Filed Date: July 24, 2020
Closed Date: Aug. 6, 2020
Clearinghouse coding complete
This lawsuit was filed on July 24, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The suit was brought by the Texas Civil Rights Project as next friend for one hundred unaccompanied migrant children who had been arrested by Customs and Border Protection. The plaintiffs were represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union Immigration Rights Project, the ACLU Foundation of Texas, Oxfam America, the Center for Gender and Refugees Studies, and the ACLU of D.C.. They sued the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan, Chief of U.S. Border Patrol Rodney Scott, Director of Immigration Customs and Enforcement Matthew Albence, Secretary of HHS Alex Azar, and CDC Director Robert Redfield. The complaint contended that the federal government had implemented a new process of removing immigrant children without providing for adequate protections, especially by holding those children away from their families or other sponsors and by not providing counsel. This process was instituted over a series of regulations, orders, and agency memos that the complaint calls the "Title 42 Process." The complaint argued that this Title 42 Process violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act (FARRA), and that agencies exceed the power granted to them under the Immigration and Naturalization Act. They requested declaratory relief and injunctive relief that would prohibit the defendants from enforcing the Title 42 Process, stay their removal, grant them counsel, and grant the children TVPRA protections.
The case was assigned to Judge Beryl A. Howell.
A few weeks later, on August 6, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case, even before defendants responded -- they did not give an explanation as to why they dismissed the case. In a minute order on August 10, Judge Howell dismissed the case without prejudice and closed the case.
Summary Authors
Jack Hibbard (8/21/2020)
P.J.E.S v. Wolf, District of Columbia (2020)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17382388/parties/texas-civil-rights-project-v-wolf/
Bookey, Blaine (California)
Crook, Jamie Lorraine (California)
Drake, Brantley Shaw (Texas)
Galindo, Daniel Antonio (New York)
Garza, Rochelle M (Texas)
Howell, Beryl Alaine (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17382388/texas-civil-rights-project-v-wolf/
Last updated March 13, 2024, 3:03 a.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: July 24, 2020
Closing Date: Aug. 6, 2020
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Texas Civil Rights Project as Next Friend for one hundred unnamed children
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, Federal
Acting Commissioner of CBP Mark Morgan, Federal
Executive Assistant Commissioner of CBP Todd Owen, Federal
Chief of U.S. Border Patrol Rodney Scott, Federal
Deputy Director of ICE Matthew Albence, Federal
Secretary of HHS Alex Azar, Federal
Director of CDC Robert Redfield, Federal
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101 et seq.
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), 18 U.S.C. § 1589
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Issues
General:
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Access to public accommodations - governmental
Parents (visitation, involvement)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Placement in detention facilities
COVID-19:
Immigration/Border: