Abolghasen Osee Yassini, and Masoud Mahdjoubi v. David Crosland, Acting Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service

Masoud Mahdjoubi challenges the directive of David Crosland, Acting Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), to revoke the deferred departure dates that the INS had previous-' ly granted to Iranian nationals in this country. Mahdjoubi contends that this revocation violated his right to due process and violated the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act and the Freedom of Information Act. At the heart of these contentions is a sensitive issue: was the Crosland directive an independent, “renegade” act of foreign policy, or merely an implementation of the President’s response to the Iranian hostage crisis? We find that the Crosland directive was within the scope of the President’s stated policy, and reject Mahdjoubi’s contentions.

Mahdjoubi was admitted into the United States from Iran as a nonimmigrant student with permission to study at Santa Barbara City College until September 10, 1978. On March 22,1979 the INS took Mahdjoubi into custody after discovering he was in the country in violation of his status and had begun attending California State University at Los Angeles without permission. The District Director denied his requests…