Susana v. Immigration & Customs Enforcement

Background

Jose D. Susana filed the action without a lawyer on his own behalf, on behalf of M.A.G.A. (Make Africa Great Again), an unincorporated association, and as a purported representative for more than 50 other individuals who either were or had been detained at the Caroline Detention Facility (CDF) in Bowling Green, Virginia. The complaint described the case as a class action under the Torture Victim Protection Act. It alleged detention without due process, other constitutional and international-law violations, arrests without required warnings or consular-contact rights, and conditions-of-confinement violations. It invoked the Alien Tort Act and Torture Victim Protection Act and sought declaratory relief, an injunction, immigration status, and money damages.

The plaintiffs also filed motions seeking preliminary injunctive relief related to COVID-19 protections, permission to proceed without prepaying court fees, subclass certification, and permission to amend the complaint to add the Nigerian Consulate. The court noted that the complaint did not clearly identify which allegations applied to which plaintiffs and did not provide addresses or other identifying information for the other 53 individual plaintiffs.

Venue and Transfer

The court construed the constitutional allegations as claims under Bivens, the legal framework for suing federal officials for certain constitutional violations. It explained that the general federal venue statute permits a civil action where defendants reside, where a substantial part of the events occurred, or, in limited circumstances, where a defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction.

The court concluded that venue did not appear proper in the Southern District of New York. The complaint concerned events at the CDF in Caroline County, Virginia, and the motion for preliminary relief concerned conditions at facilities outside New York. The court also concluded that venue was not proper under the provision concerning defendants’ residence because the plaintiffs did not allege that all defendants resided in New York.

Even assuming venue could be proper in New York, the court held that transfer was appropriate under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a), which allows transfer for the convenience of the parties and witnesses and in the interest of justice. The underlying events occurred in Caroline County; Susana was detained at the CDF; many other individual plaintiffs were or had been detained there; Susana had pending immigration proceedings in Caroline County; and the complaint listed Virginia addresses for individual and corporate defendants. Caroline County is in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the court found venue proper.

Other Rulings and Disposition

The court noted that, as a nonlawyer, Susana could represent only his own interests and could not represent the other individuals in court. It did not decide the merits of the alleged constitutional, statutory, or international-law violations.

The Clerk was directed to transfer the action to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia immediately, with the usual seven-day delay waived. The New York court terminated all pending motions, directed that summonses not issue from that court, and closed the case. The transferee court was left to decide whether the plaintiffs could proceed without prepaying fees. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.