Opinion ID: 4208265
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Plaintiff Hernandez

Text: Xochitl Hernandez was born in Mexico in 1976. She immigrated to the United States in the late 1980s at approximately age 13. She has five children and four grandchildren, all of whom are United States citizens. Before her arrest, Hernandez lived with family members in a rented house in Los Angeles. She avers that her family has few assets or savings. On February 24, 2016, Hernandez was visiting a friend’s house. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and ICE officers, who were apparently searching for a suspected gang member, arrived at the house. Hernandez was detained and 9 Plaintiffs’ suit challenges a total of four policies and practices relating to initial custody determinations: (1) “immigration officials are not required to consider an immigration detainee’s financial ability to pay when setting a monetary bond”; (2) “when they do set a bond amount, immigration officials require noncitizens to post the full cash bond amount to be released,” instead of permitting them to post other assets as collateral; (3) “immigration officials are not required to consider whether alternative conditions of supervision (such as electronic monitoring or periodic reporting requirements), alone or in combination with a lower bond amount, would be sufficient to mitigate flight risk”; and (4) the government does “not recognize a person’s financial inability to post bond, despite having made good faith efforts to do so, as a ‘changed circumstance’ that warrants a new bond hearing.” They sought preliminary relief, however, only with respect to (1) consideration of financial circumstances and (3) alternative conditions of release. 12 HERNANDEZ V. SESSIONS taken to an LAPD station, where she was questioned. She was not charged with any crime. Later that day, Hernandez was transferred to ICE custody, where an officer questioned her about her identity and immigration history. Hernandez declared that the ICE officer did not mention release on bond, nor did he ask her about her financial circumstances or what bond amount she could afford. That same day, DHS served her with a Notice to Appear, charging her with inadmissibility to the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(A)(i) as an alien present in the United States without admission or parole. An ICE officer determined that Hernandez should be detained without bond at the Adelanto Detention Center, pending her removal proceedings. About two weeks later, Hernandez appeared pro se for a bond hearing in Immigration Court. The IJ did not ask any questions about her financial circumstances during the hearing, and Hernandez did not request that he consider her ability to obtain a bond in assessing the amount to be set. The IJ then issued a written bond decision ordering Hernandez’s release upon payment of a $60,000 bond. He determined that Hernandez was not a danger to the community and that a bond would be sufficient to mitigate any risk of flight. He also conditioned her release on refraining from entering or coming within a quarter-mile of three gang-related addresses and from associating or contacting any member of the La Mirada street gang. Hernandez avers that she and her family could not afford to pay a $60,000 bond. About a month later, Hernandez, again appearing pro se, requested that the IJ reconsider her bond amount. The IJ denied her request for reconsideration because there were no HERNANDEZ V. SESSIONS 13 “changed circumstances.” In addition, the IJ remarked that he “did consider ability to pay” in his prior bond determination, but there were “significant issues” in her case that required bond in the amount he had set. On August 23, 2016, Hernandez appeared, now with counsel, for a bond hearing pursuant to Rodriguez III before a different IJ. Hernandez testified that she and her family had limited financial resources and indicated that she could only afford a $1,500 bond at most. She also expressed her willingness to be released under alternative conditions, such as an ankle monitor. The next week, the IJ ordered Hernandez released from custody upon filing of a $5,000 bond and enrollment in the “Alternatives to Detention” program. The IJ’s decision did not discuss Hernandez’s ability to obtain a bond in the established amount. Hernandez was subsequently released upon filing a bond and was placed on ankle monitoring. 10 A few weeks later, the BIA sustained Hernandez’s appeal of her first $60,000 bond, vacated the IJ’s decision on the ground that the bond was excessive, and remanded for further proceedings. The BIA did not address Hernandez’s ability to post bond, despite the fact that she raised that issue on appeal. 10 Hernandez could not afford even the $5,000 bond. She obtained her release because a community organization, the National Day Labor Organizing Network, raised enough money to post her bond. 14 HERNANDEZ V. SESSIONS