UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ) ALICIA MARIA MARQUEZ, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 20-cv-3225 (TSC) ) MICHAEL R. POMPEO, Secretary, U.S ) Department of State, in his official capacity, ) ) Defendant. ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff Alicia Maria Marquez brings this action against now-former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, alleging that Defendant and the United States Department of State (“State”) unlawfully denied her passport application in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”) and the Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause. Defendant has moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s lawsuit. ECF No. 11, Def. Mot. For the reasons explained below, the court will GRANT Defendant’s motion to dismiss. I. BACKGROUND Plaintiff alleges that she was born on July 7, 1980, in San Angelo, Texas, but did not receive a U.S. birth certificate at that time because shortly after her birth she and her parents returned to Mexico, where they registered her birth and obtained a Mexican birth certificate. ECF No. 1, Compl. ¶¶ 5, 9. In 1982, Plaintiff and her family returned to the United States, at which point they recorded her birth in the United States and Plaintiff obtained a U.S. birth certificate. Id. ¶ 11. It is unclear how long Plaintiff resided in the United States between 1982 and 1999, but she claims that she at least periodically traveled to the United States during that time to receive vaccinations, her First Holy Communion, and to attend elementary school. Id. ¶ 1 12. Plaintiff alleges that more recently, since 1999, she has lived in San Antonio, Texas. ECF No. 13, Pl. Opp’n at 5. She asserts that in 2006 she learned that it is unlawful to have two birth certificates, and consequently filed a civil complaint in Mexico to have her Mexican birth certificate annulled. Compl. ¶ 15. On January 9, 2009, Plaintiff applied for a U.S. passport. Id. ¶ 17; Def. Mot. at 2. In support of her application, she submitted a copy of her U.S. birth certificate issued by the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics, which states that Plaintiff was born in 1980, in San Angelo, Texas. Def. Mot., Ex. 1. On June 22, 2009, State responded that it suspected the birth attendant who filed Plaintiff’s birth certificate in 1982 of submitting false birth records, and asked Plaintiff to provide supplemental documentation in support of her application. Id. On September 16, 2009, Plaintiff provided supplemental information, but State found the additional documentation insufficient to show by a preponderance of evidence that Plaintiff was born in the United States. Id. State further noted that Plaintiff’s birth record was flagged as having been filed fraudulently. Id. Consequently, it denied Plaintiff’s application, but informed her that she could submit additional documentation to support her application and request re-adjudication within 60 days of receiving the denial. Plaintiff subsequently submitted additional evidence and requested re- adjudication of her application, and in March 2010, State affirmed its denial decision. Id., Ex. 2. On August 24, …
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