United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 21-1704 ___________________________ Andrea Comfort Martinez, lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee, v. Ronnet Sasse, in her individual capacity, lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant. ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - St. Joseph ____________ Submitted: November 17, 2021 Filed: June 16, 2022 ____________ Before COLLOTON, GRASZ, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ COLLOTON, Circuit Judge. Andrea Martinez sued Ronnet Sasse, a law enforcement officer employed by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Martinez claims that Sasse violated her rights under the Fourth Amendment by effecting a seizure through the use of excessive force. Sasse moved for judgment on the pleadings, and argued that she was entitled to qualified immunity. The district court denied the motion, reasoning that Martinez’s allegations stated a claim for the violation of a clearly established right. We respectfully disagree, and therefore reverse the order. I. According to the complaint, which we accept as true at this procedural juncture, Martinez is an attorney who was representing a woman, Kenia Bautista- Mayorga, and her young son, N.B.M., in immigration proceedings. After Bautista- Mayorga was arrested during a traffic stop, N.B.M. moved to live with Bautista- Mayorga’s domestic partner, Luis Alfredo Diaz Inestroza, in Texas. In June 2018, as Bautista-Mayorga’s removal from the United States appeared imminent, Martinez spoke with ICE officials to coordinate reuniting N.B.M. with his mother for deportation. ICE officials told Martinez to bring the boy to an ICE facility parking lot at 3:30 a.m. on June 26, 2018. The officials said that the mother would be waiting in an ICE van to take the child. At the appointed time, Martinez, Diaz Inestroza, and the child arrived in the parking lot of the ICE facility. A Netflix film crew accompanied the Martinez group to produce a documentary about the family’s experience. There was no ICE van in the parking lot. At about 3:40 a.m., Sasse called Martinez and told her that Diaz Inestroza and N.B.M. must come inside the facility to reunite the boy with his mother. Martinez responded that they preferred to remain outside. Just after the phone call, Sasse and another ICE officer, Everett Chase, turned on the lights in the ICE facility and stood outside near the entrance. Martinez left Diaz Inestroza and N.B.M. at her car and approached the officers to ask about reuniting the boy with his mother. Chase and Sasse informed Martinez that Diaz -2- Inestroza and the boy would have to come inside the facility. Martinez walked back to her car and began to tell Diaz Inestroza what she had learned. Chase followed Martinez to her car and stood nearby as Martinez spoke to Diaz Inestroza. Chase then interrupted Martinez, grabbed Diaz Inestroza’s arm, and walked him toward the entrance of the ICE facility. Diaz Inestroza was carrying the boy in his arms. Martinez asked Chase to let Diaz Inestroza depart and allow her to take N.B.M. into the building. Chase ignored her and continued …
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