On June 6, 2019, a noncitizen detained in Irwin County Detention Center filed this putative class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. The plaintiff alleged that the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) had a practice of setting unaffordable bonds. The complaint stated that such individuals often remain in detention for months or even years as they await the resolution of their immigration cases, and that they therefore suffer disproportionate consequences that detainees with greater financial means do not--separation from their families, obstacles to employment, deprivation of adequate medical care, harsh living conditions, and inability find attorney representation.

The lawsuit named U.S. Attorney General William Barr, the Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR); the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); the Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); the Director of the ICE Atlanta Field Office; and the Warden of the Irwin County Detention Center. The plaintiff filed these claims under the All Writs Act; the Immigration and Nationality Act; the Declaratory Judgement Act; and Habeas Corpus. Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation Immigrants’ Rights Project and the ACLU of Georgia, the plaintiff sought declaratory and injunctive relief, claiming violations of Fifth Amendment due process and equal protection and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Within the complaint, the plaintiff also sought to certify a class of “All individuals who are or will be detained pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) on a monetary bond set by an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer and/or an immigration judge in the Middle District of Georgia.” This motion was eventually withdrawn, and the plaintiff filed a new motion for class certification on August 14, 2019 for those who are or will be detained on a monetary bond set by an ICE officer and/or an Immigration Judge in the Middle District of Georgia.

The plaintiff also filed a second motion for a preliminary injunction on August 14, asking the court to enjoin the defendants to establish bond-setting procedures that would protect the entire class from unlawful detention based on their lack of financial resources.

On September 2, 2019, Torres-Soto was removed from the suit, and the case was renamed. Abiala v. Barr. On October 8, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and for lack of jurisdiction.

As of May 27, 2020, both the motion for preliminary injunction and the motion to dismiss are pending.

Cedar Hobbs - 10/06/2019


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