MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff Alexander V. Bibicheff commenced this action against U.S. Attorney
BACKGROUND
These facts are taken from the Complaint and are assumed to be true for the purpose of this motion. Plaintiff is a United States citizen who travels internationally with his family for vacation an average of three times a year. On August 27, 2011, Plaintiff was traveling back to the United States after a one week vacation in Aruba. At the Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) preclearance area in the Aruba International airport, Plaintiff was handed a Form 6059B Declaration Form, and after having read a question about whether he was bringing any fruit with him, Plaintiff disclosed to a CBP officer that he had two apples and two bananas in his possession, which he had intended to eat on the airplane. Plaintiff asked if he could dispose of the fruit prior to passing through the inspection area, but the CBP officer told him that he would have to show the fruit to the officers at the next clearance area. At the next clearance area, Plaintiff handed the fruit to the CBP officer in charge. The officer confiscated the apples, but allowed Plaintiff to take the bananas with him. Plaintiff alleges that the officer “appeared to make a notation on the computer.” Plaintiff did not receive any citations or fines and ultimately boarded the airplane and flew back to the United States. After the trip, since Plaintiffs passport was set to expire in September of 2012, Plaintiff applied for a new U.S. passport, which the U.S. Department of State issued to him on May 20, 2012.
On August 3, 2012, Plaintiff returned to the United States after a vacation in Spain. Upon landing in JFK International Airport, a CBP officer- at the primary inspection area asked Plaintiff if he ever lost his passport. Plaintiff responded that he never lost his old passport or his newly issued passport. The CBP officer then escorted Plaintiff to the secondary inspection area, where Plaintiff was detained for approximately 30-45 minutes. During the secondary inspection, the CBP officer asked Plaintiff whether he had any fruit with him, and Plaintiff answered that he did not. Plaintiff inquired as to why he was referred to secondary inspection, but he was not given an answer.
On September 29, 2012, Plaintiff and his wife returned to the United States after a vacation in Mexico, and Plaintiff was again referred to secondary inspection at JFK International Airport. Prior to being sent for secondary inspection a CBP officer tore up the Form 6059B that Plaintiffs wife had filled out and instructed Plaintiff to fill out a new one. Plaintiff and his wife were detained for approximately three hours, during which CBP officers questioned Plaintiff and searched his and his wife’s luggage. Again, Plaintiff inquired as to why he had been referred to secondary inspection, but he was not given an answer.
On or about December 14, 2012, Plaintiff filed a complaint using the Department of Homeland Security Traveler Redress In
Plaintiff sets forth six causes of action in the Complaint. Count I states that “[t]he continuing failure of Defendants to complete their review of Plaintiffs DHS TRIP complaint and to correct/update their system, and/or take other appropriate remedial action regarding Plaintiffs DHS TRIP complaint is subject to correction by mandamüs under 28 U.S.C. § 1361.”
I. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Claims Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1)
A. Legal Standard
A case may properly be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) “when the district court lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it.” Makarova v. United States,
B. Defendants’ Mootness Argument
Defendants argue that “Plaintiffs claims regarding Defendants’ alleged failure to complete their review of his DHS TRIP inquiry are moot and should be dismissed” because “[sjince filing his Complaint ... Plaintiff has received a response from DHS TRIP stating that ‘DHS has researched and completed [its] review of [Plaintiffs] case.’ ” (Defs.’ Mem. in Supp. at 7-8.)
Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution limits the jurisdiction of federal courts to “actual cases and controversies.” Jefferson v. Abrams,
According to Defendants, approximately three months after filing this Complaint,
Although Plaintiff received the letter subsequent to filing this action, the letter is currently within the Court’s purview because Plaintiff submitted it on May 23, 2013 as an exhibit to a pre-motion letter. (Docket Entry 12.) Plaintiff now contends that “the Court may not rely on the letter to grant Defendants’ motion to dismiss under FRCP 12(b)(1), but must allow Plaintiff to undergo discovery.” (Pl.’s Mem. in Opp’n at 12.) Specifically, he argues that his claim is not moot because the April 30 letter “does not confirm that the required corrective action was taken” and “fails to specify any steps Defendants have taken to ensure Plaintiffs constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable, non-routine, invasive and extensive search and seizure will not be violated again in the future.” (Id. at 12-13.) However, as Defendants note, “[t]hat Plaintiff is dissatisfied with the information he received at the conclusion of that review does not resuscitate his moot claims to compel agency action.” (Defs.’ Reply at 6.) Ultimately, the letter demonstrates that Plaintiff has availed himself of a redress process mandated by Congress, and that process has been completed. See 49 U.S.C. § 44926. Furthermore, the Plaintiff has not demonstrated why he is “entitled to a declaratory judgment that Plaintiffs prior acts, omissions and delayed conclusion of the TRIP Inquiry were unlawful” (Pl.’s Mem. in Opp’n at 13) whereas it is clear that DHS completed its review approximately only four months after Plaintiff filed his complaint. Accordingly, Plaintiffs claims against Defendants for failing to complete their review of Plaintiffs DHS TRIP complaint are dismissed.
II. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Claims Pursuant Rule 12(b)(6)
Rule 8(a) provides that a pleading shall contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). The Supreme Court has clarified the pleading standard applicable in evaluating a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). First, in Bell Atlantic Corporation v. Twombly,
While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiffs obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact). Id. at 555,
More recently, in Ashcroft v. Iqbal,
Second, “[w]hen there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Id. at 679,
Generally, in deciding a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the court may only consider facts stated in the complaint or “[d]ocuments that are attached to the complaint or incorporated in it by reference.” Roth v. Jennings,
A. Plaintiffs Fourth Amendment Claims
Plaintiff alleges that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when he was stopped three times for secondary inspection at JFK international airport. One stop lasted for 30-45 minutes, one stop lasted for three hours and one stop lasted for two hours. Plaintiff alleges that CBP officers interrogated him, detained him and searched his luggage. In addition, Plaintiff alleges that a CBP officer revealed to him that there was a “hit” against him in the CBP system and that Plaintiff would be stopped every time he returned to the United States from abroad. Finally, Plaintiff alleges that a CBP officer tore up his wife’s 6059B Form and ordered Plaintiff to fill out and sign a
The Fourth Amendment requires the government to respect “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons ... and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” U.S. Const. Amend. IV. “What is reasonable depends upon all of the circumstances surrounding the search or seizure and the nature of the search or seizure itself.” United States v. Montoya de Hernandez,
In Tabbaa v. Chertoff, the Second Circuit noted that “the precise line between what is routine and what is not routine ... has not been clearly delineated.”
Plaintiffs allegations do not support a claim that the searches he experienced were non-routine. In particular, Plaintiffs allegation that officers searched his luggage does not support a claim that he experienced a non-routine search. See Tabbaa,
B. Fifth Amendment Due Process Claim
“To establish entitlement to due process protection under the Fifth Amendment, [Plaintiff] must first demonstrate [that he] possesses] a property interest of constitutional dimension.” Furlong v. Shalala,
“Although the Constitution protects property interests, it does not create them.” Furlong,
Here, Plaintiff asserts that he has a “private interest in his travel in and out of the United States, possession and control over his property, knowledge regarding information about him in government databases, and ability to dispute and correct erroneous information about him within government databases.”
First, the private interest that will be affected by the official action; second, the risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used, and the probable value, if any, of additional or substitute procedural safeguards; and finally, the Government’s interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail.
Mathews v. Eldridge,
In this circumstance, whatever weight might be given to Plaintiffs articulated private interests or any risk of procedural error during the DHS TRIP review process is significantly outweighed by the government’s substantial interest in protecting its borders and ensuring national security. It is clear that “[t]he Government’s interest in preventing the entry of unwanted persons and effects is at its zenith at the international border.” Flores-Montano,
Moreover, with respect to plaintiffs asserted interest in his property, although the CBP officers may have temporarily dispossessed Plaintiff of his luggage, consistent with the government’s interest in national security, the CBP has authority to conduct such searches. See 19 C.F.R. § 162.6 (stating that “[a]ll persons, baggage, and merchandise arriving in the Customs territory of the United States from places outside thereof are hable to inspection and search by a Customs officer”). Furthermore, regarding Plaintiffs assertion that he is entitled to knowledge about his existence in government databases, the government has articulated that it “does not reveal whether a particular person is on or not on a watchlist” based on its assessment that revealing such information has the possibility to harm national security and law enforcement interest. See http://www.dhs.gov/step-l-should-i-use-dhs-trip. Therefore, given the government’s strong interest in protecting national security at its borders, Plaintiffs due process claim is dismissed.
C. § 1983 Claims
Plaintiff alleges that Defendants’ subjection of him to secondary in
Although Plaintiff concedes that § 1983 applies to persons acting under color of State law, he contends that it may apply to federal officers if there is “proof of joint action with state officials.”
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) and Rule 12(b)(6) is granted.
SO ORDERED.
Notes
. The DHS TRIP program was established pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 44926 providing that "[t]he Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish a timely and fair process for individuals who believe they have been delayed or prohibited from boarding a commercial aircraft because they were wrongly identified as a threat under the regimes utilized by the Transportation Security Administration, United States Customs and Border Protection, or any other office or component of the Department of Homeland Security.”
. Although in the First Count, Plaintiff cites the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA”), he fails to provide any provision of that Act which he claims has been violated.
. Count VI solely seeks attorney’s fees and costs.
. This includes Plaintiff's claims pursuant to Count I seeking a writ of mandamus compelling review of Plaintiff's DHS TRIP complaint, and Counts III, IV, and V alleging that the failure to complete a review of Plaintiff's DHS TRIP complaint violated the APA, Plaintiff's due process rights, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, respectively.
. The Court has already determined that Plaintiff’s claim regarding his “ability to dispute and correct erroneous information about him within government databases” is moot because review of his DHS TRIP complaint has been completed.
. Plaintiff relies on Peck v. United States,
. The Court, presented with extraneous materials from Plaintiff could convert the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. See Kopec v. Coughlin, 922 F.2d 152, 154 (2d Cir.1991), aff'd
