Fofana v. Mayorkas, No. 20-1623 (8th Cir. 2021)
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The Eighth Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment to plaintiff in an action brought against several officials under the Administrative Procedure Act. The district court concluded that the doctrine of issue preclusion barred the government's rationale for denying plaintiff's application for adjustment of status.
The court concluded that the disputed issue of whether plaintiff solicited funds for a terrorist organization was not actually litigated in an earlier proceeding, and thus issue preclusion does not apply. In this case, the record shows that whether plaintiff was inadmissible because he solicited funds for a terrorist organization was not raised, contested, and submitted for determination in the 2001 asylum proceeding. The court remanded for further proceedings.
Court Description: [Colloton, Author, with Loken and Benton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Immigration. In an action for adjustment of status to legal permanent resident status, the district court erred in granting summary judgment for plaintiff on the ground that the doctrine of issue preclusion barred the government's rationale for denying the application for adjustment of status; the issue of whether plaintiff solicited funds for a terrorist organization was not actually litigated in his earlier asylum proceeding, and the doctrine of issue preclusion did not apply; reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
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