## Facts

- Immigration detainees with serious mental disorders or disabilities were placed in removal proceedings while detained in federal custody.
- Many class members were not competent to understand or litigate their cases and were unrepresented in proceedings before immigration judges, including custody (bond) matters and appeals.
- Plaintiffs alleged the government failed to provide accommodations needed for meaningful participation in removal proceedings.
- Plaintiffs also alleged prolonged civil immigration detention without timely, individualized bond hearings and without requiring the government to justify continued detention under an adequate standard.
- The court certified a class and two subclasses: (1) incompetent, unrepresented detainees needing a representative for removal proceedings; and (2) detained class members held more than six months without a bond hearing at which the government bears the burden.
- On plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment, the court considered declaratory and permanent injunctive relief addressing representation and prolonged detention procedures.

## Issues

1. Whether § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the government to provide a “Qualified Representative” as a reasonable accommodation for detained noncitizens who, due to serious mental disability, are not competent to represent themselves in removal proceedings.
2. Whether the INA requires a bond hearing after a presumptively reasonable period of detention (set at 180 days) at which the government must justify continued detention by clear and convincing evidence.

## Decision

- The court granted in part and denied in part plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment and entered a partial judgment and permanent injunction.
- The court declared that defendants violated § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by failing to provide Sub-Class One members a reasonable accommodation: a Qualified Representative for all aspects of their immigration proceedings.
- The court declared that defendants violated the INA by failing to provide Sub-Class Two members a bond hearing after 180 days of detention at which the government bears the burden to justify continued detention by clear and convincing evidence.
- The court enjoined the government from proceeding against identified Sub-Class One members unless, within set time limits, they were provided a Qualified Representative for all phases of proceedings, including appeals and custody hearings (pro bono or at government expense).
- The court enjoined the government from detaining Sub-Class Two members beyond the order’s compliance period unless they received a bond hearing before an immigration judge with authority to order release on conditions, with the required burden and standard of proof on the government.
- For individuals falling within both subclasses, the injunction required provision of a Qualified Representative for bond hearings on an expedited timeline.

## Legal Principles

- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act applies to federal immigration detention and adjudication activities and requires reasonable accommodations that provide meaningful access to the proceedings for individuals with qualifying disabilities.
- Where a detained noncitizen is not competent to self-represent because of serious mental disability, appointment of a qualified representative may be required as a reasonable accommodation to ensure meaningful participation in removal proceedings.
- The INA’s general rule that noncitizens may obtain counsel at no expense to the government does not categorically bar government-funded representation when required as a disability accommodation under § 504.
- Continued civil immigration detention becomes unlawful under the INA, as construed by the court, when it exceeds a presumptively reasonable period without an individualized bond hearing.
- After 180 days of detention, the government must justify continued detention at a bond hearing by clear and convincing evidence, reflecting the individual’s liberty interest and the risk of error for detainees with serious mental disabilities.

## Conclusion

The court held that disability law required the government to provide qualified representatives to detained, mentally incompetent noncitizens to secure meaningful participation in removal proceedings, and that the INA required bond hearings after 180 days with the government bearing a clear-and-convincing burden to continue detention, enforcing both rulings through a permanent injunction with implementation deadlines.


Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder, No. CV 10-02211 DMG (DTBx), 2013 WL 3674492 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 23, 2013)