Case Information
*1 FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT (cid:252)
A LEJANDRO R , Petitioner-Appellant, v.
J AMES H AYES , Immigration and Customs Enforcement Los Angeles District Field Officer Director; G EORGE M OLINAR , Chief of No. 08-56156 Detention and Removal Operations, San Pedro Detention D.C. No. (cid:253) Facility; J ANET N APOLITANO ,* 2:07-CV-03239- Secretary, Department of TJH-RNB Homeland Security; E RIC H. OPINION H OLDER Jr., Attorney General; P AUL W ALTERS ; L EE B ACA , Sheriff of Los Angeles County; S AMMY J ONES , Chief of the Custody
Operations Division of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department, (cid:254) Respondents-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Terry J. Hatter, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted May 5, 2009—Pasadena, California *Janet Napolitano is substituted for her predecessor, Michael Chertoff, as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, pursuant to Fed. R. App. P.43(c)(2).
Filed August 20, 2009 Before: Betty B. Fletcher, Raymond C. Fisher and Ronald M. Gould, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by Judge B. Fletcher COUNSEL Peter J. Eliasberg and Ahilan T. Arulanantham (argued), American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern Cali- fornia, Los Angeles, California; Judy Rabinowitz and Cecillia D. Wang, American Civil Liberties Foundation Immigrants’ Rights Project, New York, New York, and San Francisco, California; Jayashri Srikantiah, Stanford Law School Immi- grants’ Rights Clinic, Stanford, California; and Steven A. Ellis, William Tran, and Brian K. Washington, Sidley Austin LLP, Los Angeles, California, for the petitioner-appellant. Gregory G. Katsas, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Divi- sion; David J. Kline, Director, District Court Section; Gjon Juncaj (argued), Senior Litigation Counsel; and Nancy N. Safavi, Trial Attorney, Office of Immigration Litigation, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for the respondents-appellees.
OPINION
B. FLETCHER, Senior Circuit Judge:
Petitioner Alejandro Rodriguez (“Petitioner”) seeks a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of himself and a class of aliens detained in the Central District of California for more than six months without a bond hearing while engaged in immigration proceedings. Petitioner requests injunctive and declaratory relief providing individual bond hearings to all members of the class. Petitioner appeals the district court denial without explanation of Petitioner’s request to certify the proposed class. Respondents, seeking to fill the gap left by the district court’s conclusory order, assert that the district court’s denial was justified on any of the following grounds: 1) the proposed class is undefined; 2) the claim of Petitioner is moot; 3) the claims of the proposed class are unripe; 4) class relief is barred by 8 U.S.C. § 1252(f); 5) the court lacks jurisdiction over the claims of the proposed class in light of the holding in Rumsfeld v. Padilla ; and 6) the proposed class does not meet the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. We have jurisdiction over this interlocutory appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292. We conclude that none of the grounds 11389 offered by Respondents justify denial of class certification and that the class meets the requirements of Rule 23; accord- ingly, we reverse.
I. Background
Petitioner is a citizen of Mexico who came to the United States at the age of one in 1979. He became a lawful perma- nent resident eight years later. Petitioner was arrested in April 2004, charged with being removable based on past drug and theft convictions, and detained thereafter by the Department of Homeland Security. Petitioner contested his removability before an immigration judge (“IJ”), who determined he was subject to mandatory removal based on either of his past offenses. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) reversed the IJ’s finding that Petitioner was removable on the basis of his drug offense, but upheld the IJ’s finding that his theft conviction was an aggravated felony requiring removal. Petitioner appealed the BIA’s finding that his theft offense constituted an aggravated felony and we stayed his removal pending our decision. The appeal has been held in abeyance pending determination of a separate appeal to the United States Supreme Court. During his detention Petitioner received three custody reviews from Immigration and Cus- toms Enforcement that determined to continue his detention, the latest occurring in September 2006. In conjunction with these reviews, Petitioner received no hearing or notice explaining ICE’s decision beyond mention that his Ninth Cir- cuit appeal was pending.
On May 16, 2007, Petitioner filed the current Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus against the secretaries of the Depart- ments of Homeland Security and Justice, the field office director in the Central District of California for Immigration [1] Petitioner also was at one point deemed eligible for release on a bond of $15,000, which Petitioner could not pay. This bond order was later revoked after the BIA determined his appeal.
and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), and the head officials of various alien detention facilities in the district (“Respondents”). Petitioner seeks relief on behalf of himself and a class of aliens in the Central District of California “who 1) are or will be detained for longer than six months pursuant to one of the general immigration detention statutes pending completion of removal proceedings, including judicial review, and 2) have not been afforded a hearing to determine whether their prolonged detention is justified.” (Pet. for Writ of Habeas Corpus ¶ 39.) Petitioner asserts that the detention of the members of the proposed class is not authorized by stat- ute, and, in the alternative, that if their detention is authorized it violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of due process. Petitioner’s requested relief includes the certification of the proposed class, appointment of Petitioner’s counsel as class counsel, and injunctive and declaratory relief providing all members of the class “constitutionally-adequate individual hearings before an immigration judge . . . , at which Respon- dents will bear the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Petitioner and each class member is a sufficient danger or risk of flight to justify his detention in light of how long he has been detained already and the likelihood of his case being finally resolved in favor of the government in the reasonably foreseeable future.” (Pet. for Writ of Habeas Cor- pus 21.)
On June 25, 2007 Petitioner filed a Motion for Class Certi- fication, which was opposed by Respondents on the same grounds now raised in this appeal. ICE released Petitioner from detention under an order of supervision approximately a month later pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 241.4. Respondents sub- sequently filed a motion to dismiss Petitioner’s action on mootness grounds in light of his release.
The district court denied Petitioner’s Motion for Class Cer- tification and the Respondents’ Motion to Dismiss on March 19, 2008 in a two-sentence order. Petitioner filed the current appeal of the denial of class certification on July 17, 2008.
II. Standard of Review
We review a district court’s decision to deny class certifica-
tion for abuse of discretion.
Zinser v. Accufix Research Inst.
,
III. Definition of Proposed Class [1] Petitioner seeks to certify a class of detainees who are held pursuant to what Petitioner labels the “general immigra- tion statutes.” Respondents assert that Petitioner’s use of the phrase “general immigration statutes” creates an undefined class. While not a model of clarity, Petitioner’s habeas corpus petition and request for class certification together indicate [2] We do not opine on the appropriate course for the reviewing court when a district court makes some, but insufficient, findings, justifying its class certification determination, as that is not the posture we face here. that “general immigration statutes” refers narrowly to 8 U.S.C. § 1226, 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b), and 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a). Whether 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A) is also included in the defi- nition is ambiguous, as it is only referenced in Petitioner’s subsequent filings. This is of no practical importance, how- ever, as Section 1182(d)(5)(A) merely provides for discretion- ary parole of detainees, which, upon revocation, returns the detainees to the form of legal detention they were in prior to parole. 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5); see Clark v. Martinez , 543 U.S. 371, 385-86 (2005) (discussing effect of Section 1182(d)(5) on detention status). Hence, we conclude Petitioner’s pro- posed class is adequately defined for certification.
IV. Immigration Detention Statutes The three immigration detention statutes implicated by the proposed class govern detention of aliens at different stages of the admission and removal process. 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b) provides for discretionary detention of aliens pending a deter- mination of admissibility. [3] 8 U.S.C. § 1226 provides for both discretionary detention generally and mandatory detention for certain narrow categories of aliens pending a determination of their removability. [4] 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a) provides for manda- [3] 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1)(B)(ii) provides: If the [asylum] officer determines at the time of the interview [upon arrival in the United States] that an alien has a credible fear of persecution . . . , the alien shall be detained for further consid- eration of the application for asylum.
8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A) provides:
[I]n the case of an alien who is an applicant for admission, if the examining immigration officer determines that an alien seeking admission is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admit- ted, the alien shall be detained for a proceeding under section 1229a of this title.
[4] 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) provides:
On a warrant issued by the Attorney General, an alien may be arrested and detained pending a decision on whether the alien is to be removed from the United States.
tory detention of aliens ordered removed during the 90 day removal period and discretionary detention after the end of the removal period. [5] Petitioner’s request for relief raises the 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) provides:
The Attorney General shall take into custody any alien who . . . is inadmissible by reason of having committed any offense cov- ered in section 1182(a)(2) of this title, . . . is deportable by reason of having committed any offense covered in section 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), (A)(iii), (B), (C), or (D) of this title, . . . is deportable under section 1227(a)(2)(A)(i) of this title on the basis of an offense for which the alien has been sentence [sic] to a term of imprisonment of at least 1 year, or . . . is inadmissible under section 1182(a)(3)(B) of this title or deportable under section 1227(a)(4)(B) of this title, when the alien is released, without regard to whether the alien is released on parole, supervised release, or probation, and without regard to whether the alien may be arrested or imprisoned again for the same offense.
[5] 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(2) provides:
During the removal period, the Attorney General shall detain the alien. Under no circumstance during the removal period shall the Attorney General release an alien who has been found inadmissi- ble under section 1182(a)(2) or 1182(a)(3)(B) of this title or deportable under section 1227(a)(2) or 1227(a)(4)(B) of this title.
8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6) provides:
An alien ordered removed who is inadmissible under section 1182 of this title, removable under section 1227(a)(1)(C), 1227(a)(2), or 1227(a)(4) of this title or who has been determined by the Attorney General to be a risk to the community or unlikely to comply with the order of removal, may be detained beyond the removal period and, if released, shall be subject to the terms of supervision in paragraph (3).
8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(C) provides:
The removal period shall be extended beyond a period of 90 days and the alien may remain in detention during such extended period if the alien fails or refuses to make timely application in good faith for travel or other documents necessary to the alien’s departure or conspires or acts to prevent the alien’s removal sub- ject to an order of removal.
question of whether prolonged detention without a bond hear- ing is authorized under any of these statutes and, in the alter- native, even if it is authorized, whether such detention is constitutional. These are not new questions for this court. In a series of decisions, the Supreme Court and this court have grappled in piece-meal fashion with whether the various immigration detention statutes may authorize indefinite or prolonged detention of detainees and, if so, may do so without providing a bond hearing. Each decision has undertaken inter- pretation of the immigration detention statutes against the backdrop of the serious constitutional issues raised by indefi- nite or prolonged detention. We review these decisions to pro- vide the necessary context to aid in determining the appropriateness of class relief.
A. Discretionary Detention
In
Zadvydas v. Davis
, 533 U.S. 678 (2001), the Supreme
Court first took up the question of whether an immigration
discretionary detention statute authorized indefinite or pro-
longed detention. The alien there was detained pursuant to
Section 1231(a)(6), authorizing discretionary detention of
aliens after the removal period. The Court held that a “[a] stat-
ute permitting indefinite detention of an alien would raise a
serious constitutional problem.”
Id.
at 690
.
The Court found
Section 1231(a)(6) ambiguous as to whether it authorized
indefinite detention and, therefore, “interpreting the statute to
avoid a serious constitutional threat, . . . conclude[d] that,
once removal is no longer reasonably foreseeable, continued
detention is no longer authorized by statute.”
Id.
at 699. The
Court determined that for six months following the beginning
of the removal period an alien’s detention was presumptively
authorized.
Id.
at 701. However, after that period, “once the
alien provides good reason to believe that there is no signifi-
cant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable
future, the Government must respond with evidence sufficient
to rebut that showing” in order to continue to detain the alien.
Id.
Though
Zadvydas
dealt only with aliens detained pursuant
to Section 1231(a)(6) who were removable under Section
1227(a)(1)(C), 1227(a)(2) or 1227(a)(4), the Supreme Court
subsequently extended its holding to the other two categories
of aliens governed by the statute: aliens inadmissible under
Section 1182 and aliens determined by the Secretary of
Homeland Security to be a risk to the community or a flight
risk.
See Clark
,
Having applied the
Zadvydas
framework to determine
when prolonged discretionary detention is authorized, we
have also begun to determine what sort of bond hearing, if
any, is needed to justify prolonged discretionary detention for
individual petitioners. As we stated in
Prieto-Romero
, even
when detention is authorized by statute, “due process requires
‘adequate procedural protections’ to ensure that the govern-
ment’s asserted justification for physical confinement ‘out-
weighs the individual’s constitutionally protected interest in
avoiding physical restraint.’ ”
detained under Section 1226(a) “is entitled to release on bond unless the government establishes that he is a flight risk or will be a danger to the community.” Id. at 951 (internal quota- tion marks omitted); see also Flores-Torres v. Mukasey, F.3d 708, 709 n.2 (9th Cir. 2008); Prieto-Romero , 534 F.3d at 1065-66 (finding three bond hearings for Section 1226(a) detainee satisfied due process); Tijani v. Willis , 430 F.3d 1241, 1242 (9th Cir. 2005) (finding alien detained for nearly three years could not be mandatorily detained under Section 1226(c) and ordering bond hearing, impliedly finding alien was detained under Section 1226(a)).
In Diouf v. Mukasey , 542 F.3d 1222 (9th Cir. 2008), by contrast, we refused to reach the issue of whether a bond hear- ing was required under Section 1231(a)(6). We held the detention of the petitioner at issue beyond the six month period was authorized under Section 1231(a)(6). Id. at 1233. We then turned to the issue of what bond hearing, if any, the petitioner was entitled to for determining the necessity of his detention. We concluded that while release on bond was clearly authorized by Section 1231(a)(6) and its implementing regulations, it was unclear whether a bond hearing was required under the statute for petitioner and what burden if any should be placed on the government at such a hearing. Id. at 1234-35. Because the district court had not had an opportu- nity to reach this question, we declined to reach it in the first instance and remanded. Id. at 1235. However, in doing so we noted that the issue was “somewhat similar” to that in Casas- Castrillon , strongly implying that the district court’s determi- nation should at least be informed by its reasoning. Diouf , 542 F.3d at 1234-35.
B. Mandatory Detention
We have also dealt with indefinite or prolonged detention
under immigration mandatory detention provisions, including
Sections 1226(c), 1231(a)(2), and 1231(a)(1)(c). Section
1226(c) provides for mandatory detention of criminal aliens
for expedited removal. The Supreme Court has held that
detention pursuant to Section 1226(c) does not raise any due
process concerns.
Demore v. Kim
,
We have additionally held that detention pursuant to Sec-
tion 1231(a)(2) poses no due process issues, regardless of
whether removal of the detained alien is foreseeable, because
the statute authorizes detention for only the ninety-day
removal period and therefore does not create any danger of
unconstitutionally
indefinite detention.
Khotesouvan v.
Morones
,
V. Alleged Bars to Class Relief
Petitioner seeks to end our piece-meal rulings in habeas
actions on the necessity of bond hearings to justify prolonged
detention in the immigration context and have the courts
address the issue on a class-wide basis across the various gen-
eral immigration detention statutes. While “ordinarily disfa-
vored,” the Ninth Circuit has recognized that class actions
may be brought pursuant to habeas corpus.
Cox v. McCarthy
,
A. Mootness
[2] Respondents initially challenge class certification on the ground that Petitioner’s individual claim has been rendered moot by his release from detention. In fact, mootness of the Petitioner’s claim is not a basis for denial of class certifica- tion, but rather is a basis for dismissal of Petitioner’s action. Because the district court did not dismiss Petitioner’s action, but only denied class certification, we see no reason to con- clude it based its denial on a finding of mootness. If it had made such a finding, it would have been in error. Petitioner was released pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 241.4, which provides that “[t]he Executive Associate Commissioner shall have authority, in the exercise of discretion, to revoke release and return to Service custody an alien previously approved for release under the procedures in this section.” 8 C.F.R. § 241.4 (l)(2). While the regulation provides the detainee some oppor- tunity to respond to the reasons for revocation, it provides no other procedural and no meaningful substantive limit on this exercise of discretion as it allows revocation “when, in the opinion of the revoking official . . . [t]he purposes of release have been served . . . [or] [t]he conduct of the alien, or any other circumstance , indicates that release would no longer be appropriate.” Id. § 241.4(l)(2) (i), (iv) (emphasis added). This places Petitioner in a position analogous to the petitioner chal- lenging his prolonged detention in Clark v. Martinez , who was released from detention pursuant to a discretionary parole provision while his suit was ongoing. The Supreme Court found his case was not mooted:
If Benitez is correct, as his suit contends, that the Government lacks the authority to continue to detain him, he would have to be released, and could not be taken back into custody unless he violated the condi- tions of release . . . or his detention became neces- sary to effectuate his removal . . . . His current release, however, is not only limited to one year, but subject to the Secretary’s discretionary authority to terminate. . . . Thus, Benitez continue[s] to have a personal stake in the outcome of his petition.
Clark , 543 U.S. at 376 n.3 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). Petitioner asserts that the government cannot detain him unless it can demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence at a hearing before an immi- gration judge that he is a sufficient danger or flight risk to jus- tify his detention. If Petitioner is successful in his petition he would be entitled to such a hearing where the government would need to meet its burden or offer him a non- discretionary release until such time as it can make the requi- site showing or has an independent statutory basis to detain him. This would place Petitioner in a far different situation from his current one, released pursuant to the government’s independent determination but subject to revocation on the government’s discretion without hearing before a neutral decision-maker and without burden of justification on the government. Hence, like the petitioner in Clark , Petitioner here retains a personal stake in the determination of his claim such that it is not moot.
[3] We further note that Petitioner’s current release is sub- ject to a number of restrictions, including the requirements that he remain within 50 feet of his home from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. every night and wear an ankle monitoring device at all times. Petitioner proposes that he receive a bond hearing to determine not only whether he should be released, but also under what conditions such release would take place. The strict limitations on Petitioner’s freedom, therefore, provide an additional reason why his case presents a live controversy. Cf. Carafas v. LaVallee , 391 U.S. 234, 238 (1968) (holding that when habeas petitioner was released from custody, but his felony conviction prevented him from engaging in certain businesses, voting, and serving on juries, underlying habeas case still presented live controversy).
B. Ripeness
[4]
Respondents additionally argue that class certification
must be denied because the claims of the proposed class are
not all yet ripe.
[6]
“[A] claim is not ripe for adjudication if it
rests upon contingent future events that may not occur as
[6]
Respondents assert that Petitioner waived any challenge to their ripe-
ness argument by not raising it in his opening brief. This argument is
groundless. We have previously held that the failure of a party in its open-
ing brief to challenge an alternate ground for a district court’s ruling
given
by the district court
waives that challenge.
See United States v. Kama
, 394
F.3d 1236, 1238 (9th Cir. 2005);
MacKay v. Pfeil
,
C. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(f)
Respondents assert that 8 U.S.C. § 1252(f)(1), Section 306(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (“IIRIRA”), bars class certification in this case. Section 1252(f)(1) provides:
Regardless of the nature of the action or claim or of the identity of the party or parties bringing the action, no court (other than the Supreme Court) shall have jurisdiction or authority to enjoin or restrain the operation of the provisions of part IV of this sub- chapter, as amended by [IIRIRA], other than with respect to the application of such provisions to an individual alien against whom proceedings under such part have been initiated.
8 U.S.C. § 1252(f)(1). Part IV includes 8 U.S.C. §§ 1221- 1231. See Catholic Soc. Servs., Inc. v. INS , 232 F.3d 1139, 1150 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc). Respondents argue that Sec- tion 1252(f) bars the proposed class from receiving any injunctive relief, thereby requiring denial of class certifica- tion.
[5] Respondents are doubly mistaken. Section 1252(f) can- not bar certification of the class unless it bars the proposed class from receiving any class relief. Respondents do not argue, and it is not the case, that Section 1252(f) bars Peti- tioner from receiving declaratory relief on behalf of the class. The Supreme Court has recognized as much: “By its plain terms, and even by its title, [Section 1252(f)] is nothing more or less than a limit on injunctive relief. It prohibits federal courts from granting classwide injunctive relief against the operation of §§ 1221-1231, but specifies that this ban does not extend to individual cases.” Reno v. Am.-Arab Anti- Discrimination Comm. , 525 U.S. 471, 481-482 (9th Cir. 1999). Hence, for this reason alone, Section 1252(f)(1) did not provide the district court with a basis to deny class certifica- tion.
[6]
In addition, we conclude that Section 1252(f) does not
bar injunctive relief for the proposed class. Section 1252(f)
prohibits only injunction of “the operation of” the detention
statutes, not injunction of a violation of the statutes. This is
a distinction we have made before in a decision vacated on
unrelated grounds.
See Ali v. Ashcroft
,
“[Section] 1252(f)(1) limits the district court’s authority to enjoin the INS from carrying out legiti- mate removal orders. Where, however, a petitioner seeks to enjoin conduct that allegedly is not even authorized by the statute, the court is not enjoining the operation of part IV of subchapter II, and § 1252(f)(1) therefore is not implicated.” Id. Analogously, Petitioner here does not seek to enjoin the operation of the immigration detention statutes, but to enjoin conduct it asserts is not authorized by the statutes. Petitioner argues only that the immigration detention statutes, to the extent they cannot be interpreted as requiring provision of a bond hearing, must be enjoined as unconstitutional. However, as this latter argument for relief may never be reached, it can- not be a basis for denial of class certification.
[7] Respondents assert that we should not adopt the reason- ing of the vacated opinion in Ali , but instead follow our deci- sion in Catholic Soc. Servs., Inc. v. INS , 182 F.3d 1053 (9th Cir. 1999), aff’d in part and rev’d in part en banc , 232 F.3d 1139 (9th Cir. 2000). There we found that injunctive relief for a class asserting that the INS misinterpreted legalization pro- visions of the Immigration Control and Reform Act was barred by Section 1252(f). We stated:
[R]egardless of the fact that the injunction provides relief for a harm ostensibly created by the INS’ mis- interpretation of the legalization provisions of part V, insofar as it would interfere with the operation of part IV, the injunction here is contrary to the plain language of § 1252(f) and the district court lacked the jurisdiction to enter it.
Id. at 1062. We subsequently reversed this conclusion on en banc review, however, on the basis that the ordered injunction was issued under part V of the subchapter, rather than part IV and, therefore, not within the terms of Section 1252(f). Catho- lic Soc. Servs. , 232 F.3d at 1150. Were we nonetheless to accept the panel’s reasoning as persuasive, it would not con- *20 11404
trol here. The requested injunction at issue does not seek to enjoin the operation of Part IV provisions to relieve harm caused by misinterpretation of other statutory provisions, but to enjoin conduct alleged not to be authorized by the proper operation of Part IV provisions. The sound reasoning of Ali persuades that this is not barred by the plain terms of Section 1252(f).
D. Rumsfeld v. Padilla
[8]
Finally, Respondents claim that the Supreme Court’s
holding in
Rumsfeld v. Padilla
,
no authority or rationale for the proposition that we do not
have jurisdiction to provide class relief in a habeas corpus
action that meets the requirements for certification merely
because class members are in the immediate custody of differ-
ent facilities. Such actions have been maintained previously
against single and multiple respondents.
See Schall v. Martin,
VI. Rule 23
[9] In addition to raising various bars to class relief, Respondents assert that the proposed class fails to comply with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, governing class certification. Rule 23(a) provides that a class may be certified only if:
(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class;
(3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and
(4) the representative parties will fairly and ade- quately protect the interests of the class.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a). The party seeking certification must meet all of these requirements and Rule 23(b) further provides that for certification the class must fall into one of three cate- gories. Zinser , 253 F.3d at 1186 (“[T]he party seeking class certification . . . bears the burden of demonstrating that she has met each of the four requirements of Rule 23(a) and at least one of the requirements of Rule 23(b).”) Petitioner seeks certification under the category provided for in Rule 23(b)(2), which requires that “the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds that apply generally to the class, so that final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief is appropriate respecting the class as a whole.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(2). Respondents challenge the proposed class’s com- pliance with all aspects of Rule 23 except the numerosity requirement, which Respondents concede is met. We discuss the proposed class’s compliance with the remaining require- ments individually.
A. Commonality
The commonality requirement “serves chiefly two pur-
poses: (1) ensuring that absentee members are fairly and ade-
quately represented; and (2) ensuring practical and efficient
case management.”
Walters v. Reno
, 145 F.3d 1032, 1045
(9th Cir. 1998). We have construed this requirement “permis-
sively.”
Hanlon v. Chrysler Corp.,
[10] Respondents challenge the commonality of class mem- bers’ claims on the ground that class members suffer deten- tion for different reasons and under the authority of different statutes. Respondents assert that, as a result, the question of whether individual class members’ detention may be contin- ued without a bond hearing turns on divergent questions of statutory interpretation and consideration of different factual circumstances. Respondents are undoubtedly correct that members of the proposed class do not share every fact in common or completely identical legal issues. This is not required by Rule 23(a)(1). Instead, the commonality require- ments asks us to look only for some shared legal issue or a common core of facts. This the proposed members of the class certainly have. In each case in which we have inter- preted the scope of various statutes providing for both discre- tionary and mandatory detention in the immigration context, our determinations have been guided, if not controlled, by the question of whether indefinite or prolonged detention generat- ing serious constitutional concerns is present. A form of that question is posed here: may an individual be detained for over six months without a bond hearing under a statute that does not explicitly authorize detention for longer than that time without generating serious constitutional concerns? This ques- tion will be posed by the detention of every member of the class and their entitlement to a bond hearing will largely be determined by its answer. See Casas-Castrillon , 535 F.3d at 951 (“Because the prolonged detention of an alien without an individualized determination of his dangerousness or flight risk would be ‘constitutionally doubtful,’ we hold that § 1226(a) must be construed as requiring the Attorney Gen- eral to provide the alien with such a hearing.” (emphasis omit- ted)); Tijani , 430 F.3d at 1242 (interpreting statutory framework to provide bond hearing because “it is constitu- tionally doubtful that Congress may authorize imprisonment of this duration for lawfully admitted resident aliens who are subject to removal.”). The nature of the particular statute authorizing the detention of individual class members will play some role in determining whether class members are entitled to relief, as well. Nonetheless, the constitutional issue at the heart of each class member’s claim for relief is com- mon.
We also note that a finding of commonality here serves the purposes of the requirement. Answering comprehensively in a class setting the constitutional question that is at the center of the proposed class’s claims will facilitate development of a uniform framework for analyzing detainee claims to a bond hearing. This would render management of these claims more efficient for the courts. It would also benefit many of the puta- tive class members by obviating the severe practical concerns that would likely attend them were they forced to proceed alone. In many of the cases where we have adjudicated these immigration detention claims, the petitioner had been detained well beyond six months, the point at which counsel contends that the putative class members should be entitled to a bond hearing. See, e.g. , Tijani , 430 F.3d at 1242 (9th Cir. 2005) (ordering a bond hearing after an alien was detained for nearly three years). Without certification, therefore, many of the putative class members likely would not be able to adjudi- cate their claimed need of a bond hearing after six months of detention—that claim would become moot before the district court could come to a decision. Thus, for many of the putative class members, class treatment in this case is likely necessary to provide the remedy sought.
To the extent there may be any concern that the differing statutes authorizing detention of the various class members will render class adjudication of class members’ claims impractical or undermine effective representation of the class, it may counsel the formation of subclasses. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(5); Marisol A. , 126 F.3d at 378-79 (finding sub- classes appropriate where groups of class members each had “separate and discrete legal claims pursuant to particular fed- eral and state constitutional, statutory, and regulatory obliga- tions of the defendants”). Because the possibility of subclasses was not raised below, we leave it to the district court to reach it in the first instance. The parties may submit proposals for formation of subclasses on remand and the dis- trict court shall exercise its discretion to determine whether adoption of any proposal would be appropriate. See U.S. Parole Comm’n v. Geraghty , 445 U.S. 388, 407-08 (1980) (holding that court of appeals may order district court to con- sider any proposals for subclasses made on remand). The dis- trict court, however, should not lose sight of the overarching issue: The circumstances, if any, that would warrant pro- longed detention without hearing.
B. Typicality
[11]
The typicality requirement looks to whether “the
claims of the class representatives [are] typical of those of the
class, and [is] ‘satisfied when each class member’s claim
arises from the same course of events, and each class member
makes similar legal arguments to prove the defendant’s liabil-
ity.’ ”
Armstrong v. Davis
,
Respondents argue that Petitioner’s claims are not typical of the class because of his supervised release and because of his aggravated felon status, currently under appeal. Both are immaterial. The single relevance Petitioner’s supervised release has to his claim is to whether it renders Petitioner’s claim moot. Defenses unique to a class representative counsel against class certification only where they “threaten to become the focus of the litigation.” Hanon v. Dataproducts Corp ., 976 F.2d 497, 508 (9th Cir. 1992) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). We have determined that Peti- tioner’s supervised release does not moot his claim and, there- fore, no mootness defense particular to him will interfere with the ongoing class litigation.
[12] Petitioner’s aggravated felon status is similarly of no significance to the typicality analysis. The claims of Petitioner and the class on the whole are that they are entitled to a bond hearing in which dangerousness and risk of flight are evalu- ated. While Petitioner’s criminal history is currently central to the question of whether Petitioner will ultimately be removed and will almost certainly be relevant to any bond hearing determination, the determination of whether Petitioner is enti- tled to a bond hearing will rest largely on interpretation of the statute authorizing his detention. The particular characteristics of the Petitioner or any individual detainee will not impact the resolution of this general statutory question and, therefore, cannot render Petitioner’s claim atypical.
C. Adequacy
[13]
“Whether the class representatives satisfy the ade-
quacy requirement depends on ‘the qualifications of counsel
for the representatives, an absence of antagonism, a sharing of
interests between representatives and absentees, and the
unlikelihood that the suit is collusive.’ ”
Walters
,
D. Rule 23(b)(2)
Respondents challenge certification under Rule 23(b)(2) on grounds parallel to their challenge under Rule 23(a). Respon- dents assert that as class members are potentially detained pursuant to different statutes, Respondents have not refused to act or acted on grounds generally applicable to the class. In particular, Respondents note that some class members may not ultimately be entitled to a bond hearing because they are properly subject to mandatory detention and that the regula- tions currently implementing the various discretionary deten- tions statutes provide for a different burden of proof at bond hearings than that found to be required by us in Casas- Castrillon for aliens detained pursuant to Section 1226(a).
[14]
Respondents’ contentions miss the point of Rule
23(b)(2). “Class certification under Rule 23(b)(2)” requires
that “the primary relief sought is declaratory or injunctive.”
Zinser
, 253 F.3d at 1195. The rule does not require us to
examine the viability or bases of class members’ claims for
declaratory and injunctive relief, but only to look at whether
class members seek uniform relief from a practice applicable
to all of them. As we have previously stated, “it is sufficient”
to meet the requirements of Rule 23(b)(2) that “class mem-
bers complain of a pattern or practice that is generally appli-
cable to the class as a whole.”
Walters
,
VII. Conclusion
Having found that none of the bars to class relief raised by Respondents prevent certification of the proposed class and that the class meets the requirements of Rule 23, we reverse the district court’s denial of class certification and we remand for further proceedings. We leave to the district court’s discre- tion the question of whether formation of subclasses would be appropriate.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.