UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SAMER ABDULRAZZAQ MOHAMMED, : et al., : : Plaintiffs, : Civil Action No.: 17-cv-2660 (RC) : v. : Re Document No.: 11 : JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS, III, et al., : : Defendants. : MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION I. INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs Samer Abdulrazzaq Mohammed and his family have brought this lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 701 et seq., to challenge the denial of their application for refugee resettlement in the United States under Section 207 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1157. Defendants now move to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, arguing that the claims are non-justiciable and barred by longstanding principles of nonreviewability of visa denials. Because it lacks jurisdiction to review discretionary denials of refugee resettlement applications, the Court grants the motion to dismiss. II. BACKGROUND Plaintiff Samer Abdulrazzaq Mohammed (“Mohammed”) is an Iraqi national who lives in Baghdad with the four other plaintiffs in this case, his wife Hanan Hasan Salih and his three sons Mohammed Samer Abdulrazzaq, Ali Samer Abdulrazzaq, and Husain Samer Abdulrazzaq. See 2014 Request for Review Supporting Docs., Compl. Ex. 3, at 10–14, ECF No. 1-3; 2017 Marwa Samer Abdulrazzaq Letter, Compl. Ex. 7, at 1, ECF No. 1-7; 2017 Request for Review, Compl. Ex. 8, at 2, ECF No. 1-8. Mohammed is an engineer by profession. See 2014 Request for Review, Compl. Ex. 2, at 1, ECF No. 1-2. Between 2004 and 2009, Mohammed worked as a subcontractor on a number of projects in the International Zone in Baghdad, including at the United States Embassy. Id. at 2. As a result of his work in the International Zone, Mohammed was targeted for reprisals and forced to relocate multiple times between 2006 and 2009, including moving to Syria for two years between 2006 and 2008 after armed militia ransacked his home and threatened his family’s life in July 2006. See id. at 2–4. In 2009, Mohammed and his family applied for refugee resettlement in the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Id. at 1. Under Section § 207 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. § 1157, the admission of refugees is committed to the discretion of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. See 8 U.S.C. § 1157(c)(1); 6 U.S.C. § 557. On July 9, 2014, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued Mohammed a notice of ineligibility for resettlement. Notice of Ineligibility, Compl. Ex. 1, at 1, ECF No. 1-1. The notice explained that Mohammed and his family’s application for refugee resettlement under § 207 of the INA had “been denied as a matter of discretion for security-related reasons.” Id. at 2. The same month, Mohammed filed a request for review of the denial, attaching a number of documents in support. Compl. at 5; see generally 2014 Request for Review; 2014 Request for ...
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