Civil Procedure
AARP says it’s not part of challenge to El Salvador deportations, despite case caption
The AARP—formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons—has intervened in a lawsuit filed on behalf of immigrant detainees because of concerns about the case caption. (Image from Shutterstock)
The AARP—formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons—has intervened in a lawsuit filed on behalf of immigrant detainees because of concerns about the case caption.
The case challenging immediate deportations to a prison in El Salvador in Central America was called A.A.R.P. v. Trump, with “A.A.R.P.” representing a pseudonym for one of the plaintiffs. After the AARP intervened, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas changed the case caption April 21 to W.M.M. v. Trump.
The order also said the person using the pseudonym “A.A.R.P.” will now be referred to as “A.R.P.”
The AARP said it takes no position regarding the subject of the litigation and wanted to intervene to avoid confusion, according to the order by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix of the Northern District of Texas.
Sarah Lovenheim, the AARP’s vice president of external relations, said in a statement emailed to the ABA Journal the new case name and pseudonym are “essential to mitigate any ongoing confusion among the media and the public, mistakenly suggesting our affiliation with the case.”
In its motion for a new case caption, the AARP said in the first 72 hours after the case was filed, the AARP received “numerous misplaced inquiries” about the litigation.
The Volokh Conspiracy noted the motion and the order.
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