Opinion ID: 160831
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Legal and Procedural Background

Text: 7 Under 8 C.F.R. 3.2(c)(2), an alien may file a motion to reopen before either the BIA or the immigration judge on or before September 30, 1996, or no later than ninety days after entry of the final administrative decision, whichever date is later. All the petitioners failed to file motions to reopen within the requisite ninety days, or before the 1996 deadline, so their motions are time barred unless they satisfy one of the exceptions listed under 8 C.F.R. 3.2(c)(3), which includes an exception for motions to reopen joined by the INS, 8 C.F.R. 3.2(c)(3)(iii). 8 Because their motions are otherwise time barred, the petitioners attempted to meet one of the regulation's exceptions, asking the INS to join their motions to reopen under 8 C.F.R. 3.2(c)(3)(iii). The INS refused, and the petitioners subsequently filed a habeas corpus petition in federal district court seeking temporary and permanent injunctive and mandamus relief enjoining the INS from applying 8 C.F.R. 3.2 arbitrarily and capriciously and staying their deportation. Specifically, the petitioners alleged the INS arbitrarily and capriciously applied 8 C.F.R. 3.2 in violation of their due process rights, in particular the citizen-petitioners' substantive rights to marry, remain, and work in the United States. They also alleged that the regulation is an unconstitutional delegation of authority to the Attorney General. 9 Defendants moved to dismiss the petitioners' claims for both lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). The district court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction, adopting the reasons stated in the defendants' memorandum in support of their motion to dismiss. 1 Despite the court's statement that it dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, its order is ambiguous because it adopts the reasons in the defendants' memorandum without distinguishing those arguments based on jurisdiction from those based on failure to state a claim. Even if we presume, however, that the district court order incorporates only the defendants' jurisdictional arguments, we may nevertheless affirm on the ground that the petitioners fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Remanding the case for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) would indeed be a futile exercise. Susquehanna Valley Alliance v. Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor, 619 F.2d 231, 239 (3d Cir. 1980) (affirming district's court's dismissal for lack of jurisdiction on ground that plaintiff failed to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6)); accord Chiplin Enters., Inc. v. City of Lebanon, 712 F.2d 1524, 1528-29 (1st Cir. 1983); Sacks v. Reynolds Sec., Inc., 593 F.2d 1234, 1239 (D.C. Cir. 1978); Carr v. Learner, 547 F.2d 135, 137 (1st Cir. 1976); see also United States v. Sandia, 188 F.3d 1215, 1217 (10th Cir. 1999) (recognizing this court may affirm a district court decision on grounds not relied on by the district court if the record supports conclusions of law). As such, we hold that, although the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over the petitioners' claims under 28 U.S.C. 2241, it should have dismissed for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). We therefore affirm the district court's dismissal but on the alternative ground that the petitioners fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.