These summaries are not intended as legal advice. Please contact a licensed attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an individual who was admitted to the United States on a visa after being removed, but who did not request permission to return to the United States prior to returning to the country, is subject to reinstatement of that removal order. The court also found that there is no miscarriage-of-justice exception to the statutory prohibition on reopening a reinstated removal order.
The full text of Gutierrez-Gutierrez v. Garland can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that a conviction for illegal reentry, on its own, is not an aggravated felony. Rather, a court must perform an independent inquiry into whether the prior removal order was based on an aggravated felony conviction.
The full text of Lopez Chavez v. Garland can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that because khat includes a substance listed in the federal drug schedules, a conviction for possession of khat is a controlled substance violation.
The full text of Ahmed v. Garland can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Iowa drug statute is divisible between marijuana offenses and other drug offenses because it prescribes a different punishment for marijuana offenses than offenses related to other substances. Though the court did not have to reach the issue, the rationale suggests that the statute may not be divisible between other substances.
The full text of Aquino Arroyo v. Garland can be found here:
The petitioner was convicted of robbery in Texas and charged with deportability for a crime involving moral turpitude. He readjusted status with a waiver, and subsequently, violated probation, resulting in a prison sentence. The Department of Homeland Security then charged him with deportability for an aggravated felony. The Fifth Circuit found that res judicata did not apply because the Department of Homeland Security could not have brought the aggravated felony charge in the first proceeding.
The full text of Cruz Rodriguez v. Garland can be found here:
https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/19/19-60456-CV0.pdf
The Fifth Circuit has determined that Texas Health & Safety Code Penalty Group 2A contains at least one substance not listed in the federal drug statutes. Moreover, the court found no case law or statutory indicators that the substances are elements of the offense, and thus, concluded that the statute is indivisible. The court remanded for the agency to determine if there is a realistic probability that Texas prosecutes offenses involving the drug not listed in the federal schedules.
The full text of Alejos-Perez v. Garland can be found here:
https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/19/19-60256-CV0.pdf
The Third Circuit has determined that a full and unconditional pardon from a governor does not eliminate deportability for a controlled substance violation.
The full text of Aristy-Rosa v. Attorney General can be found here:
The California Court of Appeals, Fourth Appellate District has reversed the denial of a motion to vacate under Penal Code section 1473.7, even though the defendant signed a plea form advising him that he would be deported, excluded from admission, and denied naturalization. In this case, the original defense counsel had negotiated an immigration safe plea, but he transferred offices before the case was finished. The defendant took the plea with the second attorney, and before he could be sentenced pursuant to the deal negotiated by his first attorney, he was arrested, convicted, and imprisoned in another county. The second attorney, in his absence, accepted a concurrent sentence on the original conviction, which converted the conviction from an immigration-safe plea into an aggravated felony. As a result of the advice provided by the original defense counsel that the plea was immigration safe, and the failure of the second attorney to clearly explain that the concurrent sentence would have adverse immigration consequences, the appellate court concluded that the defendant did not meaningfully understand the consequences of the conviction.
The full text of People v. Rodriguez can be found here:
The Department of Homeland Security has designated Burma for Temporary Protected Status.
The full announcement can be found here: https://www.dhs.gov/news/2021/03/12/secretary-mayorkas-designates-burma-temporary-protected-status
The Department of Homeland Security has designated Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status.
The full federal register notice can be found here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/03/09/2021-04951/designation-of-venezuela-for-temporary-protected-status-and-implementation-of-employment
The Board of Immigration Appeals has determined that an applicant for VAWA cancellation of removal must prove that their abusive relative was a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of the abuse. In addition, if the abuser is the applicant’s spouse, the abuse must have taken place during the marriage.
The full text of Matter of L-L-P- can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1370261/download
The Board of Immigration Appeals has determined that the federal conspiracy statute and a statute criminalizing misuse of visas are both overbroad and divisible. The conspiracy statute is divisible between offenses against the United States (overbroad) and offenses to defraud the United States (crimes involving moral turpitude). The offense clause must then be evaluated by determining if the underlying offense is a removable offense under the categorical and modified categorical approaches. In this case, the underlying offense was 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a) (2012), which punishes fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents. The Board found this statute to be divisible into four separate offenses.
“For clarity of our analysis, we will treat the four phrases of the statute as numbered one through four. Phrase one outlines, at minimum, conduct such as possessing with no illegal use or intent to illegally use, an altered or counterfeit immigration document. We conclude that such conduct is not a crime involving moral turpitude.” “The criminal indictment establishes that the respondent was convicted under phrase four of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a). Since the respondent knowingly committed fraud undermining the immigration system, we conclude that his conviction involves moral turpitude.”
The full text of Matter of Nemis can be found here:
The Board of Immigration Appeals has reaffirmed that a California conviction for assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury is a crime involving moral turpitude.
The full text of Matter of Aguilar Mendez can be found here:
The Supreme Court has determined that an applicant for relief cannot meet her burden of proof with an inconclusive record of conviction. Notably, this analysis of burdens only applies when the statute is divisible, and the procedural posture of the case involves an application for relief.
The full text of Pereida v. Wilkinson can be found here:
The Eleventh Circuit has found there is no habeas jurisdiction to prevent the removal of applicants for provisional waivers of unlawful presence who are subject to final orders removal.
The full text of Camarena v. ICE can be found here: https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201913446.pdf
The Tenth Circuit has affirmed a removal order against a student visa holder who failed to maintain a full course of study while he was incarcerated pending trial, despite the fact that he was subsequently acquitted at trial.
The full text of Awuku-Asare v. Garland can be found here:
The Tenth Circuit has determined that a Utah terroristic threats conviction is a crime involving moral turpitude. “We hold that recklessly threatening substantial property damage with the intent of interrupting public access to a portion of a building is a CIMT.” The court also affirmed Matter of G-G-S- and determined that the agency need not consider a petitioner’s mental health when determining whether the petitioner has been convicted of a particularly serious crime.
The full text of the extremely sad case of Birhanu v. Wilkinson can be found here:
The Ninth Circuit has rejected the proposed particular social group comprised of “witnesses who could testify against gang members based upon what they witnessed,” find that the group lacked particularity. The court remanded the Convention Against Torture claim based on evidence in the Department of State Human Rights Report. “Although the IJ declined to receive the Report as an official part of the record because the form in which it was offered did not comply with the rules, the IJ’s decision treated it as part of the record by taking judicial notice of it. Aguilar-Osorio has relied upon the Report in his appeal to the BIA and in his brief to this court. Yet the BIA decision neither took the Report into account nor explained why it was not taking it into account.”
The full text of Aguilar-Osorio v. Garland can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/03/15/19-73000.pdf
The Ninth Circuit noted that a changed country conditions motion to reopen can be partially premised on a change in personal circumstances, but that it also must show a change in related country conditions. “Instead, Petitioner provided evidence of changes in his personal circumstances, along with evidence supporting his argument that, given his changed personal circumstances, he could now be persecuted or tortured based on current country conditions in Mexico. What is noticeably absent from Petitioner’s ‘hybrid’ changed conditions claim is evidence of actual changed country conditions between 2003 and his 2016 motion to reopen.”
The full text of Rodriguez v. Garland can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/03/15/20-70240.pdf
The Ninth Circuit has determined that a federal conviction for importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms without a license is an aggravated felony. The court deferred to the agency’s determination that “illicit trafficking in firearms” means “any unlawful trading or dealing” in firearms.
The full text of Chacon v. Wilkinson can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/02/18/18-71515.pdf
