In 1979, two separate groups of non-immigrant students from Iran filed class action lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the constitutionality of 8 C.F.R. § 214.5, a regulation that required all Iranian non-immigrant postsecondary students in the U.S. to report to the nearest INS office for identification and examination of status. 8 C.F.R. § 214.5 was issued by the Attorney General, in the wake of the Iranian hostage crisis which began on November 4, 1979, when Iranian militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took U.S. citizens hostage. The lawsuits, styled Narenji v. Civiletti, Civ.No. 79-3189 (D.D.C. filed Nov. 21, 1979) and Confederation of Iranian Students v. Civiletti, Civ.No. 79-3210 (D.D.C. filed Nov. 27, 1979), were consolidated.

A full hearing on the merits was held in the District Court on December 4, 1979. Following the hearing, the District Court (Judge Joyce Hens Green) held that challenged regulation impermissibly discriminated against aliens on basis of their national origin and therefore violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The Court permanently enjoined further enforcement of the regulation, and prohibited the government from using any information acquired through the application of the regulation. Narenji v. Civiletti, 481 F.Supp. 1132 (D.D.C., 1979). The government appealed.

The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (Judge Robb) reversed and remanded with directions to dismiss the complaints and enter judgment for the defendants. Narenji v. Civiletti, 617 F.2d 745, 199 (D.C. Cir. 1979) Certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court. Confederation of Iranian Students v. Civiletti, 446 U.S. 957, 100 S.Ct. 2928, 64 L.Ed.2d 815 (1980) and Narenji v. Civiletti, 446 U.S. 957, 100 S.Ct. 2928, 64 L.Ed.2d 815 (1980).

Dan Dalton - 10/23/2007


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