NOTICE OF HEARING REGARDING PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF
CLASS
ACTION IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
Civil Action No. 94-1204C
Maria Walters, et al.
vs.
Janet Reno, et al.
TO: ALL
NON-CITIZENS WHO WAIVED OR FAILED TO REQUEST A HEARING UNDER THE
DOCUMENT FRAUD PROVISIONS OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT,
8 U.S.C. § 1324C, AFTER BEING SERVED WITH THE CHARGING AND
NOTICE FORMS CURRENTLY USED BY THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION
SERVICE.
You
are hereby notified that a hearing has been scheduled for
February 22, 2001 at 8:30 a.m. before the Honorable John C.
Coughenour, District Court Judge, at the United States
Courthouse, 1010 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98104, for
consideration of a proposed settlement of the claims which have
been brought on your behalf in this action.
Purpose
of This Notice: This notice is to inform you of
the settlement, tell you how to get more information, and explain
how you may object to the settlement if you disagree with it.
Background:
This lawsuit was filed on August 17, 1994 in federal court in
Seattle, Washington. Plaintiffs are non-citizens who waived
or failed to request hearings to contest charges that they
committed document fraud in violation of § 274C of the
Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"). Plaintiffs
alleged that INS procedures and forms were inadequate to inform
them of their rights to dispute the charges against them. The
Court granted a permanent injunction, which was upheld on appeal.
A Settlement Agreement has been reached and has been
provisionally approved by the Honorable John C. Coughenour of the
United States District Court for the District of Washington.
Under the Settlement, the plaintiff class is defined as all
non-citizens who waived or failed to request a hearing under
section 274C of the INA, and all such individuals are covered by
the Settlement Agreement.
The
Settlement Agreement: The agreement
provides, in summary, as follows:
A.
Defendants do not admit to any violations of, or failure to
comply with, the Constitution, laws or regulations.
B.
Defendants will discontinue the use of the versions of forms
challenged in this action to give notice of proceedings under
section 274C of the INA or to obtain waivers of the right to a
section 274C hearing.
C.
Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that a revised section 274C form
fully communicates the nature and consequences of the charges,
the procedures for contesting them, and the importance and
separate nature of section 274C proceedings from removal
proceedings.
D.
Defendants will not at this time accept waivers of the right to a
section 274C hearing from individuals served with the revised
form.
E.
Defendants will vacate all section 274C final orders issued
against class members who received the forms challenged in this
action and who waived or failed to request a hearing within sixty
days. Defendants will not recharge such class members with
the revised form referenced above for the same conduct charged in
the original forms. Defendants will not charge such class
members as being deportable under INA § 237(a)(3)(C) or
inadmissible under INA
F.
Defendants will agree to join a class member in a joint motion to
re-calendar deportation proceedings that were administratively
closed by either the Immigration Judge or the Board of
Immigration Appeals pending final resolution of the issues
involved in this action.
G.
Defendants will join a class member in a joint motion to reopen
or remand deportation proceedings only if: (1) The
class member's prior deportation order was based, in whole or
part, on a section 274C final order vacated pursuant to the terms
of this Agreement; (2) The class member submits a written request
to the INS Office of the District Counsel for the district in
which the deportation case was completed before an Immigration
Judge, asking the INS to join in a jointly filed motion to
reopen deportation proceedings; (3) The class member: (a) is
seeking to apply for relief from deportation for which he or she
is prima facie eligible as a result of the vacatur of the section
274C final order, under the law in effect at the time the written
request is received by the INS; or (b) is no longer deportable as
a result of the vacatur of the section 274C final order; and (4)
The class member's written request is received by the INS within
two (2) years after the INS notifies class members' counsel that
it has vacated all 274C final orders issued against class
members, as agreed. In the event, and at the time, the INS
seeks to take enforcement action on a class member's deportation
order that is based in part on a section 274C final order vacated
pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the INS will provide
written notice to the class member of his or her rights and
responsibilities.
H.
After providing such written notice, the INS will refrain from
taking enforcement action on a class member's deportation order
for thirty (30) days from the date on the written notice. This
will provide the class member time to submit a written request to
the INS, asking the INS to join in a jointly filed motion to
reopen deportation proceedings. If the INS does not receive
a class member's written request by the end of the thirty-day
period, the INS may proceed to take enforcement action on the
deportation order, but only if the deportation order contains at
least one ground of deportability that is unrelated to the class
member's vacated section 274C final order.
I.
If the INS agrees to join in a joint motion to reopen or remand
deportation proceedings, the INS will continue to refrain from
taking enforcement action on the class member's deportation order
while the jointly filed motion to reopen is pending before the
Immigration Judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals.
J.
The INS may decline to join in a joint motion to reopen or remand
deportation proceedings if the INS determines that the class
member's written request fails to comply with the requirements
set forth above. If the INS declines to join in a joint
motion to reopen or remand deportation proceedings, the INS will
provide the plaintiff with written notification of its decision.
Such written notification will state that the class member will
have sixty (60) days from the date on the INS written
notification to file a motion with the Court seeking review of
the INS determination that the written request does not comply
with the requirements set forth above. The parties will jointly
move the Court to enter an order by which the Court shall retain
jurisdiction, for a two-year period only, to entertain motions
brought by class members.
K.
Defendants will mount a public information campaign to afford
notice to class members with prior deportation orders based, in
whole or part, on section 274C final orders that are vacated
pursuant to this Agreement, of their rights and obligations under
this Agreement.
L.
The parties will jointly move the Court to enter an order
dismissing with prejudice all issues, claims, and causes of
action arising from plaintiffs' Complaint. The parties will
jointly move the Court to enter an order vacating its Order
and Permanent Injunction filed on October 2, 1996.
M.
The parties will jointly move the Court to enter an order by
which the Court shall retain jurisdiction through the Agreement,
for a two-year period only, over a claim that any party has
expressly repudiated or committed a substantial breach of any
terms of the Agreement. In exercising such retained
jurisdiction, the Court shall not act on any matter until the
complaining party has initiated a dispute resolution mechanism,
the time for response has expired, and the negotiations have
proved fruitless; nor shall the Court modify or expand in any way
the undertakings of the parties hereunder without the consent of
all parties.
N.
This Notice will be translated into the Spanish language and
published in Interpreter Releases, provided to the
American Immigration Lawyers' Association, the NLG Immigration
Project, and the National Immigration Forum for distribution to
member attorneys and/or organizations, provided to Benders
Immigration Briefings, mailed to the INS's list of voluntary
agencies, and distributed to the Immigration Professors' e-mail
listserv, the CLINIC listserv, the ACLU detention listserv, and
the listservs operated by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Attorney's
Fees: Defendants have agreed to
reimburse plaintiffs' counsel in the amount of $622,340.00 for
attorneys' fees, plus $44,082.00 in costs.
For
Further Information: This is a
summary of the settlement. To understand it fully, you
should read the entire settlement and revised form. Copies
of the settlement may be obtained from: LINTON JOAQUIN,
National Immigration Law Center, 3545 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2850,
Los Angeles, CA 90010. Copies of the settlement will
also be available at www.nilc.org, the National Immigration Law
Center's website.
Procedures
for Agreement or Objection: IF YOU
AGREE with the proposed settlement, you do not need to do
anything at this time. You may be present at the public
hearing on the proposed settlement as stated above. IF YOU
DISAGREE with the proposed settlement, you have a right to object
to it and to the dismissal with prejudice of the claims asserted.
Your objections will be considered by the Court as it reviews the
settlement. Objections to the proposed settlement will be
considered only if the following procedures are followed.
1.
Objections must be filed in writing by mail with Clerk of the
United States District Court for the Western District of
Washington, Room 215, U.S. Courthouse, 1010 Fifth Avenue,
Seattle, WA 98104.
2.
ALL OBJECTIONS MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
*
The approximate date and place that you were served with a
document fraud Notice of Intent to Fine, and whether you waived
or failed to request a section 274C hearing.
*
Name, address and telephone number of the person filing the
objection.
*
A statement of the reasons for the objection.
*
A statement that you have sent copies of your objection to the
lawyers listed at the end of the notice.
3.
The DEADLINE for filing your objections and mailing them to the
lawyers listed below is January 22, 2001. If objections are
filed by mail, they must be postmarked on or before January 22,
2001 to be considered timely. Objections filed or mailed after
that date will not be considered. Plaintiffs who fail to
file objections on or before January 22, 2001 will not be
permitted to testify at the Settlement hearing.
4. A public hearing on the proposed Settlement and any objections which have been filed will be held as stated above.
5. YOU MUST SEND COPIES OF YOUR OBJECTIONS TO EACH OF THE LAWYERS LISTED BELOW:
LINTON JOAQUIN
NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER
3435 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2850
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 639-3900SHELLEY R. GOAD
OFFICE OF IMMIGRATION LITIGATION - CIVIL DIVISION
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
PO Box 878
Ben Franklin Station
Washington, DC 20044
(202) 616-4864