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European Connections & Tours,
Inc. vs. Gonzalez, et al., No. 1:06-cv-00426-CC,
U.S.D.C., N.D. Ga.
(Temporary Restraining Order, March 07, 2006,
Cooper, D.J.)
(*Special Credit to European Connections for
their good lead in the cause against IMBRA.)
There is a first positive victory against
IMBRA. It comes from one court and one judge.
But it advances the cause against IMBRA, and
offers the first legal basis to mount further
successful challenges. A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING
ORDER (TRO) against the U.S. Attorney General
and the Justice Department from enforcing the
International Marriage Broker Regulation Act
of 2005 (IMBRA) against an IMB in Georgia was
issued by the United States District Court for
the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta.
The Order was entered today, on March 08, 2006,
with the Clerk's Office for the U.S. District
Court. It was signed on March 07, 2006 by Judge
Clarence Cooper. This TRO Order enjoins the
U.S. Attorney General and the Justice Department
from enforcing IMBRA against the Plaintiff in
the case at hand, European Connections &
Tours, Inc., an IMB defined under the law, until
such time as Government Attorneys from the Justice
Department submit opposing argument and briefs
at a hearing on a motion for PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION,
set for March 20, 2006 at 1:30 PM.
You are welcome to read the Order and draw
your own conclusions.
Print it or save it to your hard drive for your
records.
CLICK
HERE FOR THE COURT ORDER TRO IN PDF FORMAT
(Public Document in
the Court Records)
The PRACTICAL EFFECT of this ruling, though
it is worded soley against European Connections,
is that the enforcement of the IMBRA law against
other IMBs and their customers in other jurisdictions,
in our opinion, will MOST LIKELY BUT WITHOUT
TOTAL CERTAINTY be postponed by the Justice
Department at least until the TRO is lifted.
That would seem to be by the hearing date for
motion for PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION, namely March
20, 2006. Of course, that is soley our opinion,
and the Justice Department would make that final
decision.
Yes, most of you will have many questions indeed,
for myself and other attorneys. One obvious
question is do I need to comply with the IMBRA
law at this point? There really are no perfect
answers. In
light of the probable practical effect of this
federal court TRO, that is an individual
decision that will have to be made by each IMB
and IMB customer with regards to the risk involved,
at least until the end of the TRO, March 20,
2006. The law is now in litigation, in this
case as well as in probably others around the
country, and will not be clarified until final
ruling. We are probably moving into a "gray"
world where IMBRA will be "in contest" in the
courts for some time.
As for the Order here, please keep carefully
in mind that this ruling emanates from one court
in one place. It is not necessarily binding
in other jurisdictions. It appears to very limited
in time as well, until the next hearing. But
as a practical matter, in our opinion, the Justice
Department will likely choose not to try and
enforce the law until at least March 20, 2006
in other locations and against others.
A very encouraging aspect of the Court's analysis
in support of the Order is contained in the
discussion of the legal requirements for issuance
of a TRO. The Court found that Plaintiff has
a "substantial liklihood of success on the merits"
of the First and Fifth Amendment constitutional
claims (free speech and equal protection.) This
means that the Court is very inclined to agree
with the principal constitutional arguments
against IMBRA as the case proceeds forward,
and the prospects for final victory at least
in this court look bright.
Yes, there are still many unanswered questions.
There is more work ahead. We are not done yet
with this law. We have a long way to go. We
must be cautious. This is but one battle. This
is a good first victory, and provides a basis
for more legal challenges ahead which will also
hopefully be successful.
For now, at least for a brief moment, for those
of us fighting for the cause against IMBRA,
and after months of discouragement and frustration,
we have one positive and encouraging result.
We will continue to monitor the situation.
Gary Bala
USA Immigration Attorney
Pennsylvania USA
Web: www.USAImmigrationAttorney.com
PS: YOUR COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS TO
THIS BLOG ARTICLE ARE WELCOME.
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