CASES ARCHIVES
Follow these links to find cases of note in Deportation Defense which were decided in the previous years, or scroll down to find cases decided within the last few months.
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2006
DECEMBER / JANUARY 2006/2007
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2007
APRIL / MAY 2007
JUNE / JULY 2007
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2007
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2007
DECEMBER 2007 / JANUARY 2008
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2008
APRIL / MAY 2008
JUNE / JULY 2008
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2008
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2008
JANUARY - JUNE 2009
CASES DECIDED IN FEDERAL COURT IN JUNE-DECEMBER 2009
December 28, 2009 - January 01, 2010
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 30, 2009
Hernandez v. Holder, No. 09-60261
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's application for cancellation of removal, the petition is denied where state felon in-possession offenses, such as Texas Penal Code section 46.04(a), need not have an interstate commerce element in order for the offense to be an offense "described in" 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(1). Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 30, 2009
Halim v. Holder, No. 04-74868
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's asylum application, the petition is denied where petitioner failed to make a compelling showing that: 1) the reported incidents of discrimination against him amounted to persecution; 2) the incidents provided an objective basis for a well-founded fear of future persecution; or 3) he was a member of a disfavored group who had been individually targeted. Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 28, 2009
US v. Lopez, No. 08-13605
Defendant's convictions for encouraging or inducing aliens to enter the U.S. is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in including "to help" in the definition of "encourage" in the jury instructions; 2) the trial evidence established that defendant was more than a mere passive boat driver; 3) 18 U.S.C. section 1327 required only that defendant knew the alien he aided or assisted was inadmissible at some point before the alien sought to enter the U.S. Read more...
December 21, 2009 - December 25, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, December 22, 2009
Saysama v. Gillen, No. 09-1179
Grant of a Laotian immigrant-petitioner's request for habeas relief after being taken into custody by the ICE without bond and conclusion that BIA had misinterpreted 8 U.S.C. section 1226 are affirmed as the government has adopted an interpretation contrary to the plain meaning of the statute and in the alternative, even if the statute were ambiguous, the position of the government is not a reasonable one. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 21, 2009
Hamazaspyan v. Holder, No. 05-72267
In a petition for review of the BIA's dismissal of petitioner's appeal from an immigration judge's denial of his motion to reopen an in absentia removal order, the petition is granted where the BIA failed to serve petitioner's counsel of record with a hearing notice. Read more...
December 14, 2009 - December 18, 2009
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, December 18, 2009
Turkmen v. Ashcroft, No. 06-3745
In an action claiming abuse, mistreatment, and detention of Arab and Muslim aliens who were held on immigration violations in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, an order partially dismissing the complaint is affirmed in part where there was no clearly established equal protection right to be free of selective enforcement of immigration laws based on national origin, race, or religion at the time of plaintiffs' detentions. However, the order is vacated in part where defendant-officials were entitled to qualified immunity because a law enforcement official's actual motivation for the Fourth Amendment seizure of a person was constitutionally irrelevant if the seizure was supported by probable cause. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 18, 2009
Acquaah v. Holder, No. 08-3836
Petition for review of the BIA's denial of two separate motions to reopen removal proceedings by a petitioner, a native and citizen of Ghana, is denied as, even if petitioner's motions were found to be timely, he would still not be entitled to relief because he has not shown that he missed his hearing due to exceptional circumstances. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 15, 2009
Ramos v. Holder, No. 09-1932
Petition for review a BIA's denial of an El Salvadoran citizen's petition for withholding of removal on the ground that former Salvadoran gang members do not constitute a particular social group, nor can membership in a criminal gang constitute membership in a particular social group, is granted and the Board's decision is vacated and remanded as a gang is a group and being a former member of a group is a characteristic impossible to change, except perhaps by rejoining the group. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 14, 2009
Pelayo-Garcia v. Holder, No. 05-70929
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is granted where petitioner's prior offense of "unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor" under section 261.5(d) of the California Penal Code did not meet the definition of "aggravated felony" in 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(43)(A). Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 18, 2009
Aden v. Holder, No. 08-71168
In a petition for review of the denial of petitioner's asylum application, the petition is denied where: 1) the BIA properly required corroboration of petitioner's testimony; and 2) though the three letters submitted by petitioner supported the conclusion that petitioner's claimed clan and subclan existed, the law was that in order to reverse the BIA finding, the court of appeals must find that the evidence not only supported such conclusion, but compelled it. Read more...
December 07, 2009 - December 11, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, December 09, 2009
Rasiah v. Holder, No. 08-1398
An ethnically Tamil Sri Lankan's petition for review of a decision by the BIA denying his application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under CAT is denied where: 1) the BIA's recent findings have been sustained that treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanks does not rise to the level necessary to establish a pattern or practice claim that standing alone permits relief, and here, the record in this case neither compels a contrary finding nor supports petitioner's assertion that his claim was ignored; 2) the BIA did not err in denying petitioner's motion to reopen the proceedings; and 3) petitioner's claim that he is entitled to asylum because he is part of the particular social group of failed asylum seekers is barred as he failed to raise it before the IJ. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, December 11, 2009
Walker v. Holder, No. 08-2489
BIA's ruling denying petitioner's claim of derivative U.S. citizenship and ordering him removed from the U.S. to Jamaica is affirmed where: 1) petitioner failed to establish his claim to derivative U.S. citizenship by a preponderance of credible evidence and is not entitled to such citizenship; and 2) petitioner's claim that he will be deprived of due process of law under the Fifth Amendment if his permanent residence card is revoked retroactively without a formal proceeding is without merit as the card was not lawfully granted in the first place and petitioner received all of the process that he was due. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, December 08, 2009
Pierre v. Holder, No. 08-6217
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner from the U.S. for committing an aggravated felony, the petition is granted where: 1) petitioner was not charged, either explicitly or implicitly, with an aggravated felony as defined by 8 U.S.C. section 101(a)(43)(U); 2) subsection U is not a necessarily included offense under subsection M of the same statute; and 3) petitioner therefore was denied her due process rights of notice and an opportunity to be heard when the BIA sua sponte found her removable on the basis of her conviction for an aggravated felony as defined by subsection U. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 09, 2009
Sobitan v. Glud, No. 07-3119
In plaintiff's suit against a customs officer for arresting him for illegal reentry into the U.S. and against the Assistant United States Attorney who prosecuted the case, grant of the government's motion for substitution and dismissal under the Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act (Westfall Act) is affirmed where: 1) the district court correctly substituted the U.S. as defendant, as plaintiff's claim for relief for violation of his rights under the Vienna Convention does not fall within an exception to the Westfall Act's substitution provision; and 2) the district court properly dismissed plaintiff's claim as the source of his claims is not state tort law, but international treaty and as such, does not fall within the United States' waiver of its sovereign immunity in section 1346(b). Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 07, 2009
US v. Pena-Montes, No. 08-2169
In a prosecution for illegal reentry into the U.S. following removal, denial of defendant's motion to suppress is vacated and remanded where the court of appeals could not determine based on the record whether the evidence of defendant's identity needed to be suppressed in light of the police's Fourth Amendment violation in searching defendant's vehicle. Read more...
November 30, 2009 - December 04, 2009
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, November 30, 2009
US v. Rodriguez, No. 08-2805
Defendants' alien transportation conviction is affirmed where: 1) the strength of the evidence rendered harmless any error that might have occurred with respect to denying one defendant a severance; 2) there was no reason to anticipate that the prosecutor's question would prompt one defendant to volunteer that he was in jail; and 3) the prosecutor merely invited the jury to consider the implausibility of one defendant's claim that the government witnesses were all committing perjury and did not impermissibly vouch for the witnesses. However, defendants' Hostage Taking Act conviction is reversed where the Act did not apply to an extortion scheme that used brief confinement of a taxi passenger to obtain a somewhat above average taxi fare. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, December 02, 2009
Ge v. Holder, No. 07-3630
Petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's asylum application is granted where: 1) the BIA committed legal error by effectively holding that petitioner's only cognizable activity was the act of his enrollment in the China Democratic Party (CDP), an act which petitioner contends was committed clandestinely, and took no notice of his later activities as a member of the CDP; and 2) remand was proper to reopen the record to permit petitioner to present additional evidence as to the Chinese government's likely future awareness of his involvement with the CDP. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, December 03, 2009
Ljutica v. Holder, No. 07-5638
In an action challenging the Attorney General's denial of citizenship to plaintiff, summary judgment for defendants is affirmed where plaintiff’s conviction under 18 U.S.C. section 1344 for attempting to execute a fraudulent scheme to obtain money from a bank constituted an “aggravated felony” as defined in 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(43)(M)(i) and that conviction for an aggravated felony made one ineligible for naturalization under 8 U.S.C. section 1101(f)(8). Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 04, 2009
Olmsted v. Holder, No. 08-3709
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where petitioner's prior conviction under Minnesota law for making terroristic threats constituted an aggravated felony because it involved a crime of violence, rendering petitioner statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 01, 2009
Toj-Culpatan v. Holder, No. 05-72179
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's asylum application, the petition is denied where petitioner did not file an asylum application in English within the one year deadline and no "extraordinary circumstances" prevented him from filing on time. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, December 03, 2009
Lin v. Holder, No. 08-71227
Petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's motion to reopen her removal proceedings is denied where there was insufficient evidence that China's family planning policies had become more stringent since the time of the original removal proceedings. Read more...
November 23, 2009 - November 27, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, November 25, 2009
Decky v. Holder, No. 08-2118
Petitioners-Indonesian citizens' petition for review of the BIA's denial of their application for asylum and related relief is denied over petitioner's claim that the BIA erred when it determined that evidence of mistreatment experienced by petitioners in their native Indonesia failed to rise to the level of persecution under immigration laws, as the ruling was supported by substantial evidence in the record. Read more...
U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, November 24, 2009
Sheriff v. US Atty. Gen. , No. 08-1645
Liberian national's petition for review of BIA's denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and other relief is granted and the case remanded to the BIA as it failed to consider many if not most of the atrocities to which petitioner was subjected, such as her testimony that she will be killed if she is returned to Liberia and the documentary evidence in the case. Read more...
U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 24, 2009
Baharon v. Holder, No. 08-1700
Petitioner's request for review of the BIA's final removal order denying his asylum application and ordering him removed to Yemen is granted and the case remanded as petitioner has established that he was subjected to past persecution, and as such, he is entitled to the presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution, which would make him eligible for asylum. Read more...
U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 24, 2009
Kourouma v. Holder, No. 08-1864
Citizen of Guinea's petition for review of BIA's denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the CAT is granted and the BIA's decision denying her asylum application on the basis of an adverse credibility finding is vacated and remanded as it was not supported by substantial evidence, and petitioner established past persecution in the form of female genital mutilation. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 23, 2009
Kipkemboi v. Holder, No. 07-3460
Petition for review of the BIA's order denying Kenyan petitioners' application for asylum is denied where: 1) because petitioner did not establish past persecution, she was not entitled to a rebuttable presumption of a well-founded fear of future persecution; 2) petitioners pointed to nothing that called into doubt the fundamental fairness of the procedures employed. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 24, 2009
Ladyha v. Holder, No. 09-1294
In asylum proceedings involving a native of Belarus, petition for review of the BIA's denial of the asylum application is denied where: 1) petitioner did not demonstrate that the record evidence compelled reversal on the basis of past persecution; and 2) as the BIA reasonably concluded that petitioner did not meet the lesser burden of establishing a basis for asylum, he could not show that withholding was necessary. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 25, 2009
Hernandez-Aguilar v. Holder, No. 06-71945
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where petitioner's conviction for possessing a controlled substance under California Health and Safety Code section 11379(a) qualified as a basis for removability under 8 U.S.C. section 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). Read more...
November 16, 2009 - November 20, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, November 20, 2009
Perez v. Holder, No. 09-1022
Guatemalan national's petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's request for withholding of removal is denied as the BIA adequately articulated a reasoned basis for its decision. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, November 20, 2009
United Airlines, Inc. v. Brien, No. 04-6018
In a consolidated appeal from three district court orders in actions by international airline companies challenging the INS's imposition of fines against the airlines for bringing undocumented immigrant and non-immigrant aliens into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. section 1323, the court of appeals rules as follows. One order is affirmed in part where the INS did not act arbitrarily when it employed its parole power rather than its visa waiver authority to admit aliens into the U.S. However, the order is reversed in part where a Board of Immigration Appeals rule, which exempted airlines from liability for bringing an undocumented alien to the U.S. when the alien received a post-arrival visa waiver, was consistent with the Penalty Statute. Another order is reversed where the INS's Rule 60 motion was procedurally defective because the circumstances were not sufficiently extraordinary to merit such relief. In another matter, summary judgment for the INS is reverse! d where: 1) the INS's 1996 amendment of its tourist visa waiver regulation was invalid because it was promulgated in violation of the joint action requirement; and 2) the State Department's 1999 version of the tourist visa waiver regulation was invalid because it was promulgated in violation of the joint action requirement and without notice-and-comment. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 19, 2009
Shaikh v. Holder, No. 09-60237
In a petition for review of the BIA's decision affirming an Immigration Judge/s decision denying petitioner's application for withholding of removal, the petition is denied where the BIA's determination that petitioner was not persecuted on account of a protected ground was supported by substantial evidence. Read more..
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 17, 2009
US v. Ye, No. 08-1333
Defendant's conviction for concealing, harboring, or shielding from detection illegal aliens and hiring illegal aliens is affirmed where: 1) the district court's supplemental jury instruction on the meaning of "shielding" was not erroneous; and 2) the evidence was sufficient to prove defendant intended to prevent government authorities from detecting the presence of the illegal aliens. Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 20, 2009
N-A-M v. Holder, No. 07-9580
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner to El Salvador, the petition is denied where: 1) petitioner's prior state offense of felony menacing was a "particularly serious crime" under 8 U.S.C. section 1231; and 2) the Immigration Judge's reliance on a Statement in Support of Warrantless Arrest detailing petitioner's prior offense was not fundamentally unfair. Read more...
November 09, 2009 - November 13, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, November 10, 2009
Sugiarto v. Holder, No. 08-2502
Indonesian national's petition for review of BIA's denial of her application for asylum is denied where: 1) BIA's finding that petitioner failed to establish the requisite nexus between the obviously traumatic incidents of armed robbery and bomb threats and her status as a Christian was supported by substantial evidence on the record; and 2) BIA's decision denying petitioner's claim for asylum on the basis of well-founded fear of future persecution was supported by substantial evidence. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 09, 2009
Al-Ghorbani v. Holder, No. 08-3376
Petitioners' request for review of BIA's denial of their application for asylum and related relief from being returned back to Yemen is denied in part and granted in part where: 1) the portion of the petition requesting asylum is denied as the court lacks jurisdiction to review whether the IJ failed to afford the petitioners due process by not excusing the untimeliness of their applications for asylum; 2) petitioners' due process arguments with respect to the IJ's denial of their applications for asylum are without merit; and 3) request for review of the portion of the petition requesting the withholding of removal is granted as the record contains ample evidence that the General will kill the petitioners if they are returned to Yemen and nothing in the record suggests that conditions in Yemen have changed such that the government there will now be able to control the powerful General. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 09, 2009
Shaya v. Holder, No. 08-4619
An Iraqi petitioner's request for review of BIA's denial of his application for asylum and related relief is vacated and remanded as the immigration judge never made a finding of fact regarding the length of time that petitioner actually served in prison for his assault conviction, and should he be found to have served less than one year in prison, he should be held not to be an aggravated felon and therefore not removable. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 09, 2009
Diop v. Holder, No. 08-3378
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's asylum application, the petition is denied where the evidence that petitioner's daughter would be harmed if she were returned to Senegal was not so compelling that no reasonable fact finder could fail to find the requisite fear of persecution. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 10, 2009
US v. Ambriz-Ambriz, No. 08-30431
Defendant's conviction for illegal reentry into the U.S. is affirmed where, because defendant had not legally left the U.S. on the date of his detention, and he was not entering the U.S. from a foreign country, the official restraint doctrine was inapplicable. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 10, 2009
Bermudez v. Holder, No. 08-72133
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's request to terminate proceedings and his request for cancellation of removal, the petition is dismissed where petitioner's conviction was one related to a controlled substance under 8 U.S.C. section 1227(a)(2)(B)(i), and thus the circuit court lacked jurisdiction over the petition. Read more...
November 02, 2009 - November 06, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, November 04, 2009
Gourdet v. Holder, No. 08-2422
Haitian citizen's petition for review of BIA's denial of his application for relief from removal under the CAT is denied where: 1) the general detention conditions in Haiti were not sufficiently severe to rise to the level of torture; 2) the acts of mistreatment that petitioner will likely be subjected to in detention do not amount to torture; and 3) there is no jurisdiction to address petitioner's remaining contentions that he met his burden of proving that torture of criminal deportees in Haiti is widespread and that he was more likely to be singled out for mistreatment by Haitian authorities because of his personal characteristics. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, November 06, 2009
Dong v. Holder, No. 08-2083
Chinese citizen's petition for review of BIA's denial of his application for asylum is denied where: 1) petitioner never presented his "other resistance" argument to the BIA; 2) petitioner never argued before the BIA that his flight from China constituted other resistance to a coercive population control program; and 3) BIA did not abuse its discretion in refusing to remand for further factfinding. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, November 02, 2009
Arar v. Ashcroft, No. 06-4216
In an action under the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Fifth Amendment based on plaintiff's detention at a U.S. airport and subsequent removal to and alleged torture in Syria, the dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where 1) plaintiff insufficiently pleaded that the alleged conduct of defendant U.S. officials was done under color of Syrian law; and 2) in the context of extraordinary rendition, allowing a Bivens action against policymaking federal officials would have the natural tendency to affect diplomacy, foreign policy, and the security of the nation. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 03, 2009
US v. Rosenbaum, No. 08-1339
District court's imposition of a statutory maximum of 120 months' imprisonment on a defendant convicted of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and to harbor illegal aliens, and of harboring more than one hundred illegal aliens, is affirmed where: 1) there was no error in district court's denial of government's 5K1.1 motion to reduce defendant's sentence, as the court found it significant that defendant had not begun cooperating until after one of his co-defendants had agreed to cooperate and found that bulk of his cooperation to be incomplete at the time of sentencing; and 2) defendant's sentence is presumed reasonable as it was within the advisory Guidelines range. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 05, 2009
Yohannes v. Holder, No. 08-3519
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner a waiver of the spousal joint-filing requirement for removal of the conditions on his permanent resident status, the petition is denied where: 1) petitioner produced virtually no documentation in support of his claim of a bona fide marriage; and 2) the Immigration Judge's discussion of extreme hardship was brief, but her reasoning was sufficiently clear and supported by the evidence. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, November 04, 2009
US v. Liera, No. 07-50546
Defendant's alien smuggling conviction is vacated where police unreasonably delayed defendant's arraignment before a magistrate judge to conduct a second interrogation in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 3501(c). Read more...
October 26, 2009 - October 30, 2009
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, October 27, 2009
Contreras-Salinas v. Holder, No. 08-4611
In a petition for review of a BIA order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where, because petitioner challenged a determination committed to the sole discretion of the Attorney General — namely, the credibility and weight accorded to certain evidence — the court of appeals lacked jurisdiction to review her claims. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, October 30, 2009
Zhang v. Holder, No. 07-0327
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's application for relief under the Convention Against Torture, the petition is denied where: 1) an agency may consider the record of a "credible fear" interview when evaluating an alien's credibility; and 2) substantial evidence supported the BIA's determination that petitioner did not testify credibly about the basis for her application for relief. Read more...
U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 30, 2009
Nken v. Holder, No. 08-1813
Petition for review of the BIA's order denying a citizen of Cameroon's motion to reopen his removal proceedings is granted and the BIA's decision vacated and remanded as the BIA did not explain why petitioner's new evidence failed to demonstrate a change of country conditions. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 27, 2009
US v. Rangel-Portillo, No. 08-40803
Defendant's conviction for transporting undocumented aliens is vacated where the district court erred in denying defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained as the result of an unconstitutional stop by a United States Border Patrol agent. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 29, 2009
Ghazali v. Holder, No. 08-4229
BIA's denial of Lebanese petitioner's application for asylum is affirmed as an immigration judge's determination that an asylum application is time barred does not preclude the judge from also finding that the same application is frivolous. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 29, 2009
US v. Moriel-Luna, No. 08-50124
In defendant's appeal from a denial of his motion to dismiss his indictment for illegal reentry into the U.S. by a deported alien, the district court's order is affirmed where: 1) an Immigration Judge (IJ) is not required to act creatively to advise an immigrant of ways in which his legal prospects at forestalling deportation might improve with fundamental changes in his status; 2) the IJ's failure to inform defendant of his section 212(c) options did not prejudice him because he was not entitled to a section 212(c) waiver due to his commission of an aggravated felony; and 3) the IJ was not obligated to grant indefinite continuances if defendant did not produce counsel but refused to waive his right to counsel. Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 27, 2009
Hamilton v. Holder, No. 09-9505
In a petition for review of the BIA's order finding petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal because he had been convicted of an aggravated felony, the petition is denied where, under the circumstance-specific approach, it was permissible for the Immigration Judge to rely upon sentencing-related material to determine the amount of the loss. Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 28, 2009
Mendiola v. Holder, No. 08-9565
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's second motion to reopen his removal proceedings, the petition is denied where the BIA correctly determined that 8 C.F.R. section 1003.2(d)'s post-departure bar divested it of jurisdiction to review a motion to reopen filed by a removed alien, like petitioner, even though relevant regulations allowed an alien to file one motion to reopen within 90 days. Read more...
October 19, 2009 - October 23, 2009
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 21, 2009
Potdar v. Holder , No. 06-2441
Petitioner's motion for attorneys' fees and costs, arising from exclusion proceedings, is denied as, under the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. section 2412, the government's position was justified in substance or in the main. Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 22, 2009
US v. Quintana, No. 08-12967
In an illegal reentry prosecution, the denial of defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment is affirmed where the district court did not clearly err in its finding that defendant's apparent race or ethnicity was not the sole factor relied upon by a detective in directing an officer to initiate a consensual encounter. Read more...
October 12, 2009 - October 16, 2009
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, October 14, 2009
Lin v. Holder, No. 07-5791
In a petition for review of a final order of the BIA affirming the decision of an Immigration Judge which denied petitioner's application for asylum, the petition is granted in part where petitioner's activity as a nurse in China did not amount to "assistance or participation" in persecution which would render her ineligible for asylum or withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act's "persecutor bar." However, the petition is denied in part where petitioner failed to sustain her burden of demonstrating that it was "more likely than not" that she would be tortured in China. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 13, 2009
Rodriguez v. Holder, No. 08-60585
In a petition for review of the BIA's order overturning an Immigration Judge's order granting petitioner a good-faith hardship waiver of the joint filing requirement of section 216(c)(4)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the petition is granted where the BIA applied the incorrect legal standard to conclude that petitioner's marriage was not entered into in good faith. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 13, 2009
Lagunas-Salgado v. Holder, No. 07-3396
Petition for review of an order finding petitioner removable is denied where: 1) the BIA's conclusion that petitioner had been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude in denying his petition for withholding of removal was proper as his conviction for selling fraudulent Social Security and alien registration cards to those who knew they were false documents was a crime that involves inherently deceptive conduct; and 2) there was no merit in remaining challenges. Read more...
October 05, 2009 - October 09, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, October 08, 2009
Seng v. Holder, No. 08-2485
Cambodian national's petition for review of BIA's order, mandating removal from the United States and denying her application for asylum and protection under CAT, is denied where the IJ's findings that petitioner's testimony was not credible based on fundamental discrepancies and inconsistency in her testimony were supported by reasonable, substantial and probative evidence on the record. Read more...
U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, October 06, 2009
Jean-Louis v. Att'y Gen. , No. 07-3311
Haitian citizen's petition for withholding of removal is granted and the order of the BIA denying the application is reversed where: 1) the circuit court rejects the Attorney General's novel approach to adjudicating crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMT); and 2) following the established methodology for adjudicating CIMT as set forth in Partyka v. Att'y Gen., 417 F.3d 408 (3d Cir. 2005), petitioner's prior conviction for simple assault against a child under twelve years of age does not constitute CIMT for purposes of cancellation of removal. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 05, 2009
US v. Estrada-Eliverio, No. 07-50191
Defendant's conviction and sentence for illegal reentry into the U.S. are affirmed where: 1) the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure permitted authentication of official documents under Fed. R. Evid. 901; and 2) defendant's prior California offense of assault with a deadly weapon or by means likely to produce great bodily injury constituted a crime of violence under U.S.S.G. section 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 07, 2009
Shkambi v. U.S. Atty. Gen., No. 09-10493
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner asylum and withholding of removal, the petition is denied where: 1) the BIA's reasoned discussion of petitioner's credibility was sufficient to allow for meaningful appellate review; and 2) the Immigration Judge and the BIA gave specific, cogent reasons for finding petitioner not credible, and those reasons were supported by the record. Read more...
September 28, 2009 - October 02, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, September 28, 2009
Chiang v. Skeirik, No. 08-2105
District court's dismissal of plaintiff's amended complaint arising from a denial of his petition for a fiancee visa is affirmed where: 1) district court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's claim that his visa was improperly denied as he failed to state a plausible entitlement to relief; 2) district court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's Bivens claims as he failed to name any officers in their individual capacities in the first amended complaint and a Bivens claim does not lie against the United States; and 3) district court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's motion to file a second amended complaint as it would have been futile. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, September 28, 2009
Bustamante v. Napolitano, No. 08-0990
In an Immigration and Nationality Act section 1447(b) action seeking to have the district court determine plaintiff's naturalization application, dismissal of the action as moot is reversed where only the district court has jurisdiction to determine a naturalization application when the applicant files a section 1447(b) petition, and thus the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services could not decide plaintiff's naturalization application after he filed a petition. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, October 02, 2009
Wang v. Holder, No. 07-5369
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's application for asylum, withholding of removal under 8 U.S.C. section 1231(b)(3), and withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture, the petition is denied where petitioner's participation in a scheme to sell organs for profit on the black market was a serious nonpolitical crime. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, October 01, 2009
Cantu-Delgadillo v. Holder, No. 08-60122
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's request for administrative closure and dismissing his appeal from the BIA's order removing him from the U.S., the petition is denied where: 1) because the Department of Homeland Security opposed the administrative closure, the BIA had no discretion to administratively close the case; and 2) petitioner had no fundamental liberty interest in being able to reside with his children and work in the U.S. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 29, 2009
Krasilych v. Holder, No. 09-1026
Petition for review of the BIA's denial of a Ukrainian citizen's application for withholding of removal is denied as the exclusionary rule generally does not apply in removal proceedings, and here, petitioner obtained the I-551 stamp on his passport during an undercover investigation coordinated by immigration authorities. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 29, 2009
Turcios v. Holder, No. 05-72258
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's motion to reconsider its rejection of his appeal of an Immigration Judge's decision as being untimely filed, the petition is dismissed where the BIA's denial of petitioner’s motion was an exercise of routine discretion. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 29, 2009
Aguilar-Turcios v. Holder, No. 06-73451
In a petition for review of the BIA's order dismissing petitioner's appeal from an Immigration Judge’s order finding him removable as an alien convicted of an aggravated felony, the petition is granted where petitioner was not convicted of an aggravated felony as his conviction for violating Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice did not categorically involve a depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 29, 2009
Irigoyen-Briones v. Holder, No. 07-71806
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's motion to reconsider its rejection of petitioner's appeal as being untimely filed, the petition is denied where 8 C.F.R. section 1003.38(b) is ambiguous regarding the BIA's jurisdiction to consider late filings, and the BIA's interpretation barring petitioner's filing was not plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the language of the regulation. Read more...
September 14, 2009 - September 18, 2009
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, September 14, 2009
Santoso v. Holder, No. 07-4713
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's application for asylum, the petition is denied where the BIA adequately considered petitioner's claim that there was a pattern or practice of persecution of ethnic Chinese and Catholics in Indonesia, and its finding that no such pattern or practice existed was supported by substantial evidence. Read more...
U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, September 14, 2009
US v. Arrelucea-Zamudio, No. 08-4397
District court's sentence of defendant convicted of illegal reentry into the United States is vacated and remanded where it is within the discretion of a district court to consider a variance on the basis of disparity created by lower immigration sentences in fast-track jurisdictions in light of Kimbrough v. U.S., 552 U.S. 85 (2007). Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 15, 2009
Abdulahad v. Holder, No. 08-3850
Petition for review of BIA's decision to uphold an IJ's finding that Syrian petitioner's former marriage to a US citizen was a sham is denied as the marriage was entered into in an attempt to allow him to remain in the United States, and thus the IJ's ruling that petitioner is removable under section 237(a)(1) was supported by substantial evidence. Petitioner's remaining claims are rejected. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 16, 2009
Patel v. Holder, No. 08-3067
Petition for review of BIA's denial of Indian national's application for withholding of removal is denied and dismissed in part where: 1) petitioner's request for continuance is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction and in the alternative denied for lack of merit; 2) BIA's finding that petitioner did not have a well-founded fear of persecution was supported by reasonable, substantial, and probable evidence; and 3) petitioner's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 17, 2009
Nzeve v. Holder, No. 08-3455
BIA's denial of a Zimbabwe national and his wife's petition for asylum and related relief is affirmed where: 1) the record does not compel a conclusion that petitioner suffered a past persecution nor that petitioner's fear of future persecution is objectively reasonable; and 2) as petitioner failed to satisfy the lower burden of proof required for asylum, he cannot prove that it is more likely than not that his freedom would be threatened on account of a protected ground if he was returned to Zimbabwe. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 14, 2009
Verdugo-Gonzalez v. Holder, No. 06-73733
In a petition for review of an order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where petitioner's felony conviction for receipt of stolen property under California Penal Code section 496(a) categorically constituted an aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 17, 2009
Castillo-Cruz v. Holder, No. 06-70896
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's application for cancellation of removal, the petition is granted in part where: 1) the BIA erred in characterizing receipt of stolen property as a crime of moral turpitude; and 2) the BIA needed to decide whether petitioner's petty theft conviction fell within the petty offenses exception of the Immigration and Nationality Act. However, the petition is denied in part where the BIA correctly determined that petitioner's conviction for petty theft constituted a crime of moral turpitude. Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 15, 2009
Rosillo-Puga v. Holder, No. 07-9564
In a petition for review of the denial of petitioner's motion to reconsider or reopen his deportation proceedings, the petition is denied where 8 C.F.R. section 1003.23(b)(1) was a valid exercise of the Attorney General's Congressionally-delegated rule-making authority, and did not contravene 8 U.S.C. sections 1229a(c)(6)(A) or (7)(A), and thus the Immigration Judge lacked jurisdiction over petitioner's motion because petitioner had previously been removed from the U.S. Read more...
September 07, 2009 - September 11, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, September 09, 2009
Lumataw v. Holder, No. 08-1757
Petition for review of a decision by the BIA denying Indonesian petitioner's application for asylum and related relief is granted and remanded where the IJ and BIA committed prejudicial legal error in faulting the petitioner for untimely filing without recognizing either the absence of a filing deadline for the first few years of the period or the undisputed record fact of petitioner's inclusion in his wife's January 2003 asylum application, and as such, it cannot be concluded that the legal errors were harmless. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, September 10, 2009
Caal-Tiul v. Holder, No. 08-2464
Guatemalan national's petition for review a BIA's decision reversing the Immigration Judge's granting of asylum is denied where the petitioner failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution on account of a protected ground and the standard of BIA review makes no difference because there is no evidence that a gang was in any way motivated by petitioner's status as an indigenous female. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, September 11, 2009
Kartasheva v. Holder, No. 08-2243
Petition for review of BIA's denial for asylum and related relief is granted, and the ruling is vacated and remanded where the court finds lacking an itemization of the substantial evidence necessary for an adverse credibility determination, and because the Board limited its reasoning to the adverse credibility finding and did not discuss petitioner's eligibility for relief, the case is remanded to the agency to make a well-reasoned and well-explained determination of petitioner's eligibility. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 09, 2009
Saqr v. Holder, No. 07-3794
In a petition for review of the BIA's order holding that petitioner was subject to removal on the grounds that his criminal conviction for second degree assault under extreme emotional disturbance under Kentucky law was an aggravated felony and that his conviction for reckless homicide was a crime of moral turpitude, the petition is granted: where 1) the BIA erred when it applied the post-IIRIRA definition of "aggravated felony" to petitioner's case because the issuance of an arrest warrant by the INS which had not been canceled constituted an "action taken" for purposes of triggering application of the pre-IIRIRA definition of an aggravated felony; and 2) neither of petitioner's prior convictions constituted an aggravated felony under the pre-IIRIRA definition. The matter is remanded for reconsideration of whether petitioner's conviction for reckless homicide constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 08, 2009
Mercado-Zazueta v. Holder, No. 07-71428
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's request for cancellation of removal, the petition is granted where Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 1013 (9th Cir. 2005), compelled the conclusion that a parent's status as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence may be imputed to an unemancipated minor child residing with that parent, for purposes of satisfying the five-year permanent residence requirement for cancellation of removal under section 240A(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 09, 2009
Khan v. Holder, No. 07-72586
In a petition for review of the BIA's decision denying petitioner's application for asylum and withholding of removal, the petition is denied where the Immigration Judge properly applied the terrorism bar in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) because the definition of "terrorist activity" under the INA does not provide an exception for armed resistance against military targets that is permitted under the international law of armed conflict. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 09, 2009
Delgado-Hernandez v. Holder, No. 08-70789
In a petition for review of the BIA's final order removing petitioner from the U.S., the order is affirmed where the BIA did not err in determining that petitioner's conviction for attempted kidnapping under California Penal Code section 207(a) was an aggravated felony because it was categorically a crime of violence. Read more...
August 31, 2009 - September 04, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, September 02, 2009
Mahamood v. Holder, No. 08-1231
Petition for review of an order by the Board of Immigration appeals denying Pakistani petitioner's application for withholding of removal is denied as the Board's conclusion that petitioner did not satisfy his burden of establishing past persecution nor established a clear probability of future persecution was supported by substantial evidence. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, September 02, 2009
Faye v. Holder, No. 09-1229
Petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeal's denial of Senegalese petitioner's application for asylum and other related relief is denied where: 1) substantial evidence supports the BIA's conclusion that petitioner failed to show her proposed group is socially visible and sufficiently particular; 2) petitioner presented no evidence to support her claim of persecution because of her religious beliefs; 3) petitioner failed to prove that the Senegalese government would torture her or permit her to be tortured if she were to return. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, September 01, 2009
Perriello v. Napolitano, No. 05-2868
In a petition for review of a BIA order finding petitioner ineligible for relief from removal, the petition is denied where: 1) petitioner did not establish prima facie eligibility for naturalization; and 2) he was barred from relief under Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act by virtue of Section 511(a) of the Immigration Act of 1990, because he had been previously convicted of an aggravated felony. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, September 03, 2009
Hu v. Holder, No. 08-2998
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture, and ordering petitioner's removal, the petition is granted where the IJ's adverse credibility determination was not supported by substantial evidence because it relied on a flawed fact-finding process, impermissible speculation, and flawed reasoning. Read more...
U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, September 04, 2009
Camara v. Attny Gen., No. 07-3892
Petition for review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying petitioner's application for asylum is granted and remanded where substantial evidence does not support the BIA's conclusion that petitioner did not experience past persecution in the Ivory Coast, as petitioner directly witnessed abduction of her father by a group that she can definitively identify as having directly and unambiguously threatened her with harm as well. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 31, 2009
Dakaj v. Holder, No. 08-2554
Petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals affirming IJ's denial of Albanian petitioners' applications for asylum, withholding of removal and protection under the CAT is granted and BIA's decision vacated and remanded for reconsideration of the petitioners' motion to file their brief out-of-time as the Board was required to consider relevant factors that support petitioners' claim that they never received notice of their asylum proceedings, along with any others of which it might be aware, and to explain its decision in light of them. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 01, 2009
Hernandez v. Holder, No. 08-2455
Petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals affirming a denial of a Guatemalan petitioner's application for asylum and related relief is granted in part and denied in part where: 1) substitution of the IJ who conducted the earlier proceedings because he was unavailable under the regulations covering assignment did not violate section 240.1(b), and petitioner's due process rights were not violated as he does not have due process right to a particular judge; 2) petitioner's speculative argument did not warrant a grant of asylum nunc pro tunc: 3) review is granted as to petitioner's other serious harm humanitarian asylum claim under 8 C.F.R. 1208.13(b)(1)(iii)(B) because the BIA improperly characterized the claim, and its explanation was so vague that the court cannot be sure as to the reason for the denial: and 4) the court lacks jurisdiction to review discretionary denial of motion for continuance and denial of motion for administrative closure. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 01, 2009
Landin-Molina v. Holder, No. 05-73677
In consolidated petitions for review of the BIA's denial of petitioners' applications for permanent resident status, the petitions are denied where petitioners were ineligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident status via the "grandfathering" regulations implementing Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. As to one petitioner, his marriage occurred after his wife adjusted to lawful permanent resident status, and thus his wife did not impart grandfathered status to him. As to the other petitioner, she was not grandfathered because being a registrant for the Replenishment Agricultural Worker program did not satisfy the requirement of having filed an application for labor certification. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, September 04, 2009
Kazarian v. US Citizenship & Immigration Servs., No. 07-56774
In an action claiming that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service's denial to plaintiff of an "extraordinary ability" visa was arbitrary and capricious, summary judgment for defendant is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff's internal review of students' work failed to establish sustained national or international acclaim; 2) there was no evidence that plaintiff's textbook had been adopted by any schools; 3) there was no evidence in the record that plaintiff's scholarship was cited by others; and 4) lectures and conference presentations are not "artistic exhibitions or showcases" under 8 C.F.R. section 204.5. Read more...
August 24, 2009 - August 28, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, August 27, 2009
Chen v. Holder, No. 08-2398
Petition for review of a final order of the BIA denying Chinese petitioners' application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the CAT is denied where the IJ's adverse credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence from petitioners' inconsistent testimonies, witness demeanor, and petitioners failed to present corroborating evidence given numerous opportunities to do so. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 26, 2009
Kane v. Holder, No. 07-60757
In a petition for review of the BIA's order reversing a decision of the Immigration Judge (IJ) that granted Petitioner's application for withholding of removal, the petition is denied, where: 1) Petitioner's derivative claim for withholding of removal based on potential danger to his daughters was not cognizable; and 2) the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to consider Petitioner's asylum claim. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 24, 2009
Parlak v. Holder, No. 05-4488
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where: 1) in determining that petitioner was removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1182(a)(6)(C)(i) for willfully misrepresenting a material fact, the BIA was not required to find that petitioner had an intent to deceive; and 2) the BIA's determination that petitioner assisted in the persecution of others was supported by substantial evidence. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 28, 2009
Karimijanaki v. Holder, No. 08-4622
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing Petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where sufficient evidence supported the BIA's rulings that: 1) Petitioner abandoned her lawful permanent resident status; 2) her seven-year absence from the U.S. was not a temporary visit abroad; 3) her conduct was imputable to her son (an unemancipated minor during the relevant period); and 4) the son did not automatically acquire citizenship based upon his father's naturalization prior to the removal proceedings. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 25, 2009
Ishitiaq v. Holder, No. 08-2834
Petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals' (BIA) denying Pakistani petitioner's application for asylum, withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) is denied where: 1) BIA's factual determination that petitioner failed to file his asylum application within one year and the board's decision that he does not qualify for a time extension are unreviewable; 2) BIA's denial of petition for withholding of removal and protection under the CAT is sufficiently supported by the record to establish that petitioner had not suffered past persecution or the likelihood of future persecution. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 27, 2009
Joseph v. Holder , No. 08-2393
Petition for review of the BIA's denial of a Pakistani petitioner's motion to reopen removal proceedings is granted and remanded where the BIA committed legal error in adopting an overly narrow interpretation of 8 C.F.R. section 1003.2(c)(3)(ii) that runs counter to the plain language of the regulation. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 26, 2009
Abdelwahab v. Frazier, No. 08-1078
In an action seeking an order compelling officials of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to approve a spousal immigrant visa petition, and to set aside the agency's revocation of a previously approved immigrant worker visa petition, dismissal of Egyptian petitioner's action is affirmed where the court correctly concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to review revocation of petitioner's I-140 immigrant worker visa, as the Secretary of Homeland Security has the discretion to revoke the approval of the petition and is not subject to judicial review under 8 U.S.C. section 1155. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 24, 2009
Benyamin v. Holder, No. 05-71488
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's asylum application on the ground that his daughter faced the threat of genital mutilation if returned to Indonesia, the petition is granted where: 1) the mutilation that petitioner's wife endured undoubtedly constituted past persecution; and 2) the Board erred in failing to consider whether petitioner established a well-founded fear of future persecution based on the possibility that his daughter would be forced to endure the same practice. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 25, 2009
S-Yong v. Holder, No. 07-70619
In a petition for review of an order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is granted where there was no record documentation supporting the BIA's determination that petitioner committed a felony involving a controlled substance. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 26, 2009
Prakash v. Holder, No. 07-72831
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where convictions for solicitation to commit rape by force, in violation of Cal. Pen. Code section 653f(c), and solicitation to commit assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, in violation of Cal. Pen. Code section 653f(a), constitute crimes of violence under 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(43)(F) for immigration law purposes. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 27, 2009
US v. Guzman-Mata, No. 08-10061
Defendant's sentence for illegally reentering the U.S. is affirmed where a conviction under 8 U.S.C. section 1324(a)(1) is categorically an "alien smuggling offense" under U.S.S.G. section 2L1.2(b)(1)(A), and thus the district court properly enhanced defendant's sentence. Read more...
August 17, 2009 - August 21, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, August 18, 2009
Pakasi v. Gonzales, No. 06-2389
Petition for review of final order from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is denied where: 1) asylum claims were time-barred; 2) a challenges to denial of withholding of removal failed; and 3) the BIA did not abuse its discretion in declining to remand in light of new country conditions evidence where it considered the evidence and concluded that it failed to establish a substantial likelihood of different result upon remand. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, August 18, 2009
Lopez-Castro v. Holder, Jr., No. 08-1895
Guatemalan national's petition for review of an order denying an application for withholding of removal is denied where substantial evidence supported a finding that petitioner failed to establish a sufficient nexus between the harm alleged (past and future) and his ethnicity or other statutorily protected ground. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, August 18, 2009
Warui v. Holder, Jr. , No. 08-2278
Petition for review of a denial of Kenyan petitioner's motion to reopen seeking to apply individually for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) is denied where: 1) there was no abuse of discretion in the denial as the motion stated no new facts material to the claims, was not supported by any previously unavailable evidence, and a divorce from petitioner's husband did not constitute changed circumstances in this case; and 2) her brief improperly attempted to challenge findings of the BIA and the IJ regarding original claims for withholding of removal and protection under the CAT. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, August 21, 2009
Matovu v. Holder, No. 08-2391
Petition for review of a final order of the BIA denying a Ugandan national's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the CAT is denied where: 1) petitioner has not met her burden of proving past persecution nor likelihood of future persecution on her return to Uganda as no evidence other than speculation was presented; and 2) there is nothing to compel a fact-finder's conclusion that the petitioner would more likely than not be tortured if removed. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 19, 2009
Stolaj v. Holder, No. 08-3858
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioners from the U.S., the petition is denied where: 1) the five-year statute of limitations on rescission proceedings did not bar the government from initiating removal proceedings based on petitioners' fraud in their asylum applications; 2) the Immigration Judge did not err in allowing the government to initiate removal proceedings without first seeking to revoke petitioners' asylee status; and 3) the IJ properly denied their motion to subpoena material witnesses. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 18, 2009
Durable Manufacturing Co. v. US Dep't of Labor, No. 08-4122
In an action brought against the Employment Training Administration of the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) challenging a DOL regulation retroactively invalidating labor certifications that had been issued to plaintiffs, judgment for defendants is affirmed where: 1) 20 C.F.R. section 656.6.30(b) as amended is within the scope of DOL's statutory authority in compliance with the explicit language from section 1182(a)(5)(A)(i)(I) which imposes a time limit between the certification and the visa application; and 2) the application of the amended section 656.30(b) has no retroactive effect in this case. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 19, 2009
Chen v. Holder, No. 08-2790
Petition for review of a denial of Chinese petitioner's application for asylum is granted as the petitioner did not have the opportunity for a fair hearing and the BIA dismissed petitioner's claim based on the lack of evidence that he never knew he was supposed to gather. BIA's decision was based on Attorney General's new position in May 2008, more than one year after petitioner's appeal to the BIA, that a spouse was not entitled to an automatic refugee status because of the partner's forced abortion under China's population control policy, as the spouse did not suffer personal persecution. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 20, 2009
Gatimi v. Holder, No. 08-3197
Petition for review a denial of Kenyan petitioner's application for asylum by the BIA is reversed where the Board wrongly held that a group must have social visibility to be a particular social group; Further question is whether the Kenyan government is either complicit in the tribe's persecution of defectors from the group or unable or unwilling to protect. In regards to petitioner's wife's derivative claim, BIA's denial on grounds that the the wife did not file within the one-year limit is reversed as the is reversed where the one-year deadline became relevant to her situation only much later when her spouse sought asylum. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 19, 2009
Tian v. Holder, No. 08-3391
Petition for review of a denial of Chinese national's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is affirmed where: 1) IJ and BIA correctly determined that petitioner's conviction qualified as an aggravated felony because loss to the victims exceeded $10,000 and he was thus removable as an aggravated felon and statutorily ineligible for asylum; and 2) the IJ and BIA applied the correct legal standard in determining that petitioner's conviction qualifies as a particularly serious crime. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 20, 2009
Rodriguez v. Hayes, No. 08-56156
In an action seeking a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of plaintiff and a class of aliens detained for more than six months without a bond hearing while engaged in immigration proceedings, a denial of class certification is reversed where: 1) 8 U.S.C. section 1252(f) did not bar the proposed class from receiving injunctive relief; and 2) the constitutional issue at the heart of each class member's claim for relief is common to all proposed class members. Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 20, 2009
De La Rosa v. U.S. Atty. Gen'l., No. 08-13861
In a petition for review of the BIA's determination that petitioner was statutorily ineligible for a waiver of deportation, the petition is denied where petitioner's conviction of the aggravated felony of sexual abuse of a minor disqualified him from applying for a waiver of deportation. Read more...
August 10, 2009 - August 14, 2009
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, August 14, 2009
Rotimi v. Holder, No. 06-0202
Petition for review of an order holding plaintiff statutorily ineligible for a waiver of inadmissibility and dismissing plaintiff's appeal is denied where the Board of Immigration Appeals' interpretation of "lawfully resided continuously" as it is used in Immigration and Nationality Act sec. 212(h) and applied to plaintiff is reasonable, and thus plaintiff is ineligible for a INA sec. 212(h) waiver because he did not lawfully reside continuously in the United States for the disputed period of time. Read more...
U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, August 12, 2009
Abdi Jama v. Esmor Correctional Services, Inc., No. 08-2500
In a dispute over damages and attorney's fees stemming from a Religious Freedom Restoration Act and tort action, district court judgment is vacated where that the district court assessment of the evidence was based on an improper interpretation of the interrogatories and verdict sheet and thus the court erred in attributing a portion of plaintiff's tort award to her RFRA claim. On remand, the Hensley standard should guide the district court's consideration of pendent state claims in a litigation where a plaintiff has prevailed on a fee-eligible federal claim. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 11, 2009
Alhaj v. Holder, No. 08-3322
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner-Yemeni native from the U.S., the petition is denied where: 1) the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to review the factual aspects of petitioner's challenge to the denial of his request for voluntary departure; and 2) petitioner was not entitled to relief under the Convention Against Torture, because the persecution he would allegedly suffer upon return to Yemen would not originate from pain or suffering either initiated by a public official or inflicted with the consent or acquiescence of such an official. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 13, 2009
Lemus-Losa v. Holder, No. 07-3942
Petition for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals is granted where the Board did not adequately take into account the difference between 8 U.S.C. sec. 1182(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) and 8 U.S.C. sec. 1182(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) when it concluded plaintiff was statutorily ineligible for permanent residence because he had accumulated more than a year of unlawful presence. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 10, 2009
Malkandi v. Holder, No. 06-73491
In a petition for review of petitioner's application for withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture, the petition is denied where the government met its burden of showing that it had "reasonable grounds" to regard petitioner as "a danger to national security," and thus the BIA's decision was supported by substantial evidence. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 11, 2009
Uppal v. Holder, No. 07-72614
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner from the U.S. based on his commission of a crime of moral turpitude, the petition is denied where the crime of aggravated assault under Canadian law may involve moral turpitude even in the absence of an explicit element of evil intent. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 12, 2009
Fregozo v. Holder, No. 05-71268
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of petitioner's application for cancellation of removal, the petition is granted where petitioner's conviction under California Penal Code section 273a(b) was not categorically a "crime of child abuse" within the meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 11, 2009
Tang v. U.S. Atty. Gen., No. 08-12212
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing petitioner-Chinese native from the U.S., the petition is granted in part where certain adverse credibility findings by the BIA were factually incorrect. The petition is denied in part where petitioner's submission of evidence in support of her due process claim was untimely. Read more...
August 03, 2009 - August 07, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, August 05, 2009
Punzalan v. Holder, No. 08-2277
Petition for review of a final order of removal denying plaintiff's second motion to reopen is denied where the Board of Immigration Appeals' determination that the plaintiff failed to meet his burden under Lozada of providing sufficient detail of his counsel's alleged ineffectiveness was not arbitrary or capricious, as the evidence plaintiff submitted for the purpose of establishing the claimed ineffectiveness did not describe the terms according to which the work was to be performed or how former counsel's performance of the work was ineffective. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, August 05, 2009
Lanferman v. Board of Immigration Appeals, No. 06-3432
Petition for review of an order finding plaintiff removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act for having committed a firearm-related offense in violation of New York Penal Law is granted where, in light of the present court's decision in James, before deciding whether plaintiff committed a removable offense the matter must be remanded to the Board to determine whether New York Penal Law sec. 120.14 is divisible under the modified categorical approach. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, August 05, 2009
Liu v. Holder, No. 07-0204
Petition for review of an order denying withholding of removal is denied where substantial evidence supports the IJ's finding that petitioner failed to satisfy his burden of establishing a clear probability of future persecution in his home country, and the IJ properly relied on petitioner's failure to provide corroborating evidence in so finding. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 03, 2009
US v. Aguilar-Huerta, No. 08-2505
Sentence for being illegally in the United States after having been deported is affirmed where the court did not err in applying a 16-level increase in defendant's offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines, and is not required to consider the argument that the guideline is invalid and unworthy of application because it was promulgated without adequate deliberation by the Sentencing Commission. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 03, 2009
US v. Aguilar-Huerta, No. 08-3508
Sentence for being illegally in the United States after having been deported is affirmed where the court did not err in applying a 16-level increase in defendant's offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines, and is not required to consider the argument that the guideline is invalid and unworthy of application because it was promulgated without adequate deliberation by the Sentencing Commission. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 06, 2009
Jan v. Holder, No. 08-1093
Petition for review of an order denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) plaintiff did not prove a likelihood that he would be tortured upon return to Pakistan by government officials; and 2) the Board of Immigration Appeals properly concluded that he did not identify an appropriate social group as his indebtedness to a creditor is not an immutable characteristic since it is not innate or fundamental to his identity. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 04, 2009
Ramirez-Peyro v. Holder, No. 08-2657
Former ICE informant and drug cartel infiltrator's petition for review of an order denying deferred removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) is granted where: 1) the court adopts the Board of Immigration Appeals' interpretation of "acting in an official capacity" under 8 C.F.R. sec. 1208 as the equivalent of "under color of law;" 2) the Board too narrowly construed this standard and erred in applying the standard to the facts as the Board's conclusion that Mexican police would not be acting in official capacity was based on improper fact finding and an improper statement of the IJ's factual findings regarding the likelihood of plaintiff's arrest and whether he had immunity from prosecution in Mexico; and 3) in analyzing plaintiff's claim that he was entitled to relief under the CAT, the Board inappropriately limited its analysis to whether law-enforcement officials would acquiesce in their official capacities to the Juarez drug cartel's actions against plaintiff. ! Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 04, 2009
Owino v. Holder, No. 06-74297
In a petition for review of an order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is granted where the Immigration Judge failed to comply with the REAL ID Act's provision allowing the judge to "determine[] that the applicant should provide evidence which corroborates otherwise credible testimony." Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 04, 2009
US v. Garcia-Villegas, No. 08-50503
Defendant's conviction for illegally attempting to enter the United States is affirmed where defendant's admission of alienage was sufficiently corroborated by the testimony of witnesses who observed him climbing over the border fences from Mexico. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 04, 2009
Owino v. Napolitano, No. 08-56392
In a habeas petition challenging petitioner's civil detention pending removal proceedings, denial of the petition is reversed for further consideration of whether, in light of the current circumstances and the resolution of petitioner's related appeal in Owino v. Holder, petitioner faces a significant likelihood of removal to Kenya once his judicial and administrative review process are complete. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 05, 2009
Mielewczyk v. Holder, No. 07-74246
In a petition for review of an order removing petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where, because the statute of conviction by its own terms was a state law "relating to a controlled substance" and petitioner's conviction involved heroin (a controlled substance as defined in 21 U.S.C. section 802(6)), the BIA correctly found petitioner removable. Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 06, 2009
Kazemzadeh v. U.S. Atty. Gen'l., No. 08-12857
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of Iranian native's application for asylum and withholding of removal, the petition is granted in part where the Board failed to give reasoned consideration to petitioner's evidence of a well-founded fear of persecution based on petitioner's religion, or more specifically, his conversion from Islam to Christianity while in the United States. However, the petition is denied in part, where substantial evidence supported the BIA's determination that petitioner failed to prove a well-founded fear of persecution based on his political opinion. Read more...
July 27, 2009 - July 31, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, July 31, 2009
Banturino v. Holder, No. 08-1979
Petition for review of an order denying relief from removal is denied where the agency did not err in its finding regarding the absence of past persecution, and there is no evidence whatsoever that plaintiff would be singled out for future persecution if he returns to his home country. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 28, 2009
Ovalles v. Holder, No. 07-60836
In a petition for review of the BIA's order dismissing petitioner's reconsideration motion for lack of jurisdiction, the petition is denied where petitioner's motion was well outside both the thirty-day deadline for filing motions to reconsider and the ninety-day deadline for filing motions to reopen. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 27, 2009
Figueras v. Holder, No. 08-3367
Petition for review of an order denying adjustment of status is granted where the Board of Immigration Appeals violated plaintiff's statutory right to a reasonable opportunity to present her evidence of eligibility for adjustment of status by refusing to either remand the case to allow the IJ to consider her additional evidence or rule on the merits of her proposed alternative theory of adjustment eligibility as a matter of law. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 28, 2009
Marroquin-Ochoma v. Holder, No. 08-2760
Petition for review of a decision denying Guatemalan native's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) the IJ did not err in finding that the gang which plaintiff claimed was persecuting her had not attributed an anti-gang political opinion to her, and that she failed to show that the threats she received were on account of an imputed political opinion; and 2) plaintiff failed to show she qualified for relief under the Convention Against Torture as she did not show that it was more likely than not that she would be tortured if she were removed to Guatemala and that the government condoned or acquiesced in the gang members' threats. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 31, 2009
Lovan v. Holder, No. 08-2177
Petition for review of an order of removal is granted and the matter remanded where: 1) plaintiff is not precluded from relief under INA sec. 212(c) by the Supreme Court's decision in St. Cyr; 2) the matter must be remanded to the Board of Immigration Appeals because it failed to consider whether plaintiff was eligible for nunc pro tunc INA sec. 212(c) relief under the In re L- line of cases; 3) retroactively applying the amended definition of aggravated felony to his pre-IIRIRA conviction for sexual abuse of a minor did not violate the due process right to fair notice and repose; and 4) the present court lacks jurisdiction to consider plaintiff's claim that the BIA erred in denying his request for withholding of removal because that decision is discretionary. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 31, 2009
US v. Higuera-Llamos, No. 07-10602
Defendant's conviction and sentence for illegal reentry following deportation are affirmed, where: 1) the district court properly admitted a prior judgment against defendant to prove alienage because it instructed the jury to consider it only for that purpose; and 2) the district court properly considered unconvicted criminal conduct in enhancing defendant's sentence. Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 27, 2009
Herrera-Castillo v. Holder, No. 08-9538
In a petition for review of the BIA's order finding petitioner ineligible for adjustment of immigration status, the petition is denied where 8 U.S.C. section 1255(i) reasonably suggests that Congress considers aliens who accrue a period of unlawful presence more culpable than those immigration violators who do not, and thus that the former are less deserving of relief under Section 1255(i). Read more...
July 20, 2009 - July 24, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, July 21, 2009
McCreath v. Holder, No. 08-2276
Petition for review of an order denying adjustment of status is denied where: 1) the Board of Immigration Appeals' decision did not violate petitioner's due process rights as adjustment of status is not a cognizable liberty or property interest for purposes of due process because it is a discretionary form of relief; 2) petitioner was not entitled to have the Board remand to the IJ to reach a conclusion about whether the In re Magana exception for limited situations where not recognizing a marriage would cause gross miscarriage of justice applied; and 3) the Board's ruling as to plaintiff's second adjustment of status petition was supported by substantial evidence and thus could not serve as the basis for adjustment of status. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, July 23, 2009
Tasya v. Holder, No. 08-1586
Petition for review of an order denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is denied where the Board of Immigration Appeal's brevis treatment of the petitioners' claims of past persecution was adequate, and Board was not compelled to find that the petitioners' claimed fear of future persecution was well-founded given given the lack of past persecution, the continued uneventful presence in Indonesia of close family members, and the country conditions evidence. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 21, 2009
Castellanos-Contreras v. Decatur Hotels LLC, No. 07-30942
In an action by guest workers claiming that defendant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to reimburse plaintiffs for recruitment, transportation, and visa expenses they incurred before relocating to the U.S., denial of Defendant's motion for summary judgment is reversed where the FLSA does not require an employer to reimburse any of these expenses. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 20, 2009
Lockhart v. Napolitano, No. 08-3321
In an action challenging the BIA's denial of petitioner's request for permanent resident status, summary judgment for petitioner is affirmed where a "surviving alien-spouse" is a "spouse" within the meaning of the "immediate relative" provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. section 1151(b)(2)(A)(i). Read more...
July 13, 2009 - July 17, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, July 14, 2009
Amouri v. Holder , No. 08-1993
Petition for review of a decision denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) substantial evidence supported an Immigration Judge's determination that plaintiff was not persecuted on account of a statutorily protected ground, and that the most likely impetus for the acts against him was greed, not politics; and 2) the court did not violate plaintiff's due process rights in refusing to grant him a further continuance as he was not prejudiced by the denial. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, July 14, 2009
Makieh v. Holder, No. 08-2213
Petition for review of an order denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is dismissed in part and denied in part where: 1) there was no jurisdiction to consider the asylum application as the application did not present any colorable constitutional claims or questions of law; and 2) substantial evidence supported denying the application for withholding of removal and for protection under the CAT as the record did not support a claim that he would more likely than not be persecuted and tortured if he were to return to Syria. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, July 17, 2009
Am. Academy of Religion v. Napolitano, No. 08-0826
District court's grant of summary judgment to defendants on plaintiffs' claim that the denial of a visa for an Islamic scholar violated their First Amendment rights is vacated and remanded where: 1) the district court had jurisdiction to consider the claim, despite the doctrine of consular nonreviewability; 2) the Immigration and Nationality Act provision expanding visa ineligibility to those who contributed funds to a terrorist organization before the provision was enacted was validly applied; 3) the knowledge requirement of the statute required the consular officer to find that the applicant knew his contributions provided material support; and 4) the record does not establish that the consular officer who denied the visa confronted the with applicant with the allegation that he knowingly rendered material support to a terrorist organization, thereby precluding the applicant for an opportunity to satisfy the provision that exempts exclusion if the he can demonstrate that h! e did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the organization was a terrorist organization. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 13, 2009
US v. Castro-Guevarra, No. 08-40796
Defendant's sentence for illegally reentering the U.S. is affirmed where the district court properly enhanced defendant's base offense level based on his previous conviction for sexual assault of a child, because that offense constituted a "crime of violence" under U.S.S.G. section 2L1.2(b). Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 13, 2009
Nwagbo v. Holder, No. 07-3723
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of Petitioner's motion to terminate removal proceedings against him, the petition is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction where Section 101(a)(43)(R) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) necessarily covers a range of activities beyond those of counterfeiting or forgery itself. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 14, 2009
King v. Holder, No. 08-4357
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's order removing her from the U.S. is denied where sufficient evidence supported the IJ's ruling that petitioner entered into a fraudulent marriage for the purpose of gaining lawful admission to the U.S. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 14, 2009
Jin v. Holder, No. 07-1717
Petition for review of an order affirming the denial of petitioner's claims for asylum and withholding of removal is denied where petitioner did not present any evidence that he suffered persecution or will suffer persecution as a result of a refusal to undergo forced sterilization or other resistance to a coercive population control program. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 13, 2009
US v. Struzik, No. 08-3936
Sentence for alien smuggling is affirmed where: 1) the district court gave adequate consideration to the U.S.S.G. sec. 3553(a) factors and sufficiently explained its sentencing rationale; and 2) defendant's sentence was not substantively unreasonable. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 16, 2009
Mambwe v. Holder , No. 08-1224
Petition for review of a decision denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) plaintiff failed to show the harm she suffered in 1997 was on account of her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion ground; 2) while a 1984 attack against plaintiff constituted past persecution, plaintiff failed to show she had a well-founded fear of future persecution as a result of changed circumstances; 3) plaintiff failed to show she was entitled to humanitarian relief based on the severity of the past persecution that she suffered; and 4) plaintiff did not show she was denied due process or that her administrative appeal was fundamentally unfair. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 14, 2009
Ayala-Villanueva v. Holder, No. 07-70110
In a petition for review of a BIA order removing petitioner from the U.S., the matter is transferred to a district court for further review where there was a genuine factual dispute concerning the identity of petitioner's father, and the resolution of this factual dispute would determine whether petitioner acquired derivative citizenship. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 15, 2009
Blanco v. Holder, No. 05-72159
Petitioner's petition for adjustment of his visa status is granted where his application was improperly rejected as untimely for the sole reason that his lawyer's accompanying check for the proper amount of the filing fee was inadvertently unsigned. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 15, 2009
Carrillo-Jaime v. Holder, No. 06-74581
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's order removing him from the United States is granted, where a conviction for owning a "chop shop" under Cal. Veh. Code section 10801 is not an aggravated felony theft offense under 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(43)(G). Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 16, 2009
Szalai v. Holder, No. 06-74994
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying petitioner's application for cancellation of removal, the petition is denied where petitioner's violation of a domestic restraining order qualified as a violation of a "protection order" under 8 U.S.C. section 1227(a)(2)(E)(ii). Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 17, 2009
Witjaksono v. Holder, No. 08-9540
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying Petitioners protection under the Convention Against Torture, the petition is denied, where failure by the government to provide a complete record of the proceedings below does not constitute a due process violation unless a petitioner can show prejudice. Read more...
July 06, 2009 - July 10, 2009
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, July 06, 2009
Kulhawik v. Holder , No. 08-4582
Petition for review of a final order of removal is denied where although the Board of Immigration Appeals erred by failing to consider the affirmation submitted by petitioner's attorney setting forth petitioner's reasons for failing to appear, the failure does not require remand, as the agency would have reached the same result even if it considered the affirmation, and petitioner was properly notified of his hearing and abandoned any opportunity to seek adjustment of status by failing to appear. Read more...
U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, July 10, 2009
US v. Cuevas-Reyes, No. 08-3059
Conviction for for shielding illegal aliens is reversed where defendant's conduct did not meet the requirements of the test established in Ozcelik and thus there is no evidence from which a reasonable juror could infer that defendant's actions constituted substantial facilitation of the women's remaining in the United States illegally. Read more...
U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 06, 2009
Gomis v. Holder, No. 08-1389
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of her application for asylum is denied, where the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA's determination that Petitioner did not meet the changed or extraordinary circumstances exception. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 06, 2009
Serrato-Soto v. Holder, No. 08-4063
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of his application for voluntary departure is denied where Petitioner's prior conviction for fraudulent use of identification constituted a crime involving moral turpitude, and thus he was ineligible for voluntary departure. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 09, 2009
Madrigal v. Holder, No. 08-3132
In a petition for review of a BIA order withdrawing Petitioner's appeal from the Immigration Judge’s denial of her motion to reopen removal proceedings, the petition is granted, where Petitioner did not choose to withdraw her appeal, but was involuntarily removed from the United States. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 06, 2009
US v. Hernandez-Arenado, No. 08-2520
District court order holding that defendant was in the custody of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and not the Bureau of Prisons for purposes of the Adam Walsh Act is affirmed where defendant's detention is under the authority of the ICE as part of the Department of Homeland Security, and he housed in the BOP as a service to ICE. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 09, 2009
US v. Kedjouti, No. 08-3732
Petition for review of an order denying withholding of removal is denied where there is insufficient evidence that compels the conclusion that it is more likely than not that defendant will face persecution if returned to his home country. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 06, 2009
Popa v. Holder, No. 05-76507
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's order of removal is denied, where the BIA is permitted to provide notice of removal proceedings to an alien using a two-step process: 1) sending a Notice to Appear stating that the date and time of the hearing will be provided later; and 2) later sending notice of the date and time. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 06, 2009
Herrera v. US Citizenship & Imm. Servs., No. 08-55493
In an action seeking review of the revocation of Plaintiff's visa, summary judgment for Defendants is affirmed, where the enactment of 8 U.S.C. section 1155 did not alter the Citizenship and Immigration Services' authority to revoke its previous approval of a visa petition "at any time" for "good and sufficient cause." Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 08, 2009
Nevarez v. Holder, No. 07-74271
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of Petitioner's application for cancellation of removal, the petition is granted, where the District Court was required to determine the effect that Dada v. Mukasey, 128 S.Ct. 2307 (2008), may have on Petitioners’ eligibility for cancellation of removal. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 09, 2009
Park v. Holder, No. 07-74420
In a petition for review of the BIA's determination that Petitioner did not qualify for lawful permanent residency due to her lack of a qualifying sponsor, the petition is denied, where substantial evidence supported the BIA's determination that the proposed sponsor did not qualify because he was not domiciled in the U.S. as required by 8 U.S.C. section 1183a(f). Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 10, 2009
Arambula-Medina v. Holder, No. 08-9589
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's order denying his application for cancellation of removal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, where Petitioner's disputes with the factual findings of the Immigration Judge did not rise to the level of due process violations. Read more...
June 29, 2009 - July 03, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, June 30, 2009
Zheng v. Holder , No. 08-2041
Petition for a review of an order affirming both an order of removal and the concomitant denial of a cross-application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is denied where plaintiff failed to prove that she had a well-founded fear of future persecution, and the Board of Immigration Appeals' decision to deny the application for asylum was supported by substantial evidence. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, July 02, 2009
Cendrawasih v. Holder , No. 08-2178
Petition for review of an order denying asylum is denied where plaintiff failed to establish that she had a well-founded fear future persecution, as the country conditions in Indonesia without more do not qualify a Christian Indonesian for asylum, and the individual difficulties plaintiff has faced are a series of isolated incidents no greater than those faced by other Indonesian Christians have been found insufficient to warrant asylum. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 30, 2009
US v. Jang, No. 08-10616
The revocation of Defendant's supervised release, based on his violation of a condition of his release by providing misleading answers to questions posed by a Korean consulate, is affirmed where the District Court could reasonably have concluded that Defendant made the statements with the intent to hinder his departure. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 02, 2009
Nguyen v. Holder, No. 08-3579
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing Petitioner from the U.S. for committing a "crime of violence," the petition is granted where the theft of an automobile under the California grand theft statute is not a "crime of violence" under 18 U.S.C. section 16(b). Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 02, 2009
Hassan v. Holder , No. 08-1535
Petition for review of an order denying asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) the agency's adverse credibility determination, based on material inconsistencies between plaintiff's asylum application and hearing testimony, is supported by substantial evidence; and 2) substantial evidence supports the agency’s finding that plaintiff failed to show failed to show past political persecution, and failed to show a well-founded fear of future persecution. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, July 02, 2009
Chibwe v. Holder , No. 08-3407
Petition for review of an order denying asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) the present does not have jurisdiction to review the agency's decision that plaintiff's asylum application was untimely; and 2) the agency did not err in denying their request for withholding of removal, as plaintiff's failed to cite any evidence in the record which would support a finding that they faced a threat because of their membership in a particular social group or any other relevant statutory ground if they were returned to their home country. Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 30, 2009
US v. Gari, No. 08-10014
Defendants' alien smuggling convictions are affirmed in part, where the I-213 forms admitted by the District Court did not contain statements harmful to the defense; but reversed in part, where the evidence at trial did not establish that Defendants lacked prior authorization to enter the United States. Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 30, 2009
Zhang v. Holder, No. 08-15245
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of her motion to reopen her removal proceedings is granted, where Petitioner was exempt from the 90-day filing deadline for moving to reopen because she presented sufficient evidence of changed country conditions. Read more...
June 22, 2009 - June 26, 2009
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, June 25, 2009
Mahmood v. Holder , No. 07-5656
Petition for review of a decision denying plaintiff's motion to reopen his removal proceedings following expiration of the period for voluntary departure is granted and the order vacated and remanded where the Agency incorrectly assumed that plaintiff's failure to depart timely from the United States conclusively barred an adjustment of his status and thus may have led it to decline to consider whether to exercise its discretionary sua sponte authority to reopen his removal proceedings. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 22, 2009
Gomez-Perez v. Holder , No. 08-2832
Petition for review of a decision affirming the denial of plainitff's application for cancellation of removal is denied where the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals applied the proper legal standard in determining whether plaintiff's removal would cause an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship on his family. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 25, 2009
Salguero-Fuentes v. Holder , No. 08-2320
Petition for review of an order affirming the immigration court's determination that it lacked jurisdiction to consider de novo plaintiff's Temporary Protected Status eligibility is granted and remanded to the Board of Immigration Appeals to review and interpret applicable statutes and decide whether an alien must exhaust administrative remedies before being able to rely on Temporary Protected Status eligibility in removal proceedings. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 26, 2009
Lybesha v. Holder , No. 08-2025
Petition for for review of an order denying asylum, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention against Torture is denied where: 1) plaintiff's asylum claim is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction as plaintiff failed to request asylum within one year and did not raise constitutional claim or question of law; 2) the Board of Immigration Appeals properly denied withholding of removal and CAT claims as substantial evidence in the record supports the adverse credibility determinations and plaintiffs were also unable to meet the required burden of establishing a well founded fear of persecution; and 3) plaintiff's due process claim fails as plaintiff failed to refute or show prejudice from the admission of DHS Forensic Document Laboratory report. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 23, 2009
US v. Lopez-Velasquez, No. 07-30241
In a prosecution for illegal reentry into the U.S., the dismissal of the indictment is affirmed where Defendant's deportation order was invalid due to the Immigration Judge's failure to inform Defendant of his apparent eligibility for Immigration and Nationality Act Section 212(c) relief. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 24, 2009
Ahmed v. Holder, No. 06-71631
In a petition for review of the BIA's order denying Petitioner a continuance of removal proceedings pending his appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office of the denial of his I-140 visa application, the petition is granted, where the BIA abused its discretion by denying the continuance. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 24, 2009
US v. Espinosa, No. 08-50092
Defendant's sentence for illegally reentering the U.S. is vacated where the district court erred in assessing a criminal history point based on Defendant's 2004 state loitering conviction, because Section 4A1.2(c)(2) of the Sentencing Guidelines provides that loitering is not a basis for enhancement. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 25, 2009
US v. Garcia-Hernandez, No. 08-50190
Defendant's conviction and sentence for illegal reentry into the U.S. are affirmed, where 1) the indictment was legally sufficient to support Defendant's enhanced sentence; and 2) the District Court properly denied Defendant's motion to suppress his post-arrest confession of alienage. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 25, 2009
NLRB v. C&C Roofing Supply, Inc., No. 08-70335
The NLRB's petition to enforce a consent judgment providing that Respondent would reinstate unlawfully terminated employees is granted, where the burden was on Respondent to provide proper proof, satisfactory to the NLRB, of the unauthorized status of those individuals it claims were unauthorized aliens it was not permitted to rehire. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 26, 2009
Soriano v. Holder, No. 05-72116
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of his asylum application is denied, where government informants do not constitute a "particular social group" for purposes of analyzing their eligibility for asylum, and thus Petitioner did not meet the requirements of 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(42)(A). Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 24, 2009
US v. Cruz-Rodriguez, No. 07-4083
Defendant's conviction for illegally reentering the U.S. is affirmed, where Defendant waived his argument that the District Court erred by expanding the indictment, because he stipulated to the prior deportations at issue during trial. Read more...
U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 25, 2009
Mehmeti v. USAG, No. 08-15865
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of his application for asylum is denied where substantial evidence supported the BIA's determination that changed country conditions in Albania negated the presumption that Petitioner had a well-founded fear of persecution in Albania. Read more...
June 15, 2009 - June 19, 2009
U.S. Supreme Court, June 15, 2009
Nijhawan v. Holder, No. 08–495
Petitioner's removal from the U.S. based on his commission of an "aggravated felony" is affirmed, where the $10,000 threshold in 8 U.S.C. section 1101(a)(43)(M)(i) refers to the particular circumstances in which an offender committed a fraud or deceit crime on a particular occasion, rather than to an element of the fraud or deceit crime. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, June 19, 2009
Caldero-Guzman v. Holder, No. 08-2325
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of his motion to reopen his deportation proceedings after an in absentia deportation order was entered against him is denied where: 1) the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA's refusal to reopen a deportation order sua sponte; and 2) Petitioner had notice and an opportunity to attend the prior hearing. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, June 19, 2009
Baba v. Holder, No. 08-0212-ag
Petitioner's petition for review of the denial of his asylum petition is granted where the BIA erred in ruling that the treatment suffered by Petitioner on account of his political opinion did not amount to persecution because Petitioner retained his government employment. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 16, 2009
Zhao v. Holder, No. 07-4117
Petitioner's petition for review of the denial of his application for withholding of removal is denied, where there was substantial evidence supporting the Immigration Judge's adverse credibility findings. Read more...
U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 17, 2009
El-Moussa v. Holder, No. 08-3982
In a petition for review of the BIA's denial of Petitioner's asylum application, the petition is denied where: 1) the Court of Appeals lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA's decision that Petitioner's asylum application was untimely and that no changed circumstances materially affecting her application had occurred; and 2) the BIA's credibility determinations were supported by substantial evidence. Read more...
U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 16, 2009
Hernandez-Perez v. Holder, No. 08-2644
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of his application for withholding of removal is denied where Petitioner's state child endangerment conviction was a "crime of moral turpitude", because the offense required a conscious disregard of a substantial risk to a child in his care. Read more...
U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 17, 2009
Alzainati v. Holder, No. 07-9565
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's order denying his petition to reopen is denied where: 1) the record reflected that the BIA fully considered the evidence submitted by Petitioner; and 2) Petitioner's challenges to the BIA's factual assumptions could not be recast as constitutional claims falling under the jurisdictional safe-harbor of 8 U.S.C. section 1252(a)(2)(D). Read more...
California Appellate Districts, June 17, 2009
Sturgeon v. Bratton, No. B209913
In an action challenging an LAPD policy prohibiting officers from initiating police action to discover the immigration status of an individual, summary judgment for Defendant is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff failed to adduce evidence supporting an as-applied challenge; and 2) federal law did not preempt the policy on its face. Read more...
June 08, 2009 - June 12, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, June 10, 2009
Pangemanan v. Holder , No. 08-1381
Petition for review of a denial of plaintiff's claim for withholding of removal is denied where substantial evidence supports the conclusion that plaintiff did not meet her burden of demonstrating a clear probability of future persecution in her country of removal. Read more...
U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, June 11, 2009
Issiaka v. Atttorney Gen. of the US, No. 07-2691
Petitions for review of a decision ordering removal and denying plaintiff's applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture is granted and remanded where the adverse credibility determination has no basis and is not supported by the record. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 11, 2009
Wu v. Holder, No. 08-60073
In a petition for review of the BIA's decision to deny Petitioner a continuance pending adjudication of his wife's visa petition, the petition is granted where an Immigration Judge abuses their discretion by denying a motion to continue solely based on concerns of timing when a nonfrivolous prima facie approvable I-130 petition is pending. Read more...
U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 08, 2009
Wu v. Holder , No. 08-3479
Petition for review of an order holding plaintiff statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal is denied where plaintiff's exclusion proceedings were instituted before the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was effective, and neither of the Act's exceptions to its prospective application apply. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 08, 2009
Romero v. Holder, No. 05-71029
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's order removing him from the U.S. is granted, where the BIA erred by finding Petitioner statutorily barred from showing good moral character on the basis of a guilty plea which was later expunged. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 09, 2009
Nadarajah v. Holder, No. 05-56759
In Petitioner's motion for attorney's fees in an appeal in which the Court of Appeals ordered that Petitioner's habeas petition be granted, the motion is granted, where Petitioner's counsel possessed distinctive knowledge and specialized skill in immigration law, and thus enhanced rates were proper. Read more...
June 01, 2009 - June 05, 2009
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, June 01, 2009
Burbiene v. Holder, No. 08-1478
Petition for review of a decision denying plaintiff's application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture is denied where substantial evidence supports the Board of Immigration Appeals' conclusion that plaintiff failed to establish that she had a well-founded fear of persecution required for asylum, as the facts do not establish a nexus between the defendant's fear of harm and the government of Lithuania. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, June 04, 2009
Da Silva Neves v. Holder, No. 07-1091
Petitions for review of the denial by the Board of Immigration Appeals of plaintiff's second motion to reopen is denied where the Board properly rejected plaintiff's argument that the time and number limits should be equitably tolled so he could seek adjustment of status under the Immigration and Nationality Act sec. 245(i) as plaintiff failed to show that he exercised due diligence in seeking reopening and thus the equitable tolling doctrine is unavailable. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, June 04, 2009
Touch v. Holder, No. 08-1217
Petition for review of a decision denying plaintiffs' applications for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the United Nations Convention Against Torture is denied where: 1) substantial evidence supports the Board of Immigration Appeals' determination that plaintiff did not suffer past persecution, and the record does not record does not establish a well founded fear of being persecuted upon returning to Cambodia; 2) the standard of proof required for asylum is less stringent than that required for withholding of removal, and since plaintiff is unable to prove eligibility for asylum, she will be unable to prove eligibility for withholding of removal; and 3) plaintiff's Convention Against Torture claim is waived. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, June 04, 2009
Gutierrez-Castillo v. Holder , No. 08-1537
Petition for review of a motion to reopen is denied where plaintiff's application for adjustment of status and Immigration and Nationality Act former sec. 212(h) waiver of inadmissibility upon approval of his immediate relative visa petition was barred by the retroactive application of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, as Congress expressly provided that the Act's pertinent provisions applied retroactively, and the Board did the not err in denying plaintiff's request for nunc pro tunc relief. Read more...
U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, June 04, 2009
Oliveira v. Holder , No. 08-2494
Petition for review of an order denying plaintiff's motion to reopen for adjustment of status is denied where the Board of Immigration Appeals found that no immigration visa was immediately available to plaintiff and thus plaintiff could not establish prima facie eligibility for adjustment of status. Read more...
U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, June 02, 2009
Guzman v. Holder , No. 08-2544
Petition for review of Board of Immigration Appeals' cancellation of removal and finding of removeability is granted where the Board violated 8 C.F.R. sec 1003.1(d)(3)(iv) by engaging in impermissible factfinding as it relied on facts that were contested by the parties and expressly not found by the IJ. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, May 29, 2009
Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder, No. 07-61006
Petition for review of the BIA's denial of application for cancellation of removal is denied where Petitioner was ineligible for cancellation because he had a prior state conviction for drug possession that could have been punished as a felony under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 02, 2009
Wang v. Holder, No. 07-61008
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of her asylum application is affirmed, where the Immigration Judge's credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence because he identified various contradictions and questions regarding Petitioner's documentation. Read more...
U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 02, 2009
US v. Velez-Alderete, No. 08-20557
Sentence for illegal reentry into the U.S. is affirmed, where Defendant's prior state conviction for arson was a "crime of violence" under the Immigration and Nationality Act, because an arson does not need to pose a threat of harm to a person to fall into that category. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 03, 2009
Cinapian v. Holder, No. 05-72445
Petitioners' petition for review of the denial of their application for withholding of removal is granted, where the government failed to make the author of an adverse forensic evaluation of Petitioners' documents available for cross-examination or to disclose the existence of the report to Petitioners until the day of their hearing. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 03, 2009
Morales-Garcia v. Holder, No. 07-70400
Petitioner's petition for review of the BIA's denial of his application for withholding of removal is granted, where the BIA erred in holding that Petitioner's conviction under Cal. Penal Code section 273.5(a) for corporal injury was categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. Read more...
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, June 05, 2009
Torres-Chavez v. Holder, No. 05-72226
In a petition for review of the BIA's order removing Petitioner from the U.S., the petition is denied where Petitioner's Due Process rights were not violated by his lawyer's performance, because a lawyer in counsel's position could have reasonably made the tactical decision to concede his client's alienage. Read more...
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