reveals that such discretion has rarely been exercised. The district court also took into consideration the new exception provided in § 345 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (“IIRIRA”), Pub.L. No. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009 (Sept. 30, 1996). That section provides that the Attorney General may grant a discretionary waiver to aliens who have not previously been fined under § 274C and who committed the offense “solely to assist, aid, or support the alien's spouse or child (and no other individual).” 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(3)(C)(ii). Judge Coughenour still concluded that the issuance of any final order of document fraud virtually ensures automatic deportation. We would only add that it is not necessary to go that far to reach the result the district court correctly reached here.
4. We duly note the government's contention that due process does not require the government to provide notice in any language other than English. See infra Part II. Because the government elected to provide some information in a language other than English, however, it created the possibility that the partial use of bilingual forms would result in greater confusion than if it had used monolingual forms exclusively. We express no view regarding whether due process ordinarily requires that the type of forms used here be translated into Spanish or any other language. The district court properly dismissed that claim without prejudice.
5. In its brief, the government maintains that deportation is merely a collateral consequence of an adverse finding in a § 274C proceeding. This contention is without merit-the statute specifically provides that “[a]n alien who is subject to a final order [on document fraud charges] is deportable.” 8 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(3)(C)(i). The fact that there may be limited discretionary relief from this otherwise inexorable result does not transform it into a mere collateral consequence.
6. The government maintains that in calculating the burden on the government of additional safeguards, the court should consider the costs of making the new requirements retroactive. In taking this position, the government has confused two distinct analyses. The question whether a certain procedure violates an alien's right to due process is separate from the question regarding the proper remedy once a due process violation has already been found.
7. In some respects, the prejudice issue overlaps with the question whether the plaintiffs suffered actual injury to justify injunctive relief. To the extent the issues are the same, we address some of the government's contentions regarding the actual injury inquiry in our discussion of the prejudice requirement.
8. Neither party cites to a case in which an alien who received constitutionally inadequate notice and was therefore deprived of a hearing was required to demonstrate prejudice in order to obtain relief. Instead, each of the cases to which they cite involved alleged due process violations that occurred during the alien's hearing. See, e.g., United States v. Alvarado-Delgado, 98 F.3d 492, 493-94 (9th Cir.1996); Hartooni v. INS, 21 F.3d 336 (9th Cir.1994). In United States v. Proa-Tovar, 975 F.2d 592 (9th Cir.1992) (en banc), we specifically recognized that “there may well be times when the administrative proceedings were so flawed that effective judicial review will be foreclosed.” Id. at 595. Here, the plaintiffs did not receive any hearing, even a procedurally defective one. Consequently, no evidentiary record has been developed for a court to review.
9. With respect to Santana-Alvarez, the government attempts to undermine the district court's finding by arguing that the scenario urged by Santana-Alvarez is speculative, as well as by posing alternative scenarios in which he would have been convicted of document fraud. Demonstrating that possible outcomes exist other than the outcome proffered by Santana-Alvarez does not, however, refute the district court's finding of prejudice.
10. While the government urges us to scrutinize the injunction in this case more closely than we ordinarily would, citing Toussaint, we see no reason to do so. The court in Toussaint adopted a somewhat novel standard of review because the nature of the relief, a structural injunction in the context of state prison conditions litigation, called for more exacting review. Id. at 1087. We are not, however, reviewing a structural injunction in this case. Nor are we reviewing an injunction involving a state agency or official. See Barnes v. Healy, 980 F.2d 572, 576 (9th Cir.1992). Accordingly, we will apply the usual standards of review.
11. Class members are those “individuals who received section 274C final orders without a hearing based on the notice forms that the [district court] found to be constitutionally deficient.”
12. The district court also specified the form and content of the notice. Essentially, the notice, which is to be written in English and Spanish, must explain the details of the judgment and its consequences. In addition, the notice must provide a standardized form, which the recipient can sign and return to the INS to advise the agency that he wishes to have his document fraud proceedings reopened.
13. Multiple hearings may be warranted because under the terms of the injunction, the government has the opportunity to show that the alien in fact received adequate notice, notwithstanding the deficient forms. Assuming that the INS makes every available challenge, the likely progression of an alien's efforts to reopen his proceedings is as follows: first, the alien signs the form attached to the class notice, attesting that he received a final order under § 274C and that he did not request a hearing on the document fraud charges because he received inadequate notice; 2) the INS challenges the alien's claim of inadequate notice in front of an administrative law judge (“ALJ”); 3) if the ALJ agrees with the INS, the alien may appeal to the district court; 4) if the district court agrees with the ALJ, the § 274C final order will be upheld; 5) if either the ALJ or the district court finds that the alien received inadequate notice, the alien's § 274C proceedings will be reopened.Once an alien's § 274C proceedings are reopened, the INS can recharge the alien using the new, court-approved forms, and the alien can request a hearing on the charges. If the INS opts not to recharge the alien, the final order will be vacated, and the INS will be required, in turn, to reopen the alien's deportation proceedings (assuming that the deportation order was in fact based on the document fraud order).
14. Specifically, the injunction provides that “the INS must parole the alien or make other arrangements to allow the alien to attend” a hearing.
15. In some significant respects, the jurisdictional issue we consider here is similar to jurisdictional issues that have arisen in the context of social security cases. See, e.g., Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 96 S.Ct. 893, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976); Weinberger v. Salfi, 422 U.S. 749, 95 S.Ct. 2457, 45 L.Ed.2d 522 (1975). In those cases, the Supreme Court carefully drew a distinction between litigants who sought review of the agency's decision to award or deny benefits and litigants who raised colorable constitutional challenges to the procedures employed by the agency. See Califano v. Sanders, 430 U.S. 99, 108-09, 97 S.Ct. 980, 51 L.Ed.2d 192 (1977); see also Kicking Woman v. Hodel, 878 F.2d 1203, 1206-07 (9th Cir.1989) (drawing the same distinction in the context of a decision by the Department of the Interior's Board of Indian Appeals).