UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ) AHMED ALI MUTHANA, individually, ) and as next friend of Hoda Muthana and ) Minor John Doe, ) ) Plaintiff, ) v. ) Civil Action No. 19-445 (RBW) ) MICHAEL POMPEO, in his official ) UNDER SEAL capacity as Secretary of the Department of ) State, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION The plaintiff, Ahmed Ali Muthana, brings this civil action individually and as the next friend of his daughter, Hoda Muthana, and minor grandson, John Doe, against the defendants, Michael Pompeo, in his official capacity as the Secretary of the United States Department of State (“the “State Department”); Donald J. Trump, in his official capacity as the President of the United States; and William Barr, in his official capacity as the Attorney General of the United States (collectively, the “defendants”), seeking expedited declaratory, injunctive, and mandamus relief, see Expedited Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, Injunctive Relief and Petition for Writ of Mandamus (“Compl.” or the “Complaint”) ¶ 1, in his attempt to have the Court order that his daughter and grandson be permitted to enter the United States and that he be permitted to provide financial support to them while they are in Syria. After denying the plaintiff’s first request for expedited consideration of the relief requested by the plaintiff on March 11, 2019, see Order at 4 (Mar. 11, 2019), ECF No. 18, on November 14, 2019, the Court granted the Plaintiff’s Renewed Motion for Expedited Ruling (“Pl.’s Mot.” or the “renewed motion for expedited consideration”) and granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Partial Summary Judgment (“Defs.’ Mot.” or the “motion to dismiss”),1 see Order at 1–2 (Nov. 15, 2019), ECF No. 30. This Memorandum Opinion provides the legal basis for the Court’s November 15, 2019 Order. I. BACKGROUND According to the plaintiff, “[p]rior to his daughter’s birth, [the plaintiff] worked as a diplomat for the United Nations.” Compl. ¶ 18. However, “[o]n June 2, 1994, the Yemeni Ambassador Al-Aashtal required [the plaintiff] to surrender his diplomatic identity card.” Id. Thereafter, his daughter, Hoda Muthana, was born in New Jersey on 1994. See id. ¶ 20. The plaintiff initially applied for a United States passport for his daughter in 2004. See id. ¶ 21. The State Department “initially questioned whether Ms. Muthana was eligible for a [United States] passport, based on [its] records showing her father’s diplomatic status remained in effect until February 6, 1995,” but after the plaintiff provided the State Department with a letter “confirm[ing] that the diplomatic status he had due to his employment at the [United Nations] was terminated prior to the time of Ms. Muthana’s birth,” Ms. Muthana’s passport application was granted. Id. In November 2014, Ms. Muthana withdrew from the university she was attending in Alabama and traveled to Syria. See id. ¶ 22. “After arriving in Syria, Ms. Muthana made her 1 In addition to the filings already ...
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