Opinion ID: 4546294
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Balance of Equities and Public Interest

Text: When the government is a party, the third and fourth preliminary injunction factors merge. Drakes Bay Oyster Co., 747 F.3d at 1092. On the side of the plaintiffs, the district court found that there was a public interest in not returning refugees to their persecutors or to a country where they would be endangered. E. Bay I, 385 F. Supp. 3d at 958 (citing Leiva-Perez, 640 F.3d at 971); see also Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 436 (2009) (“[T]here is a public interest in preventing aliens from being wrongfully removed, particularly to countries where they are likely to face substantial harm.”). This concern is especially pressing here, where the government concedes that potentially meritorious asylum claims will be “channeled” away from the United State and into Mexico. 1 Gov’t Br. 4, 39. Next, the district court noted that the government has implemented a new policy under which aliens potentially subject to the Rule must wait “weeks or months” in Mexico 48 EAST BAY SANCTUARY COVENANT V. BARR before they are permitted to initiate an application for asylum in the United States. E. Bay I, 385 F. Supp. 3d at 959. At the same time, Mexico has a 30-day filing deadline for asylum applications. Id. “For asylum seekers that forfeited their ability to seek protection in Mexico but fell victim to the government’s . . . policy, the equities weigh particularly strongly in favor” of an injunction. Id. The district court also noted the public interest in “ensuring that ‘statutes enacted by [their] representatives’ are not imperiled by executive fiat.” Id. at 958 (quoting Maryland v. King, 567 U.S. 1301, 1301 (2012)). As discussed earlier, the Rule is contrary to the asylum statute and contravenes clear congressional intent to give effect to our international treaty obligations. On the side of the government, the public has an interest in relieving burdens on the asylum system and the efficient conduct of foreign affairs. But, as the district court noted, “shortcutting the law, or weakening the boundary between Congress and the Executive, are not the solutions to these problems.” Id. at 959 (citing Food & Drug Admin. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 529 U.S. 120, 125 (2000) (“Regardless of how serious the problem an administrative agency seeks to address, however, it may not exercise its authority in a manner that is inconsistent with the administrative structure that Congress enacted into law.”)). We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in weighing these factors in favor of plaintiffs. Cf. Trump II, 950 F.3d at 1280–82. EAST BAY SANCTUARY COVENANT V. BARR 49