Adel Hamad v. Robert Gates , 732 F.3d 990 ( 2013 )


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  •                   FOR PUBLICATION
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    ADEL HASSAN HAMAD,                  Nos. 12-35395
    Plaintiff-Appellant –             12-35489
    Cross-Appellee,
    D.C. No.
    v.                     2:10-cv-00591-
    MJP
    ROBERT M. GATES, in his
    individual capacity; DONALD
    H. RUMSFELD, in his                    OPINION
    individual capacity; PAUL
    WOLFOWITZ, in his individual
    capacity; GORDON R.
    ENGLAND, in his individual
    capacity; JAMES M.
    MCGARRAH, in his individual
    capacity; RICHARD BOWMAN
    MYERS, in his individual
    capacity; PETER PACE, in his
    individual capacity; MICHAEL
    GLENN MULLEN, in his
    individual capacity, AKA
    Mike Mullen; JAMES T. HILL,
    in his individual capacity;
    BANTZ J. CRADDOCK, in his
    individual capacity;
    GEOFFREY D. MILLER, in his
    individual capacity; JAY
    HOOD, in his individual
    capacity; HARRY B. HARRIS,
    2                    HAMAD V. GATES
    JR., in his individual capacity;
    MARK H. BUZBY, in his
    individual capacity; ADOLPH
    MCQUEEN, in his individual
    capacity; NELSON CANNON,
    in his individual capacity;
    MICHAEL BUMGARNER, in his
    individual capacity, AKA
    Mike Bumgarner; WADE
    DENNIS, in his individual
    capacity; BRUCE VARGO, in
    his individual capacity;
    ESTABAN RODRIGUEZ, in his
    individual capacity, AKA
    Stephen Rodriguez, AKA
    Steve Rodriguez; DANIEL K.
    MCNEILL, in his individual
    capacity; GREGORY J. IHDE,
    in his individual capacity;
    JOHN DOES 1-100, in their
    individual capacities; UNITED
    STATES OF AMERICA,
    Defendants-Appellees –
    Cross-Appellants.
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Western District of Washington
    Marsha J. Pechman, Chief District Judge, Presiding
    Argued and Submitted
    June 3, 2013—Seattle, Washington
    HAMAD V. GATES                               3
    Filed October 7, 2013
    Before: Arthur L. Alarcón, M. Margaret McKeown,
    and Sandra S. Ikuta, Circuit Judges.
    Opinion by Judge Ikuta
    SUMMARY*
    Subject Matter Jurisdiction
    The panel held that 28 U.S.C. § 2241(e)(2) deprived the
    district court of subject matter jurisdiction over the claims of
    Adel Hassan Hamad, who was detained at Guantanamo Bay
    as an enemy combatant, and vacated the district court’s order
    dismissing Hamad’s claims seeking damages from former
    Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and other military and
    civilian officials.
    The panel held that the plain language of § 2241(e)(2)
    clearly applied to Hamad’s claims. The panel held that the
    Supreme Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush, 
    553 U.S. 723
     (2008), did not address § 2241(e)(2), and therefore did
    not strike it down. The panel further held that in striking
    down § 2241(e)(1) in Boumediene, the Supreme Court did not
    necessarily strike down § 2241(e)(2), which is severable from
    § 2241(e)(1), and which remained in effect, provided it was
    constitutional. Finally, the panel held that § 2241(e)(2) was
    constitutional as applied to Hamad because: § 2241(e)(2)
    *
    This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has
    been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.
    4                    HAMAD V. GATES
    was not unconstitutional as applied to Hamad’s money
    damages; § 2241(e)(2) was not a bill of attainder because it
    did not inflict legislative punishment; and § 2241(e)(2) did
    not violate the equal protection component of the Due
    Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
    COUNSEL
    Gwynne Skinner (argued), Williamette University College of
    Law, Salem, Oregon; Paul Hoffman (argued), Schonbrun De
    Simone Seplow Harris Hoffman & Harrison LLP, Venice,
    California, for Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.
    Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General; Jenny
    Durkan, United States Attorney; Robert M. Loeb and Sydney
    Foster (argued), Attorneys, Appellate Staff, Civil Division,
    United States Department of Justice, Washington D.C., for
    Defendant-Appellees/Cross-Appellants.
    HAMAD V. GATES                         5
    OPINION
    IKUTA, Circuit Judge:
    Adel Hassan Hamad was detained at Guantanamo Bay as
    an enemy combatant. He seeks damages for his detention and
    his treatment from former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
    and numerous other military and civilian officials. We
    conclude, however, that 28 U.S.C. § 2241(e)(2) deprived the
    district court of subject-matter jurisdiction over Hamad’s
    claims.
    I
    Hamad, a citizen of Sudan, alleges that he was detained
    in Pakistan in 2002 by Pakistani security forces acting under
    the direction of an “unknown American official.” According
    to Hamad, he was transferred to United States military
    custody and detained, first at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan,
    and then at Guantanamo Bay.
    In July 2004, the Department of Defense established
    Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) to determine
    whether foreign nationals held at Guantanamo Bay qualified
    for detention as “enemy combatants.” Boumediene v. Bush,
    
    553 U.S. 723
    , 733 (2008); Memorandum from Deputy
    Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz re Order Establishing
    Combatant Status Review Tribunal § a (July 7, 2004),
    available at http://www.defense.gov/news/Jul2004/
    d20040707review.pdf (Wolfowitz Memo.). The Department
    of Defense defined the term “enemy combatant” as “‘an
    individual who was part of or supporting Taliban or al Qaeda
    forces, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities
    against the United States or its coalition partners.’” Hamdan
    6                     HAMAD V. GATES
    v. Rumsfeld, 
    548 U.S. 557
    , 570 n.1 (2006) (quoting
    Wolfowitz Memo. at 1). A CSRT determined in March 2005
    that Hamad was an enemy combatant. The United States has
    not rescinded this designation.
    In addition to establishing the CSRT procedure, the
    Department of Defense established Administrative Review
    Boards (ARBs) to “determine annually if enemy combatants
    detained . . . [at] Guantanamo Bay, Cuba should be released,
    transferred or continue to be detained” based on an
    assessment of various factors, including the continued threat
    posed by each detainee. Memorandum from Deputy
    Secretary of Defense Gordon England re Revised
    Implementation of Administrative Review Procedures § 1,
    Enclosure 3 § 1 (July 14, 2006), available at
    http://www.defense.gov/news/Aug2006/d20060809arbproc
    eduresmemo.pdf (England Memo.); see also Boumediene,
    553 U.S. at 821 (Roberts, C.J., dissenting) (describing the
    ARB process).           ARBs were required to issue
    recommendations as to whether to (1) “[r]elease the enemy
    combatant without limitations” to another country; (2)
    “[t]ransfer the enemy combatant to . . . [another country] with
    conditions agreed upon between that [country] and the United
    States”; or (3) “[c]ontinue to detain the enemy combatant.”
    See England Memo., Enclosure 3 § 1.
    In November 2005, an ARB panel determined that Hamad
    continued to be a threat to the United States and its allies, but
    also decided that he was eligible to be transferred to Sudan.
    As a result, in 2007, after the United States concluded
    HAMAD V. GATES                                7
    negotiations with Sudan, Hamad was transferred to that
    country.1
    In April 2010, Hamad filed an action for money damages
    in a federal district court in Washington State against twenty-
    two United States military and civilian government officials,
    including former United States Secretary of Defense Robert
    Gates,2 and one hundred unnamed federal officials, all in their
    individual capacities. In his complaint, Hamad raised six
    claims under state common law and the Alien Tort Statute,
    28 U.S.C. § 1350. These six claims alleged violations of
    customary international law and the Geneva Conventions,
    including (1) prolonged arbitrary detention, (2) cruel,
    inhuman, or degrading treatment, (3) torture, (4) targeting of
    a civilian, (5) denial of due process, and (6) forced
    disappearance. In addition to these six claims, Hamad’s
    seventh claim alleged a violation of his Fifth Amendment due
    process rights. Hamad’s claims are premised on his
    allegations that he was wrongfully detained and subjected to
    torture and other forms of cruel treatment. He contends that
    the CSRT erred in determining that he was an enemy
    combatant, and that the United States government detained
    him unlawfully for over two years after the ARB decided to
    transfer him.
    1
    The ARB decision was heavily redacted and the explanation and
    reasoning for the panel’s decision is blacked out. In addition, the record
    does not contain the transfer agreement between the United States and
    Sudan.
    2
    Gates became Secretary of Defense in December 2006. Because
    Hamad was transferred from Guantanamo in December 2007, Gates’s
    tenure as Secretary overlapped with Hamad’s detention at Guantanamo for
    one year.
    8                     HAMAD V. GATES
    The district court dismissed all defendants other than
    Gates for lack of personal jurisdiction. With respect to
    Hamad’s six international law claims against Gates, the
    district court granted the government’s motion to substitute
    itself for Gates under the Westfall Act, 28 U.S.C.
    § 2679(d)(1). Because the district court concluded that the
    government had not waived its sovereign immunity for these
    international law claims, see id. §§ 2679(b)(1), 2680(k), it
    dismissed them. With respect to Hamad’s sole remaining
    claim, a Fifth Amendment claim against Gates, the district
    court held that it had subject matter jurisdiction over this
    claim, but dismissed it because the complaint did not
    plausibly allege that Gates was personally involved in
    violating Hamad’s rights. Hamad timely appealed and the
    government cross appealed.
    II
    This appeal requires us to address a key threshold
    question: whether the district court had jurisdiction over the
    subject matter of this action, given the jurisdiction-stripping
    provisions in 28 U.S.C. § 2241(e). This section provides:
    (1) No court, justice, or judge shall have
    jurisdiction to hear or consider an application
    for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on
    behalf of an alien detained by the United
    States who has been determined by the United
    States to have been properly detained as an
    enemy combatant or is awaiting such
    determination.
    (2) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and
    (3) of section 1005(e) of the Detainee
    HAMAD V. GATES                          9
    Treatment Act of 2005 (10 U.S.C. 801 note),
    no court, justice, or judge shall have
    jurisdiction to hear or consider any other
    action against the United States or its agents
    relating to any aspect of the detention,
    transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of
    confinement of an alien who is or was
    detained by the United States and has been
    determined by the United States to have been
    properly detained as an enemy combatant or is
    awaiting such determination.
    28 U.S.C. § 2241(e).
    “The existence of subject matter jurisdiction is a question
    of law that we review de novo.” Marin Gen. Hosp. v.
    Modesto & Empire Traction Co., 
    581 F.3d 941
    , 944 (9th Cir.
    2009).
    A
    Looking to the plain language of § 2241(e)(2), it is clear
    that this provision applies to Hamad’s claims, and that, as a
    result, “no court, justice, or judge” has authority to hear
    Hamad’s action. Under § 2241(e)(2), courts lack jurisdiction
    over an action that meets the following five requirements:
    (1) the action is against the “United States or its agents”;
    (2) the action relates to “any aspect of the detention, transfer,
    treatment, trial, or conditions of confinement of an alien who
    is or was detained by the United States”; (3) the action relates
    to an alien who was “determined by the United States to have
    been properly detained as an enemy combatant” or an alien
    awaiting such a determination; (4) the action is an action
    “other” than an application for a writ of habeas corpus, which
    10                    HAMAD V. GATES
    is covered in § 2241(e)(1); and (5) the action does not qualify
    for an exception under § 1005(e)(2) or (3) of the Detainee
    Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA), which provide the D.C.
    Circuit jurisdiction over a narrow class of challenges by
    enemy combatants, see Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, Pub.
    L. No. 109-148, div. A, title X, § 1005(e), 119 Stat. 2680,
    2740–44.
    Hamad’s action meets each of these requirements. It is
    “against the United States or its agents” and relates to aspects
    of Hamad’s “detention” and “treatment” (the first and second
    requirements), because Hamad is seeking damages from
    United States military and civilian officers for his detention
    and treatment at Guantanamo. Hamad’s action satisfies the
    third requirement, because there is no dispute that a CSRT
    determined that Hamad was properly detained as an enemy
    combatant. It also meets the fourth requirement, because
    Hamad is not seeking a writ of habeas corpus. Finally,
    Hamad’s claims do not fall into the narrow exception granted
    by § 2241(e)(2) for suits under § 1005(e)(2) or (3) of the
    DTA, which authorize limited D.C. Circuit review. Therefore
    Hamad’s action also satisfies the fifth requirement.
    B
    Although § 2241(e)(2) applies by its terms, Hamad
    contends that, in light of Supreme Court precedent and
    constitutional concerns, we may not apply § 2241(e)(2) to his
    action. He makes three arguments. First, he asserts that
    Boumediene struck down the whole of § 2241(e), including
    § 2241(e)(2). Second, he asserts that, even if Boumediene
    struck down only § 2241(e)(1), § 2241(e)(2) cannot be
    severed from (e)(1) and so both must fall together. Finally,
    HAMAD V. GATES                        11
    he asserts that, even if § 2241(e)(2) survived Boumediene, it
    is unconstitutional as applied to him.
    In order to analyze these arguments, we must first review
    the complex historical context which forms their backdrop.
    1
    “On September 11, 2001, the al Qaeda terrorist network
    used hijacked commercial airliners to attack prominent
    targets in the United States.” Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 
    542 U.S. 507
    , 510 (2004). In response, Congress authorized the
    President to use “all necessary and appropriate force against
    those nations, organizations, or persons he determines
    planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks
    . . . , or harbored such organizations or persons.”
    Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001, Pub. L.
    107-40, § 2, 115 Stat. 224, 224. “In Hamdi . . . five Members
    of the Court recognized that detention of individuals who
    fought against the United States in Afghanistan for the
    duration of the particular conflict in which they were
    captured, is so fundamental and accepted an incident to war
    as to be an exercise of the necessary and appropriate force
    Congress has authorized the President to use.” Boumediene,
    553 U.S. at 733 (internal quotation marks omitted). On the
    same day it issued its opinion in Hamdi, the Supreme Court
    also issued Rasul v. Bush, which held that federal courts had
    jurisdiction under the then-effective version of the habeas
    statute, 28 U.S.C. § 2241, “to hear [Guantanamo detainees’]
    habeas corpus challenges to the legality of their detention at
    the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.” 
    542 U.S. 466
    , 484 (2004).
    Taken together, Hamdi and Rasul established that the
    President had the authority to detain individuals pursuant to
    the Authorization for Use of Military Force, but that detainees
    12                        HAMAD V. GATES
    held at Guantanamo Bay had a statutory right to file habeas
    petitions in federal court to challenge their detention.
    Shortly after the Supreme Court decided Hamdi and
    Rasul, the Department of Defense “established Combatant
    Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs) to determine whether
    individuals detained at Guantanamo were ‘enemy
    combatants,’ as the Department define[d] that term.”
    Boumediene, 553 U.S. at 733. The Department of Defense
    defined “enemy combatant” as “an individual who was part
    of or supporting Taliban or al Qaeda forces, or associated
    forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States
    or its coalition partners.” Hamdan, 548 U.S. at 570 n.1.
    (internal quotation marks omitted).
    In 2005, Congress responded to the Supreme Court’s
    decision in Rasul, as well as the Executive’s decision to
    establish Combatant Status Review Tribunals, by enacting the
    Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA), Pub. L. No. 109-148,
    div. A, title X, 119 Stat. 2680, 2739–44. In direct response to
    Rasul’s holding that § 2241 gave federal courts jurisdiction
    to hear habeas petitions by Guantanamo detainees, the DTA
    amended § 2241 to include a new subsection, § 2241(e),
    which limited the jurisdiction of the courts to entertain suits
    by Guantanamo detainees.3           See DTA § 1005(e)(1).
    3
    Section 1005(e)(1) of the DTA provides:
    In General—Section 2241 of title 28, United States
    Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    (e) Except as provided in section 1005 of the
    Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, no court, justice,
    or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or
    consider—
    HAMAD V. GATES                             13
    Specifically, this amendment to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 imposed
    two additional jurisdictional limitations: first, “no court,
    justice, or judge” could entertain “an application for a writ of
    habeas corpus filed by” a Guantanamo detainee; and second,
    no court could entertain “any other action against the United
    States or its agents relating to any aspect of the detention by
    the Department of Defense of an alien at Guantanamo Bay.”
    Id.
    Congress provided two exceptions to this jurisdiction-
    stripping language in § 1005(e)(2) and (3) of the DTA. First,
    building on the Executive’s creation of CSRTs, § 1005(e)(2)
    permitted the D.C. Circuit to review “the validity of any final
    decision of a Combatant Status Review Tribunal that an alien
    is properly detained as an enemy combatant.” DTA
    § 1005(e)(2)(A). Specifically, the D.C. Circuit could review
    (1) whether a final decision of a CSRT was consistent with
    (1) an application for writ of habeas corpus
    filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by
    the Department of Defense at Guantanamo
    Bay, Cuba; or
    (2) any other action against the United States
    or its agents relating to any aspect of the
    detention by the Department of Defense of an
    alien at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who—
    (A) is currently in military custody; or
    (B) has been determined by the United
    States Court of Appeals for the District of
    Columbia Circuit in accordance with the
    procedures set forth in section 1005(e) of
    the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 to
    have been properly detained as an enemy
    combatant.
    14                         HAMAD V. GATES
    certain specified procedures, and (2) whether those
    procedures complied with the Constitution and applicable
    federal law. DTA § 1005(e)(2)(C).4 Second, DTA
    § 1005(e)(3) allowed the D.C. Circuit to perform a limited
    review of convictions by military tribunals.5
    4
    DTA § 1005(e)(2)(C) provides:
    Scope of Review—The jurisdiction of the United States
    Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
    on any claims with respect to an alien under this
    paragraph shall be limited to the consideration of—
    (i) whether the status determination of the
    Combatant Status Review Tribunal with regard to
    such alien was consistent with the standards and
    procedures specified by the Secretary of Defense
    for Combatant Status Review Tribunals (including
    the requirement that the conclusion of the Tribunal
    be supported by a preponderance of the evidence
    and allowing a rebuttable presumption in favor of
    the Government’s evidence); and
    (ii) to the extent the Constitution and laws of the
    United States are applicable, whether the use of
    such standards and procedures to make the
    determination is consistent with the Constitution
    and laws of the United States.
    5
    DTA § 1005(e)(3) provides, in pertinent part:
    (A) In General—Subject to subparagraphs (B), (C), and
    (D), the United States Court of Appeals for the District
    of Columbia Circuit shall have exclusive jurisdiction to
    determine the validity of any final decision rendered
    pursuant to Military Commission Order No. 1, dated
    August 31, 2005 (or any successor military order). . . .
    HAMAD V. GATES                             15
    In sum, the DTA permitted the D.C. Circuit to conduct a
    limited review of the detention and convictions of enemy
    combatants, but it stripped any court of jurisdiction to
    entertain habeas petitions or any other actions filed by
    detainees determined to be enemy combatants or awaiting
    such a determination.
    Less than a year later, the Supreme Court held that the
    DTA’s jurisdiction-stripping amendments to § 2241 did not
    apply to cases pending before the DTA’s effective date. See
    Hamdan, 548 U.S. at 576–78, 584 & n.15. The Court reached
    this conclusion because the DTA expressly provided that the
    limited review procedures of § 1005(e)(2) and (3) applied to
    pending cases, but was silent about whether the jurisdiction-
    stripping amendments to § 2241 also applied to these pending
    cases. Id. at 574–76.
    Congress responded once again by enacting the Military
    Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA), Pub. L. No. 109-366, 120
    Stat. 2600. Section 7 of the MCA amended 28 U.S.C.
    (D) Scope of Review—The jurisdiction of the United
    States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
    Circuit on an appeal of a final decision with respect to
    an alien under this paragraph shall be limited to the
    consideration of—
    (i) whether the final decision was consistent with
    the standards and procedures specified in the
    military order referred to in subparagraph (A); and
    (ii) to the extent the Constitution and laws of the
    United States are applicable, whether the use of
    such standards and procedures to reach the final
    decision is consistent with the Constitution and
    laws of the United States.
    16                         HAMAD V. GATES
    § 2241(e) again, broadening its jurisdiction-stripping
    language.6 Id. § 7, 120 Stat. 2600, 2635–36. In direct
    6
    Section 7 of the MCA states:
    (a) In General.—Section 2241 of title 28, United States
    Code, is amended by striking [the existing subsection
    (e)] . . . and inserting the following new subsection (e):
    “(e)(1) No court, justice, or judge shall have
    jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a
    writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an
    alien detained by the United States who has been
    determined by the United States to have been
    properly detained as an enemy combatant or is
    awaiting such determination.
    “(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and
    (3) of section 1005(e) of the Detainee Treatment
    Act of 2005 (10 U.S.C. 801 note) [giving the D.C.
    Circuit exclusive jurisdiction to review decisions
    of the CSRTs and military commissions], no court,
    justice, or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or
    consider any other action against the United States
    or its agents relating to any aspect of the detention,
    transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of
    confinement of an alien who is or was detained by
    the United States and has been determined by the
    United States to have been properly detained as an
    enemy combatant or is awaiting such
    determination.”
    (b) Effective Date.—The amendment made by
    subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the
    enactment of this Act, and shall apply to all cases,
    without exception, pending on or after the date of the
    enactment of this Act which relate to any aspect of the
    detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of
    detention of an alien detained by the United States since
    September 11, 2001.
    HAMAD V. GATES                          17
    response to Hamdan’s holding, Congress made unmistakably
    clear that the jurisdiction-stripping language of § 2241(e)
    would apply to pending cases. MCA § 7(b) (“The
    amendment made by subsection (a) [adding the new
    § 2241(e)] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of
    this Act, and shall apply to all cases, without exception,
    pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act
    which relate to any aspect of the detention, transfer,
    treatment, trial, or conditions of detention of an alien detained
    by the United States since September 11, 2001.”). No further
    changes have been made to the language of § 2241(e) since
    this amendment.
    The Supreme Court considered this amendment to
    § 2241(e) in Boumediene. Like in Hamdan, the petitioners in
    Boumediene argued that § 7 of the MCA and its amendments
    to § 2241(e) were “not a sufficiently clear statement of
    congressional intent to strip the federal courts of jurisdiction
    in pending [habeas] cases.” Boumediene, 553 U.S. at 737.
    The Supreme Court rejected this argument, concluding that
    Congress had finally succeeded in expressing its intent to
    apply the amendments to § 2241(e) in all pending cases and
    to deprive the federal courts of jurisdiction to entertain habeas
    corpus actions by Guantanamo detainees designated as enemy
    combatants. Id. at 738–39.
    Because the Supreme Court interpreted the amendment to
    § 2241(e) as depriving petitioners of the privilege of habeas
    corpus, it had to address the petitioners’ further argument that
    such a deprivation was unconstitutional as a violation of the
    Suspension Clause. Under the Suspension Clause, “[t]he
    Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be
    suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the
    public Safety may require it.” U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 2.
    18                         HAMAD V. GATES
    To address this constitutional argument, the Court had to first
    determine whether habeas corpus jurisdiction extended to
    foreign nationals detained outside of the boundaries of the
    United States. Boumediene, 553 U.S. at 739. After a
    thorough review of the history of the writ of habeas corpus
    and an analysis of earlier Supreme Court decisions
    considering the application of the writ to enemy aliens
    abroad, the Supreme Court concluded, as a matter of first
    impression, that the protection of the Suspension Clause
    extended to individual detainees at Guantanamo. Id. at 771.
    Accordingly, Congress could not enact a statute depriving
    Guantanamo detainees of the privilege of the writ of habeas
    corpus unless Congress’s actions complied with the
    requirements of the Suspension Clause. Id. Because
    Congress’s enactment of the MCA did not so comply, the
    Court concluded that petitioners could challenge their
    detention by means of a petition for habeas corpus. Id. Next,
    the Court determined that the limited D.C. Circuit Review
    provided by the DTA was not a sufficient substitute
    procedure for habeas, in part because it did not give detainees
    a sufficient ability to present exculpatory evidence. Id. at
    789. The Court thus held that § 7 of the MCA “effects an
    unconstitutional suspension of the writ.” Id. at 792.7
    7
    Boumediene’s ruling that Guantanamo detainees have a constitutional
    right to file habeas petitions led to the elimination of § 1005(e)(2) and (3),
    the provisions in the DTA that gave the D.C. Circuit authority to review
    challenges to CSRT procedures and military tribunal convictions. Soon
    after Boumediene was decided, the D.C. Circuit struck down § 1005(e)(2)
    of the DTA, which had authorized it to hear certain narrow challenges to
    CSRT detention determinations. Bismullah v. Gates, 
    551 F.3d 1068
    ,
    1072–73 (D.C. Cir. 2009). The D.C. Circuit reasoned that Congress had
    enacted this provision as a “substitute for and not a supplement to habeas
    corpus,” id. at 1072, and thus the provision served no purpose after
    Boumediene held that detainees could bring habeas petitions. Id. at
    HAMAD V. GATES                              19
    Because Boumediene’s holding and analysis focused on
    Congress’s authority to suspend habeas corpus at
    Guantanamo Bay, it did not analyze whether § 2241(e)(2)
    was constitutional. Nor did the Court address the question
    whether constitutional provisions other than the Suspension
    Clause, such as the Fifth Amendment, are applicable to
    Guantanamo detainees.
    2
    We now consider Hamad’s arguments in light of this
    historical context.      Implicitly acknowledging that
    § 2241(e)(2) would bar his actions before this court (and any
    other court) if it were still in force, Hamad asks us to
    conclude that § 2241(e)(2) is no longer effective, either
    because it was struck down by Boumediene or because
    Congress would not have intended it to continue to have force
    once the Supreme Court invalidated § 2241(e)(1).
    Hamad first argues that we should interpret Boumediene
    as invalidating § 2241(e) as a whole, not just § 2241(e)(1).
    Hamad notes that Boumediene did not expressly differentiate
    between § 2241(e)(1) and (2) when it concluded that
    § 2241(e) did not bar habeas petitions by Guantanamo
    detainees. Accordingly, Hamad argues, we should read
    Boumediene as striking down all of § 2241(e), not just the
    subsection dealing with habeas petitions, § 2241(e)(1).
    1072–73. Congress subsequently repealed § 1005(e)(3) of the DTA,
    which had given the D.C. Circuit exclusive jurisdiction to review
    convictions by military tribunals. National Defense Authorization Act for
    Fiscal Year 2010, Pub. L. 111-84, 123 Stat. 2190, 2612.
    20                    HAMAD V. GATES
    We disagree. Although Boumediene did not expressly
    differentiate between § 2241(e)(1) and (2), the logic and
    context of the opinion make clear that the Supreme Court was
    addressing only § 2241(e)(1). Unlike statutes, judicial
    opinions “are not usually written with the knowledge or
    expectation that each and every word may be the subject of
    searching analysis.” United States v. Muckleshoot Indian
    Tribe, 
    235 F.3d 429
    , 433 (9th Cir. 2000). Rather, as we have
    long held, the “‘language of the court must be read in the
    light of the facts before it.’” Id. (quoting Julian Petroleum
    Corp. v. Courtney Petroleum Co., 
    22 F.2d 360
    , 362 (9th Cir.
    1927)). As we have explained, Boumediene concluded that
    § 2241(e) deprived Guantanamo detainees of habeas corpus
    review and that this deprivation was unconstitutional in light
    of the Suspension Clause. That rationale for invalidating
    § 2241(e) applies exclusively to § 2241(e)(1), the statutory
    subsection that specifically addresses jurisdiction over habeas
    actions, and has no applicability to § 2241(e)(2), the statutory
    subsection that applies to actions other than habeas petitions.
    Indeed, the Supreme Court took pains to emphasize that it
    was invalidating § 2241(e) only to the extent that the statute
    barred the petitioners from filing habeas corpus actions:
    “[o]ur decision today holds only that petitioners before us are
    entitled to seek the writ; that the DTA review procedures are
    an inadequate substitute for habeas corpus; and that
    petitioners in these cases need not exhaust the review
    procedures in the Court of Appeals before proceeding with
    their habeas actions in the District Court.” Boumediene,
    553 U.S. at 795. Given the Court’s focus on habeas petitions
    and the narrowness of its holding, it is plain that the Court
    was addressing only § 2241(e)(1). See Kiyemba v. Obama,
    
    561 F.3d 509
    , 512 n.1 (D.C. Cir. 2009) (“The Court actually
    referred to § 7 without specifying a particular subsection of
    § 2241(e) but its discussion of the Suspension Clause clearly
    HAMAD V. GATES                        21
    indicates it was referring only to that part of § 7 codified at
    § 2241(e)(1).”). Accordingly, we conclude that Boumediene
    did not address § 2241(e)(2), let alone strike it down.
    3
    Second, Hamad contends that, even if Boumediene did not
    expressly invalidate § 2241(e)(2), we cannot sever that
    section from § 2241(e)(1), which the Court did invalidate. In
    essence, he argues that, in striking down § 2241(e)(1), the
    Court necessarily struck down § 2241(e)(2).
    We also reject this argument. As a general rule, courts
    are to “refrain from invalidating more of [a] statute than is
    necessary,” United States v. Booker, 
    543 U.S. 220
    , 258
    (2005) (internal quotation marks omitted), because “[a] ruling
    of unconstitutionality frustrates the intent of the elected
    representatives.” Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of N. New
    England, 
    546 U.S. 320
    , 329 (2006) (alteration in original)
    (internal quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, when we
    invalidate an enactment because it is unconstitutional, we
    start with a presumption that the enactment is severable from
    the remainder of the section or act. See Alaska Airlines, Inc.
    v. Brock, 
    480 U.S. 678
    , 685–86 (1987). This presumption of
    severability is overcome only if something “in the statute’s
    text or historical context makes it ‘evident’ that Congress,
    faced with the limitations imposed by the Constitution, would
    have preferred” no statute at all to a statute with the invalid
    part excised. Free Enterprise Fund v. Pub. Co. Accounting
    Oversight Bd., 
    130 S. Ct. 3138
    , 3162 (2010) (quoting Alaska
    Airlines, 480 U.S. at 684). In conducting this inquiry, “we
    must retain those portions of the Act that are
    (1) constitutionally valid, (2) capable of functioning
    independently, and (3) consistent with Congress’ basic
    22                         HAMAD V. GATES
    objectives in enacting the statute.” Booker, 543 U.S. at
    258–59 (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).
    Congressional intent serves as the basis for this severability
    test. Alaska Airlines, 480 U.S. at 685.
    Beginning with the second prong of the Booker
    severability test, it is apparent that § 2241(e)(2) is capable of
    functioning independently of § 2241(e)(1). In enacting
    § 2241(e), Congress dealt separately with two different
    categories of actions that could be brought by Guantanamo
    detainees: § 2241(e)(1) addressed habeas petitions, while
    § 2241(e)(2) addressed “any other action.” Boumediene’s
    conclusion that § 2241(e)(1) violates the Suspension Clause
    does not prevent § 2241(e)(2) from functioning independently
    to bar non-habeas actions directed at an alien’s detention or
    treatment.
    Hamad contends that Boumediene’s interpretation of
    § 7(a) and (b) of the MCA shows that § 2241(e)(2) cannot
    function independently from § 2241(e)(1). As explained
    above, § 7(a) amends § 2241(e)(1) and (2), while § 7(b)
    provides that these amendments “apply to all cases . . .
    pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act
    which relate to any aspect of the detention, transfer,
    treatment, trial, or conditions of detention of an alien detained
    by the United States.”8 MCA § 7(b). The Boumediene
    petitioners argued that § 7(b) applied only to the non-habeas
    actions described in § 2241(e)(2) because of the textual
    similarity between these two statutory provisions. Compare
    MCA § 7(b) (providing that the amendments to § 2241(e)
    apply to “all cases” relating “to any aspect of the detention,
    transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of detention of an alien
    8
    The text of § 7 of the MCA is set forth supra at note 6.
    HAMAD V. GATES                          23
    detained by the United States”), with 28 U.S.C. § 2241(e)(2)
    (barring “any other action . . . relating to any aspect of the
    detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions of
    confinement of an alien” detained as an enemy combatant).
    The Court rejected this argument, reasoning that the phrase
    “any other action” in § 2241(e)(2) must be read by reference
    to § 2241(e)(1), which discusses habeas actions.
    Boumediene, 553 U.S. at 737 (emphasis added). Read in
    context, the Court concluded, habeas actions in § 2241(e)(1)
    are a subset of the broader set of actions “relating to any
    aspect of the detention, transfer, treatment, trial, or conditions
    of confinement of an alien.” Id. at 737–38. Accordingly,
    Boumediene held that § 7(b)’s effective-date provision
    applied to habeas actions as well. Id. at 738–39.
    Hamad seizes on the Court’s statement that “any other
    action” in § 2241(e)(2) must be read by reference to
    § 2241(e)(1) as demonstrating that § 2241(e)(2) cannot
    function independently of § 2241(e)(1). We disagree. A
    subsection of a statute is capable of functioning
    independently as a “fully operative . . . law,” Alaska Airlines,
    480 U.S. at 684 (internal quotation marks omitted), even if it
    must be understood by reference to an inoperative portion of
    the statute in order for its meaning to be clear. Booker held,
    in striking down two sections of a statute as unconstitutional,
    that excised cross-references to these invalidated sections left
    the remaining sections valid and intact. 543 U.S. at 259.
    Boumediene’s invalidation of Congress’s jurisdiction-
    stripping provisions with respect to the subset of habeas
    actions does not mean that the jurisdiction-stripping
    provisions applicable to the rest of the set are nonfunctional.
    Here, the reference in § 2241(e)(2) to § 2241(e)(1) merely
    makes clear the jurisdiction-stripping scope of § 2241(e)(2)
    as applying to all non-habeas actions. Section 2241(e)(2) is
    24                       HAMAD V. GATES
    fully operative because it bars jurisdiction over the subset of
    cases not covered by § 2241(e)(1).
    We next turn to the third prong of the Booker severability
    test, which asks whether retaining § 2241(e)(2) is consistent
    with Congress’s basic objectives in enacting the statute.
    Booker, 543 U.S. at 259. The structure of § 2241(e) indicates
    that Congress was motivated by two concerns. First,
    Congress sought to bar alien detainees from applying for
    habeas corpus, as reflected in § 2241(e)(1). But Congress did
    not stop there. In sweeping language, § 2241(e)(2) strips
    jurisdiction over “any” non-habeas action that relates to “any
    aspect” of enemy combatants’ “detention, transfer, treatment,
    trial, or conditions of confinement.” This broad language
    indicates that Congress was not concerned solely with habeas
    suits, but also sought to prevent alien detainees from bringing
    any other type of action that related to their detention or
    treatment. Considering that the two sections of § 2241(e)
    address two different types of lawsuits, we see no reason that
    Congress would not have enacted § 2241(e)(2)’s bar on non-
    habeas suits had it known that detainees could file for
    habeas.9
    9
    In Boumediene, the Supreme Court held that the D.C. Circuit was
    “correct to take note of the legislative history when construing the
    [Military Commissions Act of 2006].” 553 U.S. at 738. Accordingly, we
    take note that the floor statements accompanying the enactment of the
    MCA confirm that one of Congress’s goals in amending § 2241(e) was to
    limit the ability of enemy combatants to file non-habeas suits. For
    instance, in discussing the MCA’s amendments to § 2241(e), Senator
    Cornyn noted that the purpose of § 2241(e)(2) was to prevent U.S. troops
    from being sued by detainees or former detainees. See 152 Cong. Rec.
    S10,403 (daily ed. Sept. 28, 2006) (statement of Senator Cornyn)
    (“Another major improvement that the MCA makes to the DTA is that it
    tightens the bar on nonhabeas lawsuits contained in 28 U.S.C.
    § 2241(e)(2). . . . We do not want those who were properly detained as
    HAMAD V. GATES                                25
    Moreover, the history of Congress’s responses to
    Supreme Court decisions, as set forth above, further supports
    the conclusion that preserving § 2241(e)(2) is consistent with
    Congress’s basic objective in enacting the MCA, which was
    to limit detainees’ access to the courts. After the Supreme
    Court held that federal courts had statutory jurisdiction to
    hear Guantanamo detainees’ habeas petitions, Rasul, 542 U.S.
    at 484, Congress passed § 1005(e) of the DTA to strip the
    courts of jurisdiction to hear such petitions or any other
    claim, with the exception of certain narrow challenges that
    could be filed in the D.C. Circuit. When the Supreme Court
    responded in Hamdan, holding that the DTA did not apply to
    pending claims, Congress passed the MCA to ensure that the
    jurisdiction-stripping provisions would apply to all pending
    claims. Cf. Bismullah v. Gates, 
    551 F.3d 1068
    , 1073 (D.C.
    Cir. 2009). Clearly, Congress’s consistent intent was to
    channel and narrowly limit detainees’ lawsuits of all sorts.
    enemy combatants to be able to sue the U.S. military.”). Similarly,
    Senator Sessions noted that a goal of § 2241(e) was to prevent former
    detainees from filing lawsuits against military officers. See id. at S10,404
    (daily ed. Sept. 28, 2006) (statement of Senator Sessions). Statements on
    the floor of the House also indicate that Congress intended to limit
    detainee lawsuits. See, e.g., id. at H7944 (daily ed. Sept. 29, 2006)
    (statement of Rep. Sensenbrenner) (“[T]his bill makes it clear to the
    terrorists and their lawyers in America that America will not allow them
    to subvert our judicial process nor to disrupt the war on terror with
    unnecessary or frivolous lawsuits.”); id. at H7938 (daily ed. Sept. 27,
    2006) (statement of Rep. Hunter) (“The practical effect of this amendment
    will be to eliminate the hundreds of detainee lawsuits that are pending in
    courts throughout the country and to consolidate all detainee treatment
    cases in the D.C. Circuit.”). Because the parties have not pointed to any
    contrary history, the legislative history supports the conclusion that
    Congress would want to preserve the jurisdictional bar on non-habeas
    actions.
    26                         HAMAD V. GATES
    Preserving the provisions of § 2241(e) that limit detainees’
    legal actions other than habeas is consistent with this goal.
    Finally, Hamad argues that the absence of a severability
    clause indicates that Congress did not intend these provisions
    to be severable, and thus holding otherwise would be
    inconsistent with Congress’s objectives. But “[i]n the
    absence of a severability clause . . . , Congress’ silence is just
    that—silence—and does not raise a presumption against
    severability.” Alaska Airlines, 480 U.S. at 686.10 The lack of
    a severability clause carries no weight in our analysis because
    the text and historical context of § 2241(e)(1) and (2) make
    it evident that these two provisions are severable.
    Because § 2241(e)(2) is capable of “functioning
    independently,” and is consistent with Congress’s basic
    objectives in enacting the MCA, we conclude that it is
    severable from § 2241(e)(1), and remains in effect, provided
    that it is constitutional.
    4
    We finally turn to Hamad’s arguments that § 2241(e)(2),
    even if valid, is unconstitutional as applied to him.
    Hamad first argues that § 2241(e) is unconstitutional,
    because it deprives him of a federal forum to seek a remedy
    for violations of his constitutional rights. He asserts that the
    Supreme Court has never upheld such a statute, and that it has
    10
    Hamad notes that Congress titled § 7 of the MCA as “Habeas Corpus
    Matters.” It is well-established that the title of a statute “‘cannot limit the
    plain meaning of the text.’” I.N.S. v. St. Cyr, 
    533 U.S. 289
    , 308–09 (2001)
    (quoting Pa. Dep’t. of Corrections v. Yeskey, 
    524 U.S. 206
    , 212 (1998)).
    HAMAD V. GATES                        27
    always presumed that Congress did not intend to deprive
    plaintiffs of a federal forum.
    Hamad is correct that the Supreme Court has avoided the
    question whether Congress may completely deny a plaintiff
    access to federal forum to seek a remedy for a violation of
    constitutional rights. See Bowen v. Mich. Acad. of Family
    Physicians, 
    476 U.S. 667
    , 681 n.12 (1986) (avoiding “the
    serious constitutional question that would arise if [the Court]
    construed [a statute] to deny a judicial forum for
    constitutional claims” (internal quotation marks omitted)).
    But we can likewise avoid addressing this difficult issue,
    because Hamad seeks only money damages, and the
    Constitution does not require the availability of such a
    remedy, even where the plaintiff’s claim is based on alleged
    violations of constitutional rights. Al-Zahrani v. Rodriguez,
    
    669 F.3d 315
    , 319 (D.C. Cir. 2012). The Supreme Court’s
    Bivens cases make this clear. In Wilkie v. Robbins, the Court
    noted that a Bivens remedy “is not an automatic entitlement
    no matter what other means there may be to vindicate a
    protected interest, and in most instances we have found a
    Bivens remedy unjustified.” 
    551 U.S. 537
    , 550 (2007).
    Indeed, the Court has declined to recognize a Bivens remedy
    in a variety of contexts. See, e.g., Schweiker v. Chilicky,
    
    487 U.S. 412
     (1988) (denial of Social Security benefits);
    United States v. Stanley, 
    483 U.S. 669
     (1987) (injuries that
    arise out of military service); Bush v. Lucas, 
    462 U.S. 367
    (1983) (First Amendment violations by federal employers).
    Similarly, we have concluded that aliens not lawfully in the
    United States may not sue federal agents for money damages
    for wrongful detention. Mirmehdi v. United States, 
    689 F.3d 975
     (9th Cir. 2012). These cases underscore that money
    damages are not constitutionally required for every violation
    of constitutional rights. Accordingly, § 2241(e)(2) is not
    28                     HAMAD V. GATES
    unconstitutional as applied to Hamad’s claims for money
    damages. See Al-Zahrani, 669 F.3d at 319–20.
    Hamad next argues that § 2241(e) functions as an
    unconstitutional bill of attainder, asserting that it strips a
    “discrete class of individuals,” namely alien detainees, of
    access to the courts. We disagree. “Three key features brand
    a bill of attainder: that the statute (1) specifies the affected
    persons, and (2) inflicts punishment (3) without a judicial
    trial.” SeaRiver Maritime Fin. Holdings Inc. v. Mineta,
    
    309 F.3d 662
    , 668 (9th Cir. 2002). The Supreme Court has
    emphasized that a statute must show “unmistakable evidence
    of punitive intent” before it may be struck down as a bill of
    attainder. Flemming v. Nestor, 
    363 U.S. 603
    , 619 (1960). In
    determining whether a statute inflicts punishment, we look to
    whether the statute “‘falls within the historical meaning of
    legislative punishment’” or does not “‘further nonpunitive
    legislative purposes.’” SeaRiver, 309 F.3d at 673 (quoting
    Selective Serv. Sys. v. Minn. Pub. Interest Research Group,
    
    468 U.S. 841
    , 852 (1984)).
    Applying these principles, we conclude that § 2241(e)(2)
    is not a bill of attainder because it does not inflict legislative
    punishment. Jurisdictional limitations, such as the limitations
    imposed by § 2241(e)(2), do not fall within the historical
    meaning of legislative punishment. Nagac v. Derwinski,
    
    933 F.2d 990
    , 991 (Fed. Cir. 1991); see also Scheerer v. U.S.
    Attorney. Gen., 
    513 F.3d 1244
    , 1253 n.9 (11th Cir. 2008).
    Rather, the concept of legislative punishment encompasses
    penalties such as “imprisonment, banishment, [ ] the punitive
    confiscation of property by the sovereign” and “legislative
    enactment[s] barring designated individuals or groups from
    participation in specified employments or vocations.” Nixon
    v. Adm’r of Gen. Servs, 
    433 U.S. 425
    , 474 (1977). As we
    HAMAD V. GATES                              29
    have explained, Congress enacted § 2241(e) to limit and
    channel federal court review of detention and military
    commission decisions, not to impose any particular
    punishment on military detainees. Because there is no
    evidence that Congress had a punitive intent in enacting
    § 2241(e), much less “unmistakable evidence of punitive
    intent,” SeaRiver, 309 F.3d at 677 (internal quotation marks
    omitted), we reject Hamad’s argument that § 2241(e)(2)
    constitutes a bill of attainder.
    Finally, Hamad argues that § 2241(e) violates the equal
    protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth
    Amendment.11 Noting that § 2241(e) deprives alien enemy
    combatants of the ability to bring specified legal actions,
    while imposing no comparable legal disabilities on citizens,
    Hamad argues that this distinction “serves no compelling
    legislative purpose and would not survive strict scrutiny.”
    As an initial matter, the Supreme Court has not
    determined whether the Fifth Amendment’s protections even
    apply to Hamad. Prior to Boumediene, the Supreme Court
    had “never held that noncitizens detained by our Government
    in territory over which another country maintains de jure
    sovereignty have any rights under our Constitution.”
    Boumediene, 553 U.S. at 770. Although Boumediene
    11
    The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment states:
    “No state shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
    protection of the laws.” U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. Although the
    Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to the federal government, see
    Bolling v. Sharpe, 
    347 U.S. 497
    , 499 (1954), equal protection principles
    apply to the federal government through the Due Process Clause of the
    Fifth Amendment, see id. at 500, which states: “No person shall be . . .
    deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” U.S.
    Const. amend. V.
    30                    HAMAD V. GATES
    ultimately concluded that the Suspension Clause applies to
    aliens detained at Guantanamo Bay, the Court expressly
    confined its holding to that constitutional provision alone.
    See id. at 795; Rasul v. Myers, 
    563 F.3d 527
    , 529 (D.C. Cir.
    2009) (“Boumediene disclaimed any intention to disturb
    existing law governing the extraterritorial reach of any
    constitutional provisions, other than the Suspension
    Clause.”).
    Assuming, without deciding, that the Fifth Amendment’s
    protections apply to aliens detained outside the United States,
    the Due Process Clause does not render § 2241(e)(2)
    unconstitutional. Where the Fifth Amendment applies, “[t]he
    federal sovereign . . . must govern impartially” and is
    therefore generally subject to equal protection principles.
    Hampton v. Mow Sun Wong, 
    426 U.S. 88
    , 100 (1976). Here
    there is no dispute that § 2241(e)(2) makes a distinction
    between aliens and citizens. In order to determine whether
    this classification is constitutional, we must first determine
    the appropriate standard of judicial review.
    Although the Supreme Court has noted the “substantial
    limitations upon the authority of the States in making
    classifications based upon alienage,” Toll v. Moreno,
    
    458 U.S. 1
    , 10 (1982), the federal government’s interests with
    respect to aliens differ substantially from those of the states,
    and there are legitimate reasons for Congress to make
    classifications based on alienage, Mathews v. Diaz, 
    426 U.S. 67
    , 78–80 (1976). These reasons include Congress’s broad
    authority to make such classifications under its plenary power
    to regulate immigration and naturalization, see United States
    v. Lopez-Flores, 
    63 F.3d 1468
    , 1473 (9th Cir. 1995), as well
    as its authority to address the United States’ relations with
    foreign powers and other foreign policy concerns, Mathews,
    HAMAD V. GATES                         31
    426 U.S. at 81. Indeed, legislation with respect to aliens is
    “vitally and intricately interwoven with contemporaneous
    policies in regard to the conduct of foreign relations, the war
    power, and the maintenance of a republican form of
    government,” and “[s]uch matters are so exclusively entrusted
    to the political branches of government as to be largely
    immune from judicial inquiry or interference.” Id. at 81 n.17
    (internal quotation marks omitted).
    Accordingly, we review alienage classifications drawn by
    Congress under a rational basis test. Aleman v. Glickman,
    
    217 F.3d 1191
    , 1197 (9th Cir. 2000); Lopez-Flores, 63 F.3d
    at 1473. “Only classifications that ‘arbitrarily subject all
    resident aliens to different substantive rules from those
    applied to citizens’ will fail to survive that scrutiny.” Lopez-
    Flores, 63 F.3d at 1475 (quoting Hampton, 426 U.S. at 101);
    accord United States v. Montenegro, 
    231 F.3d 389
    , 395 (7th
    Cir. 2000); United States v. Lue, 
    134 F.3d 79
    , 86–87 (2d. Cir.
    1998). Under the rational basis test, we will uphold a federal
    statute that makes a classification on the basis of alienage if
    it is “rationally related to a legitimate government interest.”
    Montenegro, 231 F.3d at 395 (internal quotation marks
    omitted). Applying this test in Lopez-Flores, we upheld the
    federal Hostage Taking Act, which criminalized certain
    conduct involving either a foreign perpetrator or foreign
    victim, but not conduct where both the perpetrator and victim
    were United States nationals. 63 F.3d at 1470–72. Rejecting
    appellants’ argument that the statute violated equal protection
    principles by “impermissibly classifying offenders and
    victims on the basis of alienage,” id. at 1470, we concluded
    that “[t]he alienage classifications contained in the Hostage
    Taking Act were clearly intended to serve Congress’
    legitimate foreign policy concerns,” and thus easily survived
    scrutiny, Id. at 1475.
    32                       HAMAD V. GATES
    In this case, Congress’s decision in § 2241(e)(2) to
    preclude only alien detainees captured as part of the war on
    terror from bringing damages actions easily passes rational
    basis review. Congress’s decisions with respect to these
    detainees are at the core of Congress’s authority with respect
    to “the conduct of foreign relations, the war power, and the
    maintenance of a republican form of government,” and thus
    are entitled to the most deferential judicial review. Diaz,
    426 U.S. at 81–82 & n.17 (internal quotation marks omitted).
    Moreover, Congress’s decision to focus on alien detainees,
    rather than citizens, is neither arbitrary nor irrational; it is
    clearly intended “to serve Congress’ legitimate foreign policy
    concerns,” Lopez-Flores, 63 F.3d at 1475, by ensuring that
    members of the armed forces are not unduly chilled in
    conducting the war on terror by concerns about foreign
    nationals targeting them with damages claims.
    C
    Because we do not have subject-matter jurisdiction to
    consider any of Hamad’s claims, we need not reach Hamad’s
    other arguments on appeal.12 See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a
    Better Env’t, 
    523 U.S. 83
    , 94 (1998) (when jurisdiction
    “ceases to exist, the only function remaining to the court is
    that of announcing the fact and dismissing the cause”
    (internal quotation marks omitted)). We vacate the district
    court’s orders in this case and remand with instructions to
    enter judgment dismissing Hamad’s action for lack of
    12
    For the same reason, we do not reach the government’s arguments on
    cross-appeal.
    HAMAD V. GATES                       33
    subject-matter jurisdiction. See Capitol Industries-EMI, Inc.
    v. Bennett, 
    681 F.2d 1107
    , 1118 (9th Cir. 1982).
    VACATED AND REMANDED.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 12-35395, 12-35489

Citation Numbers: 732 F.3d 990

Judges: Alarcon, Arthur, Ikuta, Margaret, McKEOWN, Sandra

Filed Date: 10/7/2013

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 8/7/2023

Authorities (34)

Scheerer v. U.S. Attorney General , 513 F.3d 1244 ( 2008 )

United States v. Wang Kun Lue, Chen De Yian , 134 F.3d 79 ( 1998 )

Marin General Hosp. v. MODESTO & EMPIRE TRACTION , 581 F.3d 941 ( 2009 )

Celia Aleman v. Dan E. Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture, ... , 217 F.3d 1191 ( 2000 )

United States v. Misael Montenegro and Juan Perez , 231 F.3d 389 ( 2000 )

Julian Petroleum Corporation v. Courtney Petroleum Co. , 22 F.2d 360 ( 1927 )

Mathews v. Diaz , 96 S. Ct. 1883 ( 1976 )

Bismullah v. Gates , 551 F.3d 1068 ( 2009 )

Kiyemba v. Obama , 561 F.3d 509 ( 2009 )

Feliciano M. Nagac, Sr. v. Edward J. Derwinski, Secretary ... , 933 F.2d 990 ( 1991 )

95-cal-daily-op-serv-6319-95-daily-journal-dar-10779-united-states , 63 F.3d 1468 ( 1995 )

capitol-industries-emi-inc-v-william-m-bennett-kenneth-cory-richard , 681 F.2d 1107 ( 1982 )

seariver-maritime-financial-holdings-inc-seariver-maritime-inc-seariver , 309 F.3d 662 ( 2002 )

united-states-of-america-and-puyallup-indian-tribe-suquamish-indian-tribe , 235 F.3d 429 ( 2000 )

Rasul v. Bush , 124 S. Ct. 2686 ( 2004 )

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld , 126 S. Ct. 2749 ( 2006 )

Immigration & Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr , 121 S. Ct. 2271 ( 2001 )

Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New Eng. , 126 S. Ct. 961 ( 2006 )

Nixon v. Administrator of General Services , 97 S. Ct. 2777 ( 1977 )

Boumediene v. Bush , 128 S. Ct. 2229 ( 2008 )

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