Justia Immigration Law Opinion Summaries

After plaintiff was ordered removed, he remained in ICE custody from November 25, 2008 until October 21, 2009 - an amount of time greatly exceeding the 90-day statutory period for removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1231(a)(1)(A). Plaintiff filed a Bivens action, arguing that various government officials, knowing that his removal order could not be executed, made false statements in order to unconstitutionally prolong his detention. The district court dismissed his complaint. Although the court held that section 1252(g) does not bar it from considering the merits of plaintiff's claim, the court also found no Bivens remedy available to him, because the INA sets out sufficient meaningful remedies for plaintiff and similarly situated aliens, and because numerous special factors counsel against supplementing this scheme with a new judicially created cause of action. The court noted that Congress did not provide an avenue by which plaintiff can seek monetary relief. The court deferred its judgment and held that no Bivens remedy is available to a plaintiff. View "Alvarez v. ICE" on Justia Law

Plaintiff sought review of defendants' denial of plaintiff's application for naturalization under 8 U.S.C. 1421(c). The district court granted summary judgment for defendants. The court concluded that plaintiff cannot establish that he was lawfully admitted for permanent residence because he was a crewman when he entered the United States. Consequently, plaintiff does not meet the statutory requirements for naturalization under section 1427(a). Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment for defendants. View "Reganit v. Secretary, DHS" on Justia Law

Petitioner, a native and citizen of Peru, seeks review of the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's order of removal, finding that petitioner was ineligible for cancellation of removal because he had been convicted of an aggravated felony, 8 U.S.C. 229b(a), based on his conviction and sentence for a burglary offense. The Board reasonably concluded that house arrest, as a punitive measure that involves a “serious restriction of liberty,” constitutes confinement and is a “term of imprisonment” under the Act. In this case, petitioner's burglary offense, for which he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of at least one year, qualified as an aggravated felony and made him ineligible for cancellation of removal. Accordingly, the court denied the petition for review. View "Herrera v. U.S. Attorney General" on Justia Law

Petitioner, a native and citizen of Haiti, seeks review of the BIA's order affirming the IJ's denial of his request that he not be removed from the United States. Because petitioner failed to assert before the BIA arguments that he now makes challenging the IJ's finding of no past persecution, he has failed to exhaust that claim, and the court has no jurisdiction to consider it. Petitioner’s status as a criminal alien deprives the court of jurisdiction to consider whether he produced sufficient evidence to prove the likelihood of future persecution. After careful review, the court concluded that the agency committed no legal error and gave “reasoned consideration” to petitioner's claims. Accordingly, the court dismissed the petition for review as to petitioner's claim of past persecution and denied his claim of future persecution. View "Jeune v. U.S. Attorney General" on Justia Law