In 1984, plaintiffs, who included 23 aliens detained at various INS facilities pending deportation, 17 attorneys, and 12 immigration advocacy groups, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent completion and operation of an Alien Detention Center (ADC) under construction in Oakdale, Louisiana. The center was intended to house one thousand aliens detained by the INS and have an expansion capacity to provide emergency temporary housing for two to three thousand more aliens. The plaintiff detainees alleged that because of ADC's size and rural location they would be detained and denied their constitutional and statutory right to counsel and access to the legal process as guaranteed under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1362, the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 555(b), and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. They further alleged environmental irregularities at the construction site in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321. The plaintiff attorneys and advocacy groups alleged violations of their First Amendment rights to counsel current clients and to solicit and advise prospective clients.

The government moved to dismiss, or in alternative, for summary judgment.

The District Court (Judge Thomas F. Hogan) granted the government's motion and held that: (1) alien detainees' claims were not ripe for review; (2) alien detainees lacked standing to bring suit; (3) attorney-plaintiffs and advocacy organizations lacked standing to bring suit, and (4) attorney-plaintiffs and advocacy organizations failed to state cause of action under First Amendment. Roshan v. Smith, 615 F.Supp. 901 (D.D.C. 1985). The case was dismissed. We have no record of an appeal or further proceedings.

Dan Dalton - 10/22/2007


compress summary