MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Carlos Davila is the founder of A New Beginning for Immigrant’s Rights, Inc. (“A New Beginning”), an immigrants’ rights organization. Through A New Beginning, Davila participated in the Department of Justice’s Recognition and Accreditation Program, which permitted him to represent individuals in immigration proceedings as a non-attorney. In 2017, several news outlets reported negative stories about A New Beginning and Davila, and U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez responded by committing that she would revoke Davila’s accreditation through the Recognition and Accreditation Program. Later, Davila’s accreditation was revoked because the Department of Justice learned that he had been convicted of first-degree manslaughter in 1988. Davila seeks to hold the United States and Representative Velázquez (collectively, the “Federal Defendants”) liable for injuries that he allegedly suffered resulting from the revocation of his accreditation and from public statements made by Representative Velázquez in connection therewith. Specifically, Davila brings claims for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy. Davila also asserts that his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated and that the revocation of his accreditation was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). The United States, on behalf of the Federal Defendants, moves to dismiss all of the claims against the Federal Defendants pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted. For the reasons that follow, the Federal Defendants’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED.I. BACKGROUNDIn 2011, Davila founded A New Beginning, an organization that provided assistance to undocumented immigrants regarding “the Protection of their Rights under the Constitution of the United States, Human Rights, and their Rights under the Vienna Convention.” Compl. (ECF No. 1)5 (capitalization in original). Davila, through A New Beginning, participated in the Department of Justice’s Recognition and Accreditation (“R&A”) program from 2011 until 2017. Second Am. Compl. (ECF No. 27)
10-11. The R&A program allows non-attorneys within non-profit organizations to act as authorized representatives for individuals in immigration proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). See 8 C.F.R. §§1001, 1003, 1103, 1212, and 1292 (2016). The Office of Legal Access Programs (“OLAP”), a component of the EOIR within the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), administers the R&A program. Id. Davila served as an accredited representative in the R&A program. See Second Am. Compl.10.One of the services A New Beginning offered was the sale of an identification card called “ID4ICE,” which provided information to immigrants on their rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Vienna Convention in case they became subject to any action by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. See id.50. Davila charged two hundred dollars for the card, which included a two-year membership with A New Beginning. Id.51. Reporters from various news outlets began asking Davila a series of questions about the identification card, and then, in May 2017, ran stories identifying him as a convicted felon and accusing him of falsely promising that the identification card would protect immigrants from deportation. Id.
