Opinion ID: 754792
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Specific Terms

Text: 75 In addition to making a broadside challenge to the scope of the injunction, the government also objects to several of the order's specific terms. In particular, the government contends that the district court abused its discretion in (1) ordering an extensive publicity campaign; (2) requiring it to parole or make other arrangements for class members to contest their deportation; and (3) temporarily enjoining the deportation of class members. We consider separately the appropriateness of each provision that the government challenges, although we recognize that the individual elements are intended to work together in order to remedy the demonstrated constitutional violations.
76 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. 77 The government's principal objection to the publicity campaign is that the district court's order will have some absurd results. For example, the injunction requires the INS to send the English/Spanish notice to some international organizations that service immigrant populations that speak a language other than Spanish. We think this objection lacks merit. Given that Spanish is the primary language of many aliens who have been subject to final orders with respect to charges of document fraud, we think that this requirement increases the likelihood that class members will learn of the district court's ruling. Moreover, requiring bilingual notice imposes little, if any, additional burden on the government. Any adverse effect of such notice would be suffered by the non-English, non-Spanish speaking aliens who receive it, not by the government. In any event, we do not see how it does any harm to send a bilingual notice instead of a monolingual notice to a recipient who speaks neither language. Moreover, the government is free to send the notice in additional languages as well, where it deems such action to be appropriate.
78 Permitting the class members to reopen their proceedings is necessary in order to provide a suitable remedy for the INS's failure to give adequate notice. However, allowing class members to reopen their proceedings is basically meaningless if they are unable to attend the hearings that they were earlier denied. Accordingly, the district court's injunction requires the INS to parole class members into the United States, or make other arrangements so that they may attend their hearings. 13 The government contends that the district court exceeded its authority in requiring the INS to grant parole to these individuals, as a matter both of recent statutory developments and of circuit precedent. 79 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. 80 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. 81 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. 82 We likewise disagree with the government's contention that the parole requirement is unduly burdensome. Without a provision requiring the government to admit individual class members into the United States so that they may attend the hearings to which they are entitled, the district court's injunction would be virtually meaningless. Finally, the district court's injunction does not require the government to parole individual class members into the country; instead it leaves the government with the option of establishing other procedures to achieve the same result. 14 83 Because we find that requiring the INS to permit the plaintiffs to attend hearings at which their rights will be adjudicated does not violate IIRIRA and does not impose an undue burden on the government, we uphold the portion of the injunction that authorizes such relief.
84 Although the government does not contend that the district court lacked jurisdiction to hear the merits of the plaintiffs' claims, it nevertheless argues that the injunction's prohibition against the future deportation of aliens who received inadequate notice is invalid under IIRIRA. With IIRIRA, Congress provided that 85 [e]xcept as provided in this section and notwithstanding any other provision of law, no court shall have jurisdiction to hear any cause or claim by or on behalf of any alien arising from the decision or action by the Attorney General to commence proceedings, adjudicate cases, or execute removal orders against any alien under this Act. 86 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. 87 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). 88 Further, this is not a case in which the plaintiffs have asserted a constitutional challenge in order to conceal the true nature of their claims. See Catholic Soc. Servs., Inc. v. Reno, 134 F.3d 921, 927 (9th Cir.1997). Their objective was not to obtain judicial review of the merits of their INS proceedings, but rather to enforce their constitutional rights to due process in the context of those proceedings. They have not raised a constitutional challenge to any of the substantive factors used by the government in determining whether to charge someone with document fraud, nor have they made any allegations as to the merits of the decision to execute removal orders against them, except to the extent necessary to substantiate their due process claims. Although the constitutional violations ultimately may have led to the plaintiffs' erroneous deportation, the resulting removal orders were simply a consequence of the violations, not the basis of the claims. Moreover, if the plaintiffs prevail on their claims, they will not be entitled to any substantive benefits; rather, they will only be entitled to reopen their proceedings. See McNary, 498 U.S. at 495, 111 S.Ct. 888. 89 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. 90 Because the district court clearly had jurisdiction to hear the claims regarding constitutional violations in the context of the document fraud proceedings, it had jurisdiction to order adequate remedial measures, including injunctive provisions that ensure that the effects of the violation do not continue.
91 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. 92 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.