{"attribution":{"source":"legal.exploreworldai.com","canonical":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=us:ca6-26-3891-2026-10-09","cite_as":"NovaCopilot, legal.exploreworldai.com (https://legal.exploreworldai.com/api/public/v1/judgment-text?id=us:ca6-26-3891-2026-10-09)","license":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/revision","version":"legal-2026-10-20","fingerprint":"ewai:us:49b4aa","proof":"sha256:d3420ac596f8e114b3376ba258794cdf319fae3f63b9b96253a3484aeb265d27","jurisdiction":"us","lang":"en","publisher":"NovaCopilot by ExploreWorld Legal","terms":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/om"},"brand_source":"Source: NovaCopilot","item":{"schema_version":"1.0.0","id":"us:ca6-26-3891-2026-10-09","jurisdiction":"us","lang":"en","brand_source":"Source: NovaCopilot","brand":{"product":"NovaCopilot","platform":"ExploreWorldAI","infrastructure":"ExploreWorld Legal","infrastructure_url":"legal.exploreworldai.com","legal_entity":"Valkiv Ventures AB","permanent_url":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/novacopilot","source":"Source: NovaCopilot","powered_by":"Powered by NovaCopilot","license":"https://legal.exploreworldai.com/licensvillkor"},"sections":[{"title":"Front matter","paragraphs":["para_1","para_2","para_3","para_4","para_5","para_6","para_7","para_8","para_9","para_10","para_11","para_12","para_13","para_14","para_15","para_16","para_17","para_18","para_19","para_20","para_21","para_22","para_23","para_24","para_25","para_26","para_27","para_28","para_29","para_30","para_31","para_32","para_33","para_34","para_35","para_36","para_37","para_38","para_39","para_40","para_41","para_42","para_43","para_44","para_45","para_46","para_47","para_48","para_49","para_50","para_51","para_52","para_53","para_54","para_55","para_56","para_57","para_58","para_59","para_60","para_61","para_62","para_63","para_64","para_65","para_66","para_67","para_68","para_69","para_70","para_71","para_72","para_73","para_74","para_75","para_76","para_77","para_78","para_79","para_80","para_81","para_82","para_83","para_84","para_85","para_86","para_87","para_88","para_89","para_90","para_91","para_92","para_93","para_94","para_95","para_96","para_97","para_98","para_99","para_100","para_101","para_102","para_103","para_104","para_105","para_106","para_107","para_108","para_109","para_110","para_111","para_112","para_113","para_114","para_115","para_116","para_117","para_118","para_119","para_120","para_121","para_122","para_123","para_124","para_125","para_126","para_127","para_128","para_129","para_130","para_131","para_132","para_133","para_134","para_135","para_136","para_137","para_138","para_139","para_140","para_141","para_142","para_143","para_144","para_145","para_146","para_147","para_148","para_149","para_150","para_151","para_152","para_153","para_154","para_155","para_156","para_157","para_158","para_159","para_160","para_161","para_162","para_163","para_164","para_165","para_166","para_167","para_168","para_169","para_170","para_171","para_172","para_173","para_174","para_175","para_176","para_177","para_178","para_179","para_180","para_181","para_182","para_183","para_184","para_185","para_186","para_187","para_188","para_189","para_190","para_191","para_192","para_193","para_194","para_195","para_196","para_197","para_198","para_199","para_200","para_201","para_202","para_203","para_204","para_205","para_206","para_207","para_208","para_209","para_210","para_211","para_212","para_213","para_214","para_215","para_216","para_217","para_218","para_219","para_220","para_221","para_222","para_223","para_224","para_225","para_226","para_227","para_228","para_229","para_230","para_231","para_232","para_233","para_234","para_235","para_236","para_237","para_238","para_239","para_240","para_241","para_242","para_243","para_244","para_245","para_246","para_247","para_248","para_249","para_250"],"kind":"front_matter"}],"paragraphs":[{"text":"RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION","paragraph_id":"para_1"},{"text":"Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b)","paragraph_id":"para_2"},{"text":"File Name: 26a0282p.06","paragraph_id":"para_3"},{"text":"UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS","paragraph_id":"para_4"},{"text":"FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT","paragraph_id":"para_5"},{"text":"IFEOMA ADA CHINWEOKE OJUKWU,","paragraph_id":"para_6"},{"text":"Petitioner-Appellant,","paragraph_id":"para_7"},{"text":"v.","paragraph_id":"para_8"},{"text":"TODD M. LYONS, Ice Detroit Field Office Director for","paragraph_id":"para_9"},{"text":"the Michigan and Ohio, U.S. Immigration and","paragraph_id":"para_10"},{"text":"Customs Enforcement and Enforcement of Removal","paragraph_id":"para_11"},{"text":"Operations (ERO); DAVID VENTURELLA, in his official","paragraph_id":"para_12"},{"text":"capacity as Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and","paragraph_id":"para_13"},{"text":"Customs Enforcement; MARKWAYNE MULLIN, in his","paragraph_id":"para_14"},{"text":"official capacity as Secretary of U.S. Department of","paragraph_id":"para_15"},{"text":"Homeland Security; TODD BLANCHE, Attorney","paragraph_id":"para_16"},{"text":"General; SIRCE E. OWEN, Director for Executive","paragraph_id":"para_17"},{"text":"Office for Immigration Review,","paragraph_id":"para_18"},{"text":"Respondents-Appellees.","paragraph_id":"para_19"},{"text":"┐","paragraph_id":"para_20"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_21"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_22"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_23"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_24"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_25"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_26"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_27"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_28"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_29"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_30"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_31"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_32"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_33"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_34"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_35"},{"text":"│","paragraph_id":"para_36"},{"text":"┘","paragraph_id":"para_37"},{"text":"No. 26-3891","paragraph_id":"para_38"},{"text":"On Motion for Stay of Removal","paragraph_id":"para_39"},{"text":"United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Youngstown","paragraph_id":"para_40"},{"text":"No. 4:26-cv-02483—J. Philip Calabrese, District Judge.","paragraph_id":"para_41"},{"text":"Decided and Filed: October 9, 2026","paragraph_id":"para_42"},{"text":"Before: McKEAGUE, THAPAR, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.","paragraph_id":"para_43"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_44"},{"text":"COUNSEL","paragraph_id":"para_45"},{"text":"ON MOTION FOR STAY OF REMOVAL and REPLY: Susan Blumenthal, MARGARET","paragraph_id":"para_46"},{"text":"WONG & ASSOCIATES LLC, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. ON RESPONSE: Patricia M.","paragraph_id":"para_47"},{"text":"Fitzgerald, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellees.","paragraph_id":"para_48"},{"text":">","paragraph_id":"para_49"},{"text":"No. 26-3891 Ojukwu v. Lyons, et al. Page 2","paragraph_id":"para_50"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_51"},{"text":"ORDER","paragraph_id":"para_52"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_53"},{"text":"Petitioner Ifeoma Ada Chinweoke Ojukwu, a native and citizen of Nigeria, illegally","paragraph_id":"para_54"},{"text":"entered the United States. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal directing the","paragraph_id":"para_55"},{"text":"government to remove Ojukwu to Nigeria. At the same time, though, the judge granted Ojukwu","paragraph_id":"para_56"},{"text":"withholding of removal to that country. She has remained here ever since. The United States","paragraph_id":"para_57"},{"text":"currently plans to remove Ojukwu to Ghana (rather than Nigeria) on October 11, 2026. Ojukwu","paragraph_id":"para_58"},{"text":"has appealed the district court’s dismissal of her petition for a writ of mandamus asking for","paragraph_id":"para_59"},{"text":"additional process before her removal. She now moves for an emergency stay of removal","paragraph_id":"para_60"},{"text":"pending our review. Yet the Supreme Court recently overturned an order granting similar relief","paragraph_id":"para_61"},{"text":"pending its review of a class action raising similar questions. See DHS v. D.V.D., No. 26-426,","paragraph_id":"para_62"},{"text":"2026 WL 2917860, at *1 (U.S. Sep. 29, 2026) (mem.). The Court’s decision shows that Ojukwu","paragraph_id":"para_63"},{"text":"has not met the demanding standards for emergency relief. We thus deny her motion to stay.","paragraph_id":"para_64"},{"text":"According to government records, Ojukwu falsely presented herself as a United States","paragraph_id":"para_65"},{"text":"citizen when first entering the United States in 1999. In 2013, an immigration judge issued a","paragraph_id":"para_66"},{"text":"final order of removal commanding the government to remove Ojukwu to Nigeria. But the","paragraph_id":"para_67"},{"text":"immigration judge simultaneously granted her withholding of removal because she feared","paragraph_id":"para_68"},{"text":"persecution and torture in that country. The government released Ojukwu subject to an order of","paragraph_id":"para_69"},{"text":"supervision that required her to regularly report to immigration authorities. Over the years, she","paragraph_id":"para_70"},{"text":"married a U.S. citizen and settled in LaGrange, Ohio. The couple had children who are also U.S.","paragraph_id":"para_71"},{"text":"citizens. And Ojukwu now helps care for her elderly mother and mother-in-law, who reside in","paragraph_id":"para_72"},{"text":"the United States.","paragraph_id":"para_73"},{"text":"For years, Ojukwu reported to immigration authorities without incident. But the","paragraph_id":"para_74"},{"text":"government alleges that she stopped following her reporting obligations in 2019. Immigration","paragraph_id":"para_75"},{"text":"authorities then directed her to report in person on September 21, 2026. When she arrived, the","paragraph_id":"para_76"},{"text":"authorities detained her and prepared to remove her to a third country: Ghana.","paragraph_id":"para_77"},{"text":"No. 26-3891 Ojukwu v. Lyons, et al. Page 3","paragraph_id":"para_78"},{"text":"This removal stemmed from an executive policy governing removals issued by the","paragraph_id":"para_79"},{"text":"Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in March 2025. The withholding-of-","paragraph_id":"para_80"},{"text":"removal statute is country specific. That is, it prohibits the government from “remov[ing] an","paragraph_id":"para_81"},{"text":"alien to a country if the Attorney General decides that the alien’s life or freedom would be","paragraph_id":"para_82"},{"text":"threatened in that country” on specified grounds. 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3)(A) (emphases added).","paragraph_id":"para_83"},{"text":"Here, then, the statute barred Ojukwu’s removal to Nigeria; it did not bar her removal to all other","paragraph_id":"para_84"},{"text":"countries. And when it is “impracticable, inadvisable, or impossible to remove [an] alien” to a","paragraph_id":"para_85"},{"text":"home country, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows the government to “remove the","paragraph_id":"para_86"},{"text":"alien to” “another country whose government will accept the alien into that country.” Id.","paragraph_id":"para_87"},{"text":"§ 1231(b)(2)(E)(vii). DHS’s March 2025 policy implemented this provision. The policy first","paragraph_id":"para_88"},{"text":"asks whether a third “country has provided diplomatic assurances that aliens removed from the","paragraph_id":"para_89"},{"text":"United States will not be persecuted or tortured” there. Policy, Ex. D. to Mot. to Stay, at 1. If so","paragraph_id":"para_90"},{"text":"and if the Department of State has found “those assurances to be credible,” the policy allows an","paragraph_id":"para_91"},{"text":"“alien [to] be removed” to that country “without the need for further procedures.” Id. at 1–2.","paragraph_id":"para_92"},{"text":"According to a government official, Ghana “entered into an arrangement with the","paragraph_id":"para_93"},{"text":"Department of State” to accept certain aliens, including Ojukwu. Decl. of Vu Cam, Ex. A to","paragraph_id":"para_94"},{"text":"Resp. to Mot., at 1–2. Ghana has also provided the required “assurances that aliens removed","paragraph_id":"para_95"},{"text":"from the United States pursuant to this arrangement will not be subjected to persecution or","paragraph_id":"para_96"},{"text":"torture in Ghana nor in any country they may be further transferred to.” Id. at 2. The","paragraph_id":"para_97"},{"text":"government has thus concluded that it may immediately remove Ojukwu to Ghana without","paragraph_id":"para_98"},{"text":"giving her a hearing to prove that her “life or freedom would be threatened in” Ghana. 8 U.S.C.","paragraph_id":"para_99"},{"text":"§ 1231(b)(3)(A).","paragraph_id":"para_100"},{"text":"Ojukwu challenges DHS’s policy in this litigation. She petitioned for a writ of","paragraph_id":"para_101"},{"text":"mandamus, alleging that the lack of process violated the INA, the Foreign Affairs Reform","paragraph_id":"para_102"},{"text":"Restructuring Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Due Process Clause. She also","paragraph_id":"para_103"},{"text":"moved for several temporary restraining orders, raising the same alleged violations. Ojukwu","paragraph_id":"para_104"},{"text":"claims that the government did not provide her with “a meaningful opportunity to investigate and","paragraph_id":"para_105"},{"text":"contest removal to” Ghana. Am. Pleadings, R.8, PageID 154.","paragraph_id":"para_106"},{"text":"No. 26-3891 Ojukwu v. Lyons, et al. Page 4","paragraph_id":"para_107"},{"text":"The district court held that it lacked jurisdiction, denied her motions, and dismissed the","paragraph_id":"para_108"},{"text":"action. See Ojukwu v. Lynch, No. 4:26-cv-2483, 2026 WL 2886889, at *5 (N.D. Ohio Sep. 26,","paragraph_id":"para_109"},{"text":"2026). After this rejection, Ojukwu appealed to our court. She also immediately filed an","paragraph_id":"para_110"},{"text":"emergency motion to stay her removal. That motion is now before us.","paragraph_id":"para_111"},{"text":"A “party requesting a stay bears the burden of showing that the circumstances justify an","paragraph_id":"para_112"},{"text":"exercise of that discretion.” Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 433–34 (2009). We consider four","paragraph_id":"para_113"},{"text":"factors in determining whether a stay is appropriate: (1) whether the movant “has made a strong","paragraph_id":"para_114"},{"text":"showing that [s]he is likely to succeed on the merits”; (2) whether the movant “will be","paragraph_id":"para_115"},{"text":"irreparably injured absent a stay”; (3) whether a stay “will substantially injure the other parties","paragraph_id":"para_116"},{"text":"interested in the proceeding”; and (4) “where the public interest lies.” Id. at 434 (quoting Hilton","paragraph_id":"para_117"},{"text":"v. Braunskill, 481 U.S. 770, 776 (1987)). The first two factors “are the most critical.” Id.","paragraph_id":"para_118"},{"text":"We hold that Ojukwu has not shown a likelihood of success because her stay motion","paragraph_id":"para_119"},{"text":"pursues the same claims that the Supreme Court held did not warrant an injunction. See D.V.D.,","paragraph_id":"para_120"},{"text":"2026 WL 2917860, at *1. In D.V.D., four aliens pursued a class action under Federal Rule of","paragraph_id":"para_121"},{"text":"Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) challenging DHS’s general “policy or practice” of removing aliens to a","paragraph_id":"para_122"},{"text":"third country not listed in their removal orders without affording them individualized process to","paragraph_id":"para_123"},{"text":"prove that they would face persecution in that country. D.V.D. v. DHS, 778 F. Supp. 3d 355,","paragraph_id":"para_124"},{"text":"368–70 (D. Mass. 2025). The aliens claimed that this policy violated (among other things) the","paragraph_id":"para_125"},{"text":"INA and the Due Process Clause. See id. at 369. The district court first certified a class action.","paragraph_id":"para_126"},{"text":"Id. at 394. It found that the litigation did not “hinge on the individual circumstances of each","paragraph_id":"para_127"},{"text":"class member” and rejected the government’s argument that the additional process due to","paragraph_id":"para_128"},{"text":"individual aliens would turn “on the underlying facts and circumstances of their case.” Id. at 386","paragraph_id":"para_129"},{"text":"(citation modified). The court next issued a preliminary injunction compelling DHS to provide","paragraph_id":"para_130"},{"text":"class members with a minimum amount of process before removing them to third countries. See","paragraph_id":"para_131"},{"text":"id. at 392–93.","paragraph_id":"para_132"},{"text":"Last year, the Supreme Court stayed this preliminary injunction. See DHS v. D.V.D., 145","paragraph_id":"para_133"},{"text":"S. Ct. 2153, 2153 (2025) (mem.). The district court disregarded this stay because it did not view","paragraph_id":"para_134"},{"text":"the stay as affecting an interim order remedying DHS’s alleged violations of the injunction for","paragraph_id":"para_135"},{"text":"six individual class members. See DHS v. D.V.D., 145 S. Ct. 2627, 2629 (2025). The Supreme","paragraph_id":"para_136"},{"text":"No. 26-3891 Ojukwu v. Lyons, et al. Page 5","paragraph_id":"para_137"},{"text":"Court thus had to issue a second order clarifying that it had stayed the injunction “in full” and","paragraph_id":"para_138"},{"text":"that the district court could not enforce it in favor of any class member. Id. As Justice Kagan","paragraph_id":"para_139"},{"text":"noted, although she would not have granted the initial stay, she did “not see how a district court","paragraph_id":"para_140"},{"text":"can compel compliance with an order that this Court has stayed.” Id. at 2630 (Kagan, J.,","paragraph_id":"para_141"},{"text":"concurring).","paragraph_id":"para_142"},{"text":"On remand, the district court again found that the DHS policy violated the INA and the","paragraph_id":"para_143"},{"text":"Due Process Clause—this time, at the summary-judgment stage. D.V.D. v. DHS, 821","paragraph_id":"para_144"},{"text":"F. Supp. 3d 102, 143 (D. Mass. 2026). The court thus vacated the policy. Id. at 165. The First","paragraph_id":"para_145"},{"text":"Circuit affirmed. See D.V.D. v. DHS, No. 26-1212, 2026 WL 2797801, at *20 (1st Cir. Sep. 18,","paragraph_id":"para_146"},{"text":"2026). Last month, however, the Supreme Court issued a third order staying the district court’s","paragraph_id":"para_147"},{"text":"refusal to allow DHS to enforce its third-country policy. See D.V.D., 2026 WL 2917860, at *1.","paragraph_id":"para_148"},{"text":"The Court also granted certiorari to consider (among other things) the courts’ jurisdiction over","paragraph_id":"para_149"},{"text":"these claims and the legality of the policy. See id.","paragraph_id":"para_150"},{"text":"In our view, Ojukwu’s “like” claims in this case are “squarely controlled” by the","paragraph_id":"para_151"},{"text":"Supreme Court’s (repeated) decision to stay an injunction in the D.V.D. class action. Trump v.","paragraph_id":"para_152"},{"text":"Boyle, 145 S. Ct. 2653, 2654 (2025). Indeed, Ojukwu does not dispute that she is a member of","paragraph_id":"para_153"},{"text":"the certified class action now pending before the Court in D.V.D. Nor could she. After all, her","paragraph_id":"para_154"},{"text":"counsel asked the government’s lawyer if the D.V.D. court’s “nationwide class order” would halt","paragraph_id":"para_155"},{"text":"her removal to Ghana. Email, Ex. A to Mot. to Stay, at 1. The government’s lawyer responded","paragraph_id":"para_156"},{"text":"that “DHS will comply with the First Circuit’s decision unless and until any stay” is issued by","paragraph_id":"para_157"},{"text":"the Supreme Court. Id. Ojukwu thus benefited from the D.V.D. order while it remained in","paragraph_id":"para_158"},{"text":"effect.","paragraph_id":"para_159"},{"text":"Her briefing also leaves no doubt that she pursues the same due-process claim that she","paragraph_id":"para_160"},{"text":"did as a class member in that litigation. Mot. to Stay, at 29–37. She says that she “challenges","paragraph_id":"para_161"},{"text":"the DHS policy or practice” barring additional process before removing aliens to third countries.","paragraph_id":"para_162"},{"text":"Mot. to Stay, at 9 (emphasis added). Next, she repeatedly invokes the First Circuit’s or district","paragraph_id":"para_163"},{"text":"court’s D.V.D. decisions when arguing that the district court here wrongly held that it lacked","paragraph_id":"para_164"},{"text":"jurisdiction to consider her case. Id. at 18–28. And she claims that, “[l]ike the D.V.D.","paragraph_id":"para_165"},{"text":"plaintiffs,” she has shown that DHS’s “policy or practice constitutes a deprivation of procedural","paragraph_id":"para_166"},{"text":"No. 26-3891 Ojukwu v. Lyons, et al. Page 6","paragraph_id":"para_167"},{"text":"due process.” Id. at 29. Yet the Supreme Court found that the D.V.D. plaintiffs were not entitled","paragraph_id":"para_168"},{"text":"to an injunction pending its review. So how could we reach any different result for the same","paragraph_id":"para_169"},{"text":"claims in this case?","paragraph_id":"para_170"},{"text":"At bottom, Ojukwu’s claims conflict with the district court’s decision to certify a class","paragraph_id":"para_171"},{"text":"action in D.V.D. Class certification has serious consequences for absent class members—which","paragraph_id":"para_172"},{"text":"explains why district courts must undertake “rigorous analysis” before taking this step. Wal-","paragraph_id":"para_173"},{"text":"Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338, 351 (2011) (citation modified). Such care is all the","paragraph_id":"para_174"},{"text":"more appropriate for a Rule 23(b)(2) class action because absent class members like Ojukwu","paragraph_id":"para_175"},{"text":"may not even have the “opportunity” “to opt out” of the class. Id. at 362; cf. Doster v. Kendall,","paragraph_id":"para_176"},{"text":"54 F.4th 398, 440 (6th Cir. 2022), vacated as moot 144 S. Ct. 481 (2023) (mem.). If the district","paragraph_id":"para_177"},{"text":"court certifies such a class but the class’s claim fails on the merits, the “failed class claim binds","paragraph_id":"para_178"},{"text":"all class members.” Doster, 54 F.4th at 440. The absent class members thus cannot take a do-","paragraph_id":"para_179"},{"text":"over by later pursuing the same failed claim in an individual suit in a new court. See Cooper v.","paragraph_id":"para_180"},{"text":"Fed. Rsrv. Bank of Richmond, 467 U.S. 867, 874 (1984). And “[i]f a class member cannot","paragraph_id":"para_181"},{"text":"relitigate issues raised in a class action after it has been resolved, a class member should not be","paragraph_id":"para_182"},{"text":"able to prosecute a separate equitable action once his or her class has been certified.” Goff v.","paragraph_id":"para_183"},{"text":"Menke, 672 F.2d 702, 704 (8th Cir. 1982); see Gillespie v. Crawford, 858 F.2d 1101, 1103 (5th","paragraph_id":"para_184"},{"text":"Cir. 1988) (en banc); Groseclose v. Dutton, 829 F.2d 581, 584–85 (6th Cir. 1987). We thus find","paragraph_id":"para_185"},{"text":"it unsurprising that many district courts refused to grant preliminary injunctions to absent class","paragraph_id":"para_186"},{"text":"members of the D.V.D. class after the Supreme Court overturned the preliminary injunction","paragraph_id":"para_187"},{"text":"granted to that class. See Sanchez v. Bondi, No. 1:25-cv-2287, 2025 WL 2550646, at *2–3 (D.","paragraph_id":"para_188"},{"text":"Colo. Aug. 20, 2025) (citing cases); see also Qasemi v. Kurzdorfer, No. 25-cv-668, 2025 WL","paragraph_id":"para_189"},{"text":"2938607, at *6 (W.D.N.Y. Oct. 16, 2025).","paragraph_id":"para_190"},{"text":"To be sure, class claims do not always bar individual claims. For example, courts have","paragraph_id":"para_191"},{"text":"held that the failure of a class claim alleging that the defendant followed a general pattern or","paragraph_id":"para_192"},{"text":"practice of racial or religious discrimination might not preclude an individual claim alleging that","paragraph_id":"para_193"},{"text":"the defendant discriminated against a specific plaintiff. See Cooper, 467 U.S. at 880; Doster, 54","paragraph_id":"para_194"},{"text":"F.4th at 440. Just because a defendant did not follow a generally discriminatory policy does not","paragraph_id":"para_195"},{"text":"mean that it did not discriminate against a specific person. But this principle cannot salvage","paragraph_id":"para_196"},{"text":"No. 26-3891 Ojukwu v. Lyons, et al. Page 7","paragraph_id":"para_197"},{"text":"Ojukwu’s claim. As we have said, her motion asserts that she pursues the same general “policy","paragraph_id":"para_198"},{"text":"or practice” claim that the class litigated in the D.V.D. action. Mot. to Stay, at 9. And the class","paragraph_id":"para_199"},{"text":"suit does preclude the same “pattern and practice” claim in an individual case. Cooper, 467 U.S.","paragraph_id":"para_200"},{"text":"at 880. Besides, unlike in the discrimination context, the district court’s certification order in","paragraph_id":"para_201"},{"text":"D.V.D. explained that the government could not identify “a single example of how an","paragraph_id":"para_202"},{"text":"‘underlying fact’ and/or ‘circumstance’ might lead to different procedural minima for one","paragraph_id":"para_203"},{"text":"individual versus another.” D.V.D., 778 F. Supp. 3d at 386. The court’s certification order thus","paragraph_id":"para_204"},{"text":"rests on the premise that individual facts do not matter to the question whether an alien had a","paragraph_id":"para_205"},{"text":"due-process right to notice and a hearing before a third-country removal.","paragraph_id":"para_206"},{"text":"For her part, Ojukwu suggests that her “unique and compelling” facts should make a","paragraph_id":"para_207"},{"text":"difference to her likelihood of success in establishing the courts’ jurisdiction and her due-process","paragraph_id":"para_208"},{"text":"claim. Reply Br. at 4. She notes that she has never visited Ghana and lacks any connections to","paragraph_id":"para_209"},{"text":"this country. She adds that a general State Department travel advisory alerts individuals to","paragraph_id":"para_210"},{"text":"“[e]xercise increased caution while traveling to Ghana due to,” among other things, “violence","paragraph_id":"para_211"},{"text":"against women[.]” Advisory, R.9-1, PageID 172. But Ojukwu’s allegations do nothing to take","paragraph_id":"para_212"},{"text":"this case outside the D.V.D. class action. For example, she fails to explain why her unique facts","paragraph_id":"para_213"},{"text":"would establish the district court’s jurisdiction even if the D.V.D. district court lacked","paragraph_id":"para_214"},{"text":"jurisdiction over the class claims. Nor does she explain why her unique facts would create a due-","paragraph_id":"para_215"},{"text":"process problem even if the DHS’s general third-country policy satisfies the Fifth Amendment.","paragraph_id":"para_216"},{"text":"In sum, the Supreme Court’s stay in D.V.D. makes clear that Ojukwu has established no “more","paragraph_id":"para_217"},{"text":"than [a] possibility of success on the merits,” a fact that “is all but fatal to her motion.” Coffie-","paragraph_id":"para_218"},{"text":"Joseph v. Bondi, No. 24-3938, 2025 WL 1661894, at *1 (6th Cir. Mar. 3, 2025) (order).","paragraph_id":"para_219"},{"text":"As for the irreparable-injury factor, the evidence remains (at most) in equipoise. Ojukwu","paragraph_id":"para_220"},{"text":"conclusorily alleges that she will face “persecution, torture, and death” in Ghana. Mot. to Stay,","paragraph_id":"para_221"},{"text":"at 37. But Ojukwu cites only dated or generalized statistics about Ghana’s generic country","paragraph_id":"para_222"},{"text":"conditions. On the other hand, Ghanian officials have credibly assured the Department of State","paragraph_id":"para_223"},{"text":"that aliens like Ojukwu would not be tortured or persecuted in that country. Decl. of Vu Cam,","paragraph_id":"para_224"},{"text":"Ex. A to Resp. to Mot., at 2. Ojukwu’s general evidence thus cannot overcome her shortcomings","paragraph_id":"para_225"},{"text":"on the likelihood of success. See Coffie-Joseph, 2025 WL 1661894, at *1.","paragraph_id":"para_226"},{"text":"No. 26-3891 Ojukwu v. Lyons, et al. Page 8","paragraph_id":"para_227"},{"text":"The remaining factors (harm to the opposing party and the public interest) “merge when","paragraph_id":"para_228"},{"text":"the Government is the opposing party.” Nken, 556 U.S. at 435. These factors often depend on","paragraph_id":"para_229"},{"text":"the likelihood of success. On the one hand, “there is a public interest in preventing aliens from","paragraph_id":"para_230"},{"text":"being wrongfully removed”; on the other, “[t]here is always a public interest in prompt execution","paragraph_id":"para_231"},{"text":"of removal orders” that are lawful. Id. at 436. Yet here, an immigration judge ordered Ojukwu","paragraph_id":"para_232"},{"text":"removed over a decade ago. Because she has failed to establish a likelihood of success on the","paragraph_id":"para_233"},{"text":"merits, these factors weigh in the government’s favor.","paragraph_id":"para_234"},{"text":"All told, the Supreme Court’s decision to stay the district court’s vacatur order in D.V.D.","paragraph_id":"para_235"},{"text":"must “inform how [we] should exercise [our] equitable discretion in like cases.” Boyle, 145","paragraph_id":"para_236"},{"text":"S. Ct. at 2654. And this is not just a like case; in some respects, it is the same one. We","paragraph_id":"para_237"},{"text":"understand Ojukwu’s frustration with these events. A district court involuntarily forced her into","paragraph_id":"para_238"},{"text":"a class action in a faraway venue and thereby undermined her ability to pursue her own equitable","paragraph_id":"para_239"},{"text":"relief in a court closer to her Ohio home. The choice to certify the class also “foreclos[ed]","paragraph_id":"para_240"},{"text":"adjudication by a number of different courts and judges” (which could have helped the Supreme","paragraph_id":"para_241"},{"text":"Court render its ultimate decision) and increased “the pressures on [that] Court’s docket.”","paragraph_id":"para_242"},{"text":"Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S. 682, 702 (1979). So courts should always exercise caution when","paragraph_id":"para_243"},{"text":"certifying a “nationwide” class action. Id. Perhaps the Supreme Court will soon clarify whether","paragraph_id":"para_244"},{"text":"the district court properly exercised that caution in D.V.D. In the meantime, though, the Court","paragraph_id":"para_245"},{"text":"has made clear that the equities favor the government. We must reach the same result in this","paragraph_id":"para_246"},{"text":"similar case.","paragraph_id":"para_247"},{"text":"Therefore, the motion for a stay of removal is DENIED.","paragraph_id":"para_248"},{"text":"ENTERED BY ORDER OF THE COURT","paragraph_id":"para_249"},{"text":"Kelly L. 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