These summaries are not intended as legal advice. Please contact a licensed attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
The Eleventh Circuit has determined that a litigant who withdrew his appeal and ask to be deported forfeited his right to judicial review of his citizenship claim.
The full text of Clement v. U.S. Attorney General can be found here:
https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202113382.pdf
The Ninth Circuit has determined that the appointment and removal process for Immigration Judges - who the court determined are inferior officers - complies with the constitution.
The full text of Duenas v. Garland can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/07/27/18-71987.pdf
An amended decision can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/08/24/18-71987.pdf
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Iowa conviction for domestic abuse assault with the use or display of a weapon is a crime of violence because the display of a dangerous weapon requires at least the threatened use of physical force, and there is no distinction between the “use” and the “display” of a dangerous weapon under Iowa law.
The full text of U.S. v. Conrad can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has reaffirmed that a Missouri statute criminalizing resisting arrest is divisible as compared to the definition of a crime of violence. “Our decisions concluded that resisting arrest by using or threatening the use of force is a ‘violent felony’ under the Armed Career Criminal Act, but that resisting arrest by fleeing is not a ‘crime of violence’ under the sentencing guidelines.”
The full text of U.S. v. Brown can be found here:
Deferring to the agency’s decision in Matter of T-C-A-, the Fourth Circuit has determined that a non-citizen whose asylum status has been terminated cannot apply for adjustment of status as an asylee. “Since Cela’s asylum status had been terminated at the time he sought to adjust to lawful permanent resident status, he was not eligible for that adjustment.”
The full text of Cela v. Garland can be found here:
The Department of Homeland Security has announced a family reunification parole program for Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Colombian nationals who are beneficiaries of approved I-130 petitions. The program will allow these individuals to apply for to be paroled into the United States for up to 3 years, while they await the opportunity to apply for permanent residence. Given the horrendous backlog for spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents right now in the visa bulletin, this is a welcome announcement.
The full text of the announcement can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that the Nebraska shoplifting statute has a broader mens rea than the generic definition of a theft-related aggravated felony. “Because an offender can be convicted under Nebraska’s shoplifting statute when he acts with an intent not encompassed by a generic theft offense, we hold that the statute sweeps more broadly than the generic federal offense.”
The full text of Thok v. Attorney General can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Iowa conviction for committing willful injury - even the less serious offense that requires mere injury, as opposed to serious injury - is a crime of violence. “Committing willful injury in Iowa requires an unjustified ‘act’ that is ‘intended to cause serious injury.’ The fact that the statute requires an intent to cause harm to another person necessarily means that anyone who violates it has used ‘physical force against the person of another.’”
The full text U.S. v. Cungtion, Jr. can be found here:
The Fifth Circuit has determined that a reinstatement order is a final order of removal, and therefore, a petition for review must be filed within 30 days of the issuance of that order. The existence of an ongoing withholding/CAT only proceedings does not toll the deadline for filing that petition for review.
The full text of Argueta-Hernandez v. Garland can be found here:
https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/22/22-60307-CV0.pdf
The Fourth Circuit reversed a reasonable internal relocation finding, noting that an asylum applicant’s ability to live in hiding for 3-4 weeks in Islamabad does not meet the government’s burden to prove that he could safely internally relocate there away from the Taliban.
The full text of Ullah v. Garland can be found here:
https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/221026.P.pdf
The court granted a petition for rehearing and remanded the case for the agency to determine if asylum should be granted as a matter of discretion:
The Fourth Circuit re-affirmed its strong family-based particular social group case law, finding that “young male family members of [the applicant’s] cousin Emily” is a cognizable social group.
The full text of Santos Garcia v. Garland can be found here:
The Fourth Circuit has found that a Notice to Appear (NTA) missing the time and date of the first hearing precludes the entry of an in absentia removal order. This remains true even if the non-citizen moves from the address listed on the putative NTA and does not notify the agency.
The full text of Lazo-Gavidia v. Garland can be found here:
The Fourth Circuit has remanded the denial of a religion-based asylum claim brought by a Pentecostal Christian. “Review of the record demonstrates that Chicas-Machado established that one central reason MS-13 chose to target her was her religion. Even the motive for the gang’s persecution that the BIA recognized — her use as a potential asset to the gang because ‘no one would suspect [her]’ given ]her activity and conduct with the church — was inextricably intertwined with her religion.”
The court also emphasized that an asylum applicant is not required to show that a persecutor intends to stop or hinder her religious practice. “There is no dispute over the fact that Chicas-Machado’s activities — spreading the word of God, acting as the church’s secretary, and telling young people to attend church — constitute religious practice. So the only disputed issue is whether, in targeting Chicas-Machado because of her religious activities and then threatening to murder her, MS-13 restricted or suppressed her ability to participate in these religious activities.”
The full text of Chicas-Machado v. Garland can be found here:
The Third Circuit has determined that an incomplete Notice to Appear (i.e., one lacking the date and time of a first hearing) precludes the entry of an in absentia removal order. “According to the Department, this disjunctive phrasing makes Madrid-Mancia’s defective NTA immaterial. Madrid-Mancia got a ‘Notice of Hearing,’ and that alone, it concludes, is enough for in absentia removal. That is not enough because § 1229a(b)(5)(A) always requires a complete NTA. And the Attorney General cannot cure defects in an NTA by sending out a self-styled ‘Notice of Hearing’ because announcing the time and date of a removal hearing for the first time is not a ‘change or postponement’ in the time or place.”
The full text of Madrid-Mancia v. Attorney General can be found here:
The Second Circuit has determined that the factors outlined in Matter of Sanchez Sosa apply to a motion to remand filed when a case is on appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
The full text of Paucar v. Garland can be found here:
The First Circuit has remanded a CAT claim in which the agency discredited an expert’s opinion without sufficient reason.
The full text of G.P. v. Garland can be found here:
The Supreme Count has determined that the a conviction may constitute an obstruction justice aggravated felony even if the offense does not require that an investigation or proceeding be pending.
The full text of Pugin v. Garland can be found here:
The Supreme Court has determined that Texas and Louisiana have no standing to challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement priorities memo.
The full text of US v. Texas can be found here:
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has determined that the denial of a non-citizen’s visa does not impinge on any fundamental constitutional rights held by the applicant’s U.S.-citizen spouse. The court also found that a mere statutory citation to section 212(a)(3)(A)(ii) of the INA is sufficient to meet the “facially legitimate and bona fide” standard laid out by Justice Kennedy in Kerry v. Din and to shield the visa denial from any further review in federal court under the doctrine of consular nonreviewability.
The full text of Colindres v. DOS can be found here:
The Ninth Circuit has determined that it has no jurisdiction to review any factual findings related to a motion to continue proceedings when the findings relate to an applicant’s eligibility for adjustment of status.
The full text of Ochoa v. Garland can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/06/20/20-72510.pdf
An amended opinion can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/02/06/20-72510.pdf
