Vetcher v. Img and Customs Enforcement


Case: 19-10156 Document: 00515727945 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/01/2021 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED February 1, 2021 No. 19-10156 Lyle W. Cayce Summary Calendar Clerk Ivan Vetcher, Plaintiff—Appellant, versus Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Supervisors; Dusty Rowden, ICE Deportation Officer; FNU Ashley, Detention Officer at Rolling Plains Regional Jail Detention Center; Marcello Villegas, Warden, Rolling Plains Regional Jail Detention Center; ICE Officers, LNU/FNU; Jeh C. Johnson, Secretary of Department of Homeland Security; Philip T. Miller, Assistant Director of Field Operations for Enforcement and Removal Operations; FNU Hernandez, Detention Officer at Rolling Plains Regional Jail Detention Center; FNU Ross, Detention Officer at Rolling Plains Regional Jail Detention Center; ICE Agents, LNU/FNU, ICEA1; ICE Agents, LNU/FNU, ICEA2; Rolling Plains Regional Jail & Detention Center Staff; United States Department of Homeland Security, Supervisors, Defendants—Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas No. 1:16-CV-164 Case: 19-10156 Document: 00515727945 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/01/2021 No. 19-10156 Before King, Smith, and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Ivan Vetcher, former immigration detainee #AXXXXXXXX, filed a civil action raising claims under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). He sought declaratory and injunc- tive relief and compensatory and punitive damages. Vetcher alleged that he was denied access to the courts; the defendants retaliated against him for the exercise of his rights; he was denied his right to communication; he was denied religious rights; he was subject to punitive treatment during his civil detention; he was subject to cruel and unusual punishment; and some of the defendants used excessive force against him. He asserted that the defendants were liable to him in their individual and official capacities. Except for the claims against Rowden and Villegas regarding alleged retaliatory transfers, the district court dismissed all of Vetcher’s claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) for failure to state a claim for relief and certified the partial judgment as final under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). Vetcher filed a motion to amend the judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(b) and a motion to amend the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15. His motions were denied, and he appeals. In Vetcher’s notice of appeal, he indicated the intent to appeal the order denying his Rule 52 motion and his Rule 15 motion and also asserted that the district court improperly dismissed his claims relating to the denial of access to courts, which were addressed by the district court in its earlier ruling. Thus, the issues raised in those motions, including the denial of access to courts, are properly within the scope of the appeal. See Williams v. Henagan, 595 F.3d 610, 616 (5th Cir. 2010). * Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opin- ion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4. 2 Case: ...

Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals