Nordheim v. Department of Homeland Security

Background

Odin Nordheim, who represented himself, filed this immigration action under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 702. He sought a determination concerning his pending Form I-589 application for asylum and withholding of removal. He also filed several motions, including a motion for a temporary restraining order seeking to prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement from arresting or detaining him at his next immigration-court appearance on October 29, 2025.

The court learned that Nordheim had filed an earlier action, Case No. 25-4701-TLT, seeking a determination concerning the same pending asylum application. The court therefore ordered the parties to explain why this later action should not be dismissed as duplicative.

Court’s reasoning

The court explained that federal courts have authority to prevent duplicative or unnecessary litigation. It found that the operative complaint and later versions of Nordheim’s complaint sought to compel United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, to adjudicate the same Form I-589 application at issue in the earlier-filed action.

The court further stated that the claims for relief had already been adjudicated in the earlier-filed action. According to the order, that earlier action had been dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction based on mootness because the asylum application had been adjudicated.

Disposition

The court DISMISSED this action as duplicative of the parties and claims at issue in Case No. 25-4701-TLT. It terminated all pending motions as moot and stated that it would enter a separate judgment. The order did not specify whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice.