State of Hawaii v. Trump

Filing 297

MOTION for Leave to File Amici Curiae Brief Mateo Caballero appearing for Amicus Parties HIAS, International Refugee Assistance Project (Attachments: #1 Exhibit, #2 Exhibit, #3 Exhibit, #4 Certificate of Service)(Caballero, Mateo)

ACLU of Hawaiʻi Foundation
Mateo Caballero 10081
P.O. Box 3410
Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96801
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Amici Curiae
(See Next Page for Additional Counsel)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAI’I
STATE OF HAWAI`I and ISMAIL
ELSHIKH,
Plaintiffs,
v.
DONALD J. TRUMP, in his official
capacity as President of the United
States; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY; JOHN F.
KELLY, in his official capacity as
Secretary of Homeland Security; U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE; REX
TILLERSON, in his official capacity as
Secretary of State; and the UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendants.

Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-00050-DKWKSC
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE
BRIEF OF INTERNATIONAL
REFUGEE ASSISTANCE
PROJECT AND HIAS AS AMICI
CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION TO
CLARIFY SCOPE OF
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

ADDITIONAL COUNSEL

National Immigration Law Center
Karen C. Tumlin†
Nicholas Espíritu†
Melissa S. Keaney†
Esther Sung†
3435 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1600
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
National Immigration Law Center
Justin B. Cox
1989 College Ave. NE
Atlanta, GA 30317
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
† pro hac vice forthcoming
Attorneys for Amici Curiae

American Civil Liberties Union
Foundation
Omar C. Jadwat†
Lee Gelernt†
Spencer E. Amdur†
David Hausman†
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
American Civil Liberties Union
Foundation
Cody H. Wofsy†
39 Drumm Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE AND REASONS WHY THE MOTION
SHOULD BE GRANTED
The International Refugee Assistance Project (“IRAP”) and HIAS (formerly
known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) respectfully move for leave to file
an amici curiae brief in support of Plaintiffs’ Motion to Clarify Scope of
Preliminary Injunction.
A “district court has broad discretion to appoint amici curiae.” Hotowit v.
Ray, 682 F.2d 1237, 1260 (9th Cir. 1982), abrogated on other grounds by Sandin
v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472 (1995). “An amicus brief should normally be allowed
when . . . the amicus has unique information or perspective that can help the court
beyond the help that the lawyers for the parties are able to provide.” Cty. Ass’n for
Restoration of the Env. (CARE) v. DeRuyter Bros. Dairy, 54 Supp. 2d 974, 975
(E.D. Wash. 1999) (citing N. Sec. Co. U.S., 191 U.S. 555, 556 (1902)); see also In
re Roxford Foods Litig., 790 F. Supp. 987, 997 (N.D. Cal. 1991) (stating that
courts generally “have exercised great liberality in permitting an amicus curiae to
file a brief in a pending case”). Here, IRAP and HIAS fulfill “the classic role of
amicus curiae by assisting in a case of general public interest, supplementing the
efforts of counsel, and drawing the court’s attention to law that escaped
consideration.” Miller-Wohl Co. v. Comm’r of Labor & Indus., 694 F.2d 203, 204
(9th Cir. 1982).

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Both IRAP and HIAS are intimately involved in the refugee resettlement
process and have in-depth knowledge of the United States Resettlement Assistance
Program (“USRAP”). Founded in 2008, IRAP’s mission is to provide and facilitate
free legal services for vulnerable populations around the world, including refugees,
who seek to escape persecution and find safety in the United states and other
Western countries. IRAP lawyers provide legal assistance to refugees and other
immigrants to the United States throughout the resettlement process, an effort that
typically requires hundreds of hours of legal representation over the course of
many years navigating USRAP. IRAP’s client base includes refugees from Iraq,
Afghanistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan,
Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen.
HIAS was founded in 1881 as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society to assist
Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe. It is the world’s oldest—and
only Jewish—refugee resettlement agency, designated by the federal government
to undertake this humanitarian work through cooperative agreements with the U.S.
Department of State (“DOS”) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (“DHHS”). HIAS is assigned clients via the Department of State’s
allocation process, which determines which refugee clients will be resettled by
HIAS. Through its contracts with DOS and DHHS, HIAS is obligated to ensure
that each refugee family is placed in a safe and stable environment and receives
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training and support to integrate into U.S. society and become financially selfsufficient. These obligations range from ensuring that each refugee family is
picked up at the airport upon arrival with appropriate language interpretation to
making sure the refugee knows his or her address and how to make a phone call.
Both IRAP and HIAS are plaintiffs in the related litigation challenging the
Executive Order at issue here and consolidated with this case for oral argument
before the Supreme Court. See Trump v. Int’l Refugee Assistance Project
(“IRAP”), Nos. 16-1436 et al., ___ S. Ct. ___, 2017 WL 2722580 (June 26, 2017).
IRAP and HIAS are intimately familiar with the consequences that the Executive
Order and its predecessor have had and continue to have on USRAP, their clients,
and the many of thousands of refugees seeking to enter the United States. IRAP
and HIAS’ amici brief, attached hereto, highlights the inadequacies of the
government’s interpretation of the scope of the stay ordered by the Supreme Court
on June 26, 2017.
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CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, IRAP and HIAS respectfully request that the
Court grant its motion for leave to file the amici curiae brief attached hereto.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai`i, June 30, 2017.
/s/ Mateo Caballero
Mateo Caballero
ACLU of Hawaiʻi Foundation
Attorneys for Amici Curiae
Karen C. Tumlin†
Nicholas Espíritu†
Melissa S. Keaney†
Esther Sung†
National Immigration Law Center

Omar C. Jadwat†
Lee Gelernt†
Spencer E. Amdur†
David Hausman†
American Civil Liberties Union
Foundation

Justin B. Cox†
National Immigration Law Center

Cody H. Wofsy†
American Civil Liberties Union
Foundation

† pro hac vice forthcoming

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