Mashiri v. Department of Education

The decision by the Department of Education to deny a Stafford loan to an alien awaiting a grant of asylum was proper since the alien could not provide evidence from the Immigration and Naturalization Service that he was not in the United States temporarily.

Asil Mashiri (“Mashiri”) sought asylum in the United States. While his immigration status was pending, he enrolled in law school. He applied for a Stafford Loan and was found ineligible. He filed a petition against the Department of Education (“DOE”) and the Secretary of Education (the “Secretary”) in order to compel the DOE to issue him a Stafford loan. The district court denied the petition. He appealed. In determining whether it had jurisdiction over Mashiri’s petition, the Ninth Circuit cited the Eleventh Circuit’s holding in Bartels v. Alabama Commercial College, Inc., which stated that 20 U.S.C. § 1082(a)(2) “confers federal subject matter jurisdiction” in claims involving the Secretary’s administration of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”). Following Bartels, the Ninth Circuit reasoned that Mashiri’s petition was “within the scope of … §1082(a)(2).” The panel considered if the anti-injunction clause of §1082(a)(2) granted federal sovereign immunity against Mashiri’s petition. Generally, sovereign immunity bars mandamus petitions. However, the Larson-Dugan exception applies when the powers of a governmental officer are “limited by statute” and “his actions beyond those limitations are considered individual and not sovereign.” The panel found that Mashiri’s petition satisfied both requirements. Since the merit of Mashiri’s claim was “directly relevant to the government’s asserted ‘duty to the plaintiff,’” the panel decided to merge the question of the application of the Larson-Dugan exception with the evaluation of Mashiri’s claim. To receive a FFELP loan, under 20 U.S.C. § 1091(a)(5), an alien must “provide evidence from the Immigration and Naturalization Service” that he “is in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident.” The panel held Mashiri was ineligible for a Stafford loan because he failed to produce such evidence. AFFIRMED.