Court Opinion

ID: 9495973
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 16:14:35.678482+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:57:17.691123
License: Public Domain

HEANEY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. As a result of the majority’s decision, Borrero is condemned to indefinite detention because he is coun-tryless, despite completing his time in prison for his criminal acts. This course of action shocks the conscience and is neither ethical nor constitutional. Moreover, the decision is contrary to. other circuits that have addressed the matter.
Under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6), any inadmissible or removable alien may be detained by the INS beyond the ninety-day removal period. The reasonable length of detention beyond the ninety-day removal period is six months, unless removal is *1009likely within the reasonably foreseeable future. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 701, 121 S.Ct. 2491, 150 L.Ed.2d 653 (2001).
Although the Court concluded that lawfully admitted aliens could not be indefinitely detained, the majority’s opinion, in dicta, did not extend its holding to aliens who had not effected entry into the United States, explaining that historically our nation has not bestowed the same constitutional privileges upon inadmissible aliens. Id. at 693, 121 S.Ct. 2491. Justice Scalia was perplexed by the majority’s distinction: “[w]e are offered no justification why an alien under a valid and final order of removal — which has totally extinguished whatever right to presence in this country he possessed — has any greater due process right to be released into the country than an alien at the border seeking entry.” Id. at 704, 121 S.Ct. 2491. Justice Kennedy noted in his dissent, “Section 1231(a)(6) permits continued detention not only of removable aliens but also of inadmissible aliens, for instance those stopped at the border before entry. Congress provides for detention of both categories within the same statutory grant of authority.” Id. at 710, 121 S.Ct. 2491. Justice Kennedy explained that there were only two possible consequences of the majority’s holding: (1) the holding applied to both categories of aliens, or (2) inadmissible and removable aliens can be treated differently. Id. He found the second option unconvincing: “it is not a plausible construction of § 1231(a)(6) to imply a time limit as to one class but not another. The text does not admit of this possibility.” Id.
In fact, two circuits and the district court in the matter before us have agreed with Justices Kennedy’s and Scalia’s position: there is no credible distinction to be made between the rights conferred to removable and inadmissible aliens in § 1231(a)(6). In Rosales-Garcia v. Holland, 322 F.3d 386, 404-05 (6th Cir.2003) (en banc), the court explained:
On the basis of the plain language of the provision, we find it difficult to' believe that the Supreme Court in Zadvy-das could interpret § 1231(a)(6) as containing a reasonableness limitation for aliens who are removable on grounds of deportability but not for aliens who are removable on grounds of inadmissibility. Section 1231(a)(6) itself does not draw any distinction between the categories of removable aliens; nor would there be any statutory reason to interpret “detained beyond the removal period” differently for aliens who are removable on grounds of inadmissibility and aliens who are removable on grounds of de-portability.
The Ninth Circuit also concluded the Supreme Court’s construction of § 1231(a)(6) in Zadvydas applied to an inadmissible, formerly excludable alien. Lin Guo Xi v. INS, 298 F.3d 832, 834 (9th Cir.2002). It explained that “[sjection 1231(a)(6) ... does not draw any distinction between individuals who are removable on grounds of inadmissibility and those removable on grounds of deportability.” Id. at 835. The court noted that:
In enacting § 1231(a)(6), Congress chose to treat all of the categories of aliens the same. The Supreme Court chose to interpret the statute to avoid a constitutional collision. We cannot choose to ignore the language of the statute or the holding of the Supreme Court. Should Congress decide that differential treatment is in order, it can amend the statute, subject to constitutional considerations. But a decision to [rearrange] or rewrite the statute falls within the legislative, not the judicial, prerogative.
Id. at 839.
Borrero’s status as a Mariel Cuban provides good reason to believe his removal *1010order will not be carried out in the reasonably foreseeable future. The INS has offered no evidence to the contrary. The majority implies that but for Borrero’s inadmissible status, he would not be subject to potentially permanent confinement. By manufacturing a distinction between removable and inadmissible aliens-one which the very statute at issue does not recognize-the majority diverges from Supreme Court precedent, as well as the Sixth and Ninth Circuits. In my opinion, the court must extend due process protection to Borrero to prevent his indefinite detention.
All aliens are protected by the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments: “[The provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment] are universal in their application, to all persons within the territorial jurisdiction, without regard to any differences of race, of color, or of nationality; and the equal protection of the laws is a pledge of the protection of equal laws.” Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 369, 6 S.Ct. 1064, 30 L.Ed. 220 (1886). “Even one whose presence in this country is unlawful, involuntary, or transitory is entitled to that constitutional protection [of the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments].” Rosales-Garcia, 322 F.3d at 409 (quoting Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67, 75 n. 7, 96 S.Ct. 1883, 48 L.Ed.2d 478 (1976)). I agree with the Sixth Circuit that the Constitution does not permit unlimited government action against anyone, even inadmissible aliens. Rosales-Garcia, 322 F.3d at 410. I therefore believe that the indefinite detention of a paroled Mariel Cuban raises the same constitutional concerns as the indefinite detention of aliens who have lawfully entered the United States through other avenues. No matter how unpalatable Borre-ro’s conduct may have been, he has served his time for his criminal acts. It is therefore inconceivable that we would condone the permanent imprisonment of someone simply because his birth country will not welcome him back. “A life sentence in prison [is] no less impermissible than the government’s torture or summary execution of these aliens.” Id. at 413.
It is worth noting that the case upon which the majority relies in distinguishing between the rights extended to inadmissible and admitted aliens subject to removal, Shaughnessy v. United States ex rel. Mezei, 345 U.S. 206, 73 S.Ct. 625, 97 L.Ed. 956 (1953), is not dispositive here. “[T]he Mezei Court explicitly grounded its decision in the special circumstances of a national emergency and the determination by the Attorney General that Mezei presented a threat to national security.” Rosales-Garcia, 322 F.3d at 413-14. The Court cited The Passport Act of 1918 as support for the Attorney General’s authority to exclude and indefinitely detain Mezei. Mezei, 345 U.S. at 210, 73 S.Ct. 625. Borrero poses no such national security concern.
Section 1231(a)(6) does not permit the INS to indefinitely detain Borrero. However, under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(3), Borrero is still subject to supervision under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General. The court below properly explained that:
[A] writ of habeas corpus will not make Petitioner a truly free man by any means. The INS can still impose terms and conditions of release upon him and can still take him back into custody if he violates those terms and conditions. In addition, it appears that Petitioner is still subject to whatever conditions of supervised release may attend his state criminal convictions and sentence. And, of course, Petitioner is still subject to removal from the United States whenever the government can find some place to send him.
Borrero v. Aljets, 178 F.Supp.2d 1034, 1044 (D.Minn.2001) (citations omitted). I agree with the district court’s proposed course of *1011action because it is ethical, constitutional, and soundly supported by federal statute, Supreme Court precedent, and other circuits that have addressed the issue. I would therefore affirm the district court.