Opinion ID: 783710
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Scope of Discretion of the District Director

Text: 18 In considering the arbitrary and capricious standard, generally, and as noted by the District Court, we recognize that much deference is afforded to the agency; [a]n action will not be deemed arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion simply because one may happen to think it ill-considered, or to represent the less appealing alternative solution available.... Rather, we require that the agency's action be rationally related to the purposes to be served, and supported by the facts found in the record. Yeboah, 223 F.Supp.2d at 655 (citing Hondros v. United States Civil Service Comm'n, 720 F.2d 278, 295-296 (3d Cir.1983) (internal citations and quotations omitted)). The INS Director's discretion is bound only by due process considerations. As a juvenile alien, Julian has the right to have his request for a dependency hearing considered in accordance with INS policy. Yeboah, 223 F.Supp.2d at 655 (citing Blazina v. Bouchard, 286 F.2d 507, 511 (3d Cir. 1961)). 19 The INS denied consent on the ground of improper purpose, stating: 20 Julian has failed to establish that he suffered abuse, abandonment, or neglect in Ghana. Thus, the Service has concluded that Julian is not seeking SIJ status for the purpose of obtaining relief from abuse, abandonment and neglect, but rather is seeking that status for the purpose of obtaining permanent residence. 21 In dispute are three aspects of the District Director's analysis: (1) whether the District Director may consider the intentions of the juvenile alien's parents when a juvenile seeks SIJ status, (2) whether the District Director may weigh evidence of abuse and abandonment in making the determination whether to consent to the dependency hearing, and (3) if so, whether the District Director's conclusion here that there was no abuse or abandonment was irrational. Each is examined in turn. 22 Julian argues that the District Director may consider only the intentions of the juvenile alien and not those of his parents for a § 1101(a)(27)(J) determination. Thus, he contends that, while his father may have had an improper purpose in sending Julian to the United States, if Julian does not share this intent, he should be entitled to a SIJ hearing. It is undisputed that the language of § 1101(a)(27)(J) does not specify whose purpose is to be considered. Julian cites language from House Report 105-405, at 130, for the proposition that since the beneficiaries of the provision ... [are] juveniles, only the juvenile's intent matters. Similarly, Julian argues that common sense dictates that the intentions of parents should not be imputed to children for purposes of a statute designed to protect children from parental abuse. 23 The issue, however, is not imputing intent, but rather, the relevance of parental intent to the juvenile alien's claim for asylum. Both of Julian's arguments embed the same non sequitur; it does not follow that, because the statute seeks to protect the rights of abandoned, neglected, and abused children, parental intent behind the migration of the juvenile alien is irrelevant. In support of his position, Julian cites the 1993 statement of then-INS Acting Director Chris Sale that states a child in need of the care and protection of the juvenile court should not be precluded from obtaining special immigrant status because of the actions of an irresponsible parent or other adult. 58 Fed.Reg. 42,843, ,847 (1993) (codified at 8 C.F.R. pt. 204.11). 6 This statement, however, predates the 1997 amendments and fails to address the factors that brought them about and that the District Director might consider in determining if there is an improper purpose. 24 Certainly, the record supports a conclusion that Julian's father sent Julian to the United States in order for Julian to become a permanent resident. There is evidence that: (1) Julian's father placed him on the airplane, (2) after the Attorney General issued his first denial of consent to a dependency hearing, Julian's father recanted his statement that he wanted Julian to return to Ghana, and (3) Julian thought that he was going to visit an aunt in New York and that a woman, who identified herself as Julian's aunt, contacted the Ghanaian Embassy to express her concern that he had not arrived. 25 Moreover, in considering whose intent is relevant, the parent's or the child's, we should keep in mind the purpose of the 1997 amendments: to close loopholes in the SIJ process by denying SIJ status to juvenile aliens who seek it primarily to obtain permanent residence. When it is the parents who are attempting to manipulate the system in order to obtain permanent residence in the United States for young children, it is consistent with the purpose of the 1997 amendments to focus on the purpose of the parents. It is the parents of such children whom we want to deter from future efforts to subvert the SIJ process; the children are innocent pawns. 26 Julian contends, however, that the decision on improper motive is based on the INS determination that he had not suffered abuse, abandonment, or neglect. He posits that a juvenile court is qualified to make such a determination but that the INS is not. He argues that the District Director may not consider whether or not there has been abuse and abandonment when determining whether the purpose in seeking SIJ status is an improper one. He urges that the District Director usurps the role of the state juvenile court by weighing such evidence. 27 There is a long-standing practice of allowing the District Director broad discretion in immigration matters. See Jay v. Boyd, 351 U.S. 345, 351-52, 76 S.Ct. 919, 100 L.Ed. 1242 (1956). Congress did not indicate that the 1997 Amendments alter the scope of this discretion. In fact, the amendments broaden the discretion of the District Director by mandating that he consent to every SIJ proceeding. The District Court was within its discretion to weigh the circumstances surrounding Julian's trip to the United States, including the various statements of Julian's father and aunt, and the contacts and relationship between Julian and his father both before and after Julian's arrival here. 28 In order to come to the determination to deny consent, it was certainly within the discretion of the INS to consider the evidence of Julian's relationship with his family and his physical and mental condition. In doing so, the District Director is not making a child welfare evaluation in order to determine dependency status of the juvenile but, rather, is weighing conflicting evidence of abandonment versus deliberate design on the part of the father to create permanent residence status for Julian. Certainly, a credibility determination of conflicting evidence is an appropriate role for the District Director to make in exercise of his authority to consent or not to a dependency hearing. 29 There is sufficient evidence in the record to support the District Director's conclusion that Julian had suffered no abuse or abandonment by his father and that the father's decision to send Julian to the United States was with the purpose of obtaining permanent residence status for Julian. 30 For the above reasons, the factors cited by the District Director in his denial of consent were considered properly within his discretion. His conclusion, based on these factors and determinations, was neither arbitrary nor capricious. 7