These summaries are not intended as legal advice. Please contact a licensed attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
Viewing entries tagged
Fifth Amendment
The Fifth Circuit has determined that a 237(a)(1)(H) waiver cannot waive inadmissibility stemming from a crime involving moral turpitude committed prior to adjustment of status nor for deportability related a conviction for visa fraud.
The full text of Reese v. Garland can be found here:
https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/22/22-60111-CV0.pdf
The Fifth Circuit has reversed a finding by the agency that an asylum applicant who had experienced past persecution could safely relocate within India. "Before discussing the record evidence, we first note that the DHS produced no evidence on this issue despite the fact that it bore the burden of proof." Reliance solely on the general reports submitted by the petitioner was insufficient to demonstrate that there is “a specific area of the country” where the petitioner does not have a well-founded fear of persecution.
The full text of Singh v. Sessions can be found here:
http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-60320-CV0.pdf
Joining the Ninth and Seventh Circuits, the Fifth Circuit has ruled that 18 USC 16(b), which contains one half of the definition of a crime of violence for immigration purposes, is unconstitutionally vague.
The full text of US v. Gonzalez-Longoria can be read here: http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/15/15-40041-CR0.pdf
My blog post on the related Seventh Circuit decision (US v. Vivas-Ceja) here: http://www.sabrinadamast.com/journal/2015/12/23/seventh-circuit-finds-18-usc-16b-unconstitutionally-vague
My blog post on the related Ninth Circuit decision (Dimaya v. Lynch) can be found here: http://www.sabrinadamast.com/journal/2015/10/20/ninth-circuit-finds-18-usc-16b-unconstitutionally-vague
Maria Garcia-Aguilar was arrested during a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on her workplace. She was handcuffed before she was asked any questions, and it was only after being transported to a military base that she was questioned by ICE officers about her identity and nationality. In the meantime, the Mexican consulate was alerted that Garcia-Aguilar had not returned home from work to pick up her young child, and consular officials faxed a request to ICE to release her. Along with the request, the consulate faxed Garcia-Aguilar's birth certificate.
In court, Garcia-Aguilar argued that her arrest, detention, and interrogation violated her constitutional rights (insomuch as she was arrested before ICE had any reason to believe she was in the country unlawfully), and asked that all evidence of her foreign birth, such as statements she made during the interrogation, be suppressed. She also asked that the birth certificate be suppressed, on the ground that but-for her unlawful arrest, the consulate would never have provided the birth certificate to ICE. The Immigration Judge denied her motion to suppress and the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed.
The First Circuit agreed, finding that the connection between the raid and the voluntary submission of the birth certificate by the consulate was too attenuated. Even assuming the workplace raid was an egregious violation of the Constitution, the birth certificate was not tainted by the unlawfulness of the raid and could serve as evidence of Garcia-Aguilar's foreign birth.
The full text of Garcia-Aguilar v. Lynch can be found here: http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/14-1185P-01A.pdf
