UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA K.O., et al., : : Plaintiffs, : Civil Action No.: 20-309 (RC) : v. : Re Document Nos.: 51, 64, 66 : U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS : ENFORCEMENT, et al., : : Defendants. : MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS; DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT Plaintiffs in this putative class action are minor non–United States citizen children who, after arriving in the United States either at or between designated ports of entry, were forcibly separated from their parents by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or one of its sub- agencies, Customs & Border Patrol (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), or U.S. Customs & Immigration Services (USCIS). Their case arrived before this Court upon transfer from the District of Massachusetts. In that court, Plaintiffs had filed their Complaint, ECF No. 1, and their First Amended Complaint (“Am. Compl.”), ECF No. 45, asserting Constitutional and related statutory claims against a number of individual federal officials, including the former Attorney General, the now-former Secretary of DHS, the now-former White House Chief of Staff, and a Senior Advisor to the President (collectively, with others identified below, “the individual Defendants”). The individual Defendants moved to dismiss the First Amended Complaint. See Mot. Dismiss, ECF No. 51. While that motion was pending, Plaintiffs sought leave to amend their complaint a second time. They proposed to add the United States as a defendant and to add eight counts against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). Pls.’ Mot. for Leave to File Second Am. Compl. (“Mot. Amend”), ECF No. 64. The individual Defendants opposed this, as did the United States, which appeared specially for the limited purpose of opposing the motion. Judge Hillman of the District of Massachusetts granted the individual Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue. Mem. of Decision and Order (“Mem.”), ECF No. 86. He transferred the case to this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1631. Id. at 14. Judge Hillman did not address the individual Defendants’ additional arguments that the First Amended Complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim, and he explicitly left the Motion to Amend open for this Court to resolve. See id. at 14 & n.9. The Court has received supplemental briefing from Plaintiffs, from the individual Defendants, and from the United States. The individual Defendants maintain that the First Amended Complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim. Plaintiffs’ motion to file a Second Amended Complaint adding claims against the United States is opposed by both the individual defendants and by the United States, which is still not a party. In addition to these pending motions, the individual Defendants have filed a Notice of Related Case, ECF No. 90, which the Court also addresses here. For the reasons stated below, the Court dismisses the First Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim, and denies leave to ...
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