WALTERS V. RENO: SETTLEMENT OF CHALLENGE TO INS CIVIL DOCUMENT FRAUD PROCEDURES GIVEN FINAL APPROVAL
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 15, No. 2, Mar. 29, 2001

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington has granted final approval of the settlement in Walters v. Reno, a class action lawsuit that challenged the forms and procedures used by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to implement the civil document fraud provisions of section 274C of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The approval means that the settlement is now in effect (for details, see "Settlement Reached in Civil Document Fraud Litigation," IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS UPDATE, Dec. 27, 2000, p. 8).

Under the settlement, the INS can use revised and improved forms and procedures to bring civil document fraud charges. The INS must vacate the civil document fraud final orders that were issued against class members-who are noncitizens who waived or did not timely request a hearing during the 1990s. The agency has until Aug. 21, 2001, to complete the vacating of those orders. The settlement provides that the INS will not recharge class members for the conduct that was the basis for the original document fraud charges.

Once the INS certifies that it has completed vacating the document fraud final orders of class members, class members will have a two-year period to request that the INS join in motions to reopen or remand any deportation proceedings that were affected, in whole or part, by the fact that the class member had been issued a document fraud final order. The INS must join in such motions, as long as the class member is now eligible for some relief, or is seeking to contest deportability.

Copies of the complete settlement, and further information about the case, may be obtained from NILC and are also available at NILC's website (www.nilc.org).

Walters v. Reno, No. C94-1204C (W.D.Wash. Feb. 22, 2001).

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