On August 17, 1992, plaintiff Abdul Kasbati, an alien detained pending exclusionary proceedings, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Kasbati was a native of Pakistan who resided in the U.S. since 1981. He was granted class membership in a class action lawsuit, Catholic Social Services v. Meese, 685 F.Supp. 1149 (E.D.Cal.1988), aff'd, CSS v. Thornburgh, 956 F.2d 914 (9th Cir.1992), which challenged the INS' implementation of the Amnesty Program. [See IM-CA-11 of this collection]. The plaintiff class in Catholic Social Services prevailed and Kasbati received a work authorization permit from the INS. He then applied for lawful temporary resident status pursuant to § 245A of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Thereafter, Kasbati left the U.S. and returned to Pakistan to care for his sick sister. When he tried to return, he was denied entry back into the U.S. due to an expired work license. The INS held Kasbati and instituted exclusionary proceedings against him.

On October 23, 1992, defendants motioned to dismiss the petition for habeas corpus due to a lack of jurisdiction, or alternatively for summary judgment. On the same day, the District Court (Judge Aspen) denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, finding that there had been an "entry," and, therefore, that Kasbati was properly excludable under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Kasbati v. District Director of INS, 805 F.Supp. 619, 619 (N.D. Ill. 1992).

Erica Woodruff - 08/09/2007


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