Ibrahim

I dissent.

The facts that are pled and developed by the Petition and submission of the government show that the Petitioner, Rahinah Ibrahim, was in the United States from 2001 to 2005 on a student visa to earn her doctorate from Stanford University. Prior to the time she left her native Malaysia for Stanford, she had been an assistant professor at the University Putra Malaysia in Serdang, Malaysia. Near the end of her doctoral studies, Petitioner was invited to participate in a symposium at that same university to present her research. She voluntarily purchased her ticket to Malaysia and made the other necessary arrangements to attend the symposium. On January 2, 2005, Petitioner arrived at the airport in San Francisco as per the ticket and was advised by a *1000 representative of United Airlines that she was on a “No Fly” list. Instead of issuing her a boarding pass, the representative called the San Francisco police. Petitioner was arrested and detained for two hours until F.B.I. agents arrived and directed that she be released. 1 The Petitioner was told she was no longer on the “No Fly” list at that time. The very next day, Petitioner went to the airport where she was again…

Opinion by Judge WILLIAM A. FLETCHER; Dissent by Judge DUFFY.

OPINION

Plaintiff Rahinah Ibrahim is a citizen of Malaysia and mother of four children. She was legally in the United States from 2001 to 2005 as a Ph.D. student at Stanford University. She alleges that the U.S. government has mistakenly placed her on the “No-Fly List” and other terrorist watchlists. On January 2, 2005, she attempted to travel to a Stanford-sponsored conference in Malaysia where she was to present her doctoral research. She was prevented from flying and was detained in a holding cell for two hours at the San Francisco airport. She was allowed to fly to Malaysia the next day, but she was prevented from returning to the United States after the conference. Ibrahim has not been permitted to return to the United States.

Ibrahim brought suit in federal district court seeking, among other things, injunctive relief under the First and Fifth Amendments, with the ultimate aim of having her name removed from the government’s watchlists. The district court denied injunctive relief. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

*987 I. Factual Background

A. Ibrahim’s Departure

Ibrahim is Associate Professor…

James McManis, Marwa Elzankaly, Christine Peek, Elizabeth Pipkin, McManis Faulkner, San Jose, CA, for the appellant.

Paul G. Freeborne, Douglas Neal Letter, Joshua P. Waldman, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for the appellees.

Veena Dubal, Asian Law Caucus, San Francisco, CA, and Maria V. Morris, Sanford Jay Rosen, Rosen Bien & Galvan, LLP, San Francisco, CA, for the amici curiae.

Before: DOROTHY W. NELSON and WILLIAM A. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges, and KEVIN THOMAS DUFFY, District Judge. [*]

Opinion by Judge WILLIAM A. FLETCHER; Dissent by Judge DUFFY.

W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Rahinah Ibrahim is a citizen of Malaysia and mother of four children. She was legally in the United States from 2001 to 2005 as a Ph.D. student at Stanford University. She alleges that the U.S. government has mistakenly placed her on the "No-Fly List" and other terrorist watchlists. On January 2, 2005, she attempted to travel to a Stanford-sponsored conference in Malaysia where she was to present her doctoral research. She was prevented from flying and was detained in a holding cell for two hours at the San Francisco airport. She was allowed to fly to Malaysia the next day, but…