10th Circuit Questions DOJ's Claim Refugee Status Revocations Are Unreviewable
A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court examined the Justice Department’s argument that two Rwandan refugees cannot contest the loss of their status in court.
During a hearing before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department argued that the Supreme Court’s recent Mullin ruling bars judicial review of the revocation of refugee status for two Rwandan nationals. DOJ attorney Aneesa Ahmed linked the Mullin precedent to the case, while the refugees’ lawyer Daniel Black maintained that the Mullin case involved a separate immigration statute and that the termination of refugee status is a final agency action outside removal-proceeding review.
The panel, made up of Judges Timothy Tymkovich, Gregory Phillips and Carolyn McHugh, pressed both sides on the applicability of the Mullin language and requested a new round of oral arguments. The court did not signal how it will rule nor give a schedule for a decision. The dispute centers on whether the Administrative Procedure Act provides the only avenue for review in district court.
Why it matters
The outcome will determine if refugees can challenge the loss of protected status in federal courts.
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