Justia Immigration Law Opinion Summaries

The defendant, a Mexican citizen, was first brought to the United States as a child. He was discovered by federal officials in Texas in 2015 and deported later that year. In 2020, he was again found in the United States and arrested on outstanding warrants. He was convicted in state court for drug-related offenses and sentenced to five years in prison. While serving this sentence, he was screened by immigration authorities and subsequently indicted for illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). In 2024, he pleaded guilty to the federal charge without a plea agreement. The district court sentenced him to 24 months in prison and one year of supervised release, adopting special conditions recommended in the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR), including requirements to report to immigration authorities and seek work authorization.The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas confirmed at sentencing that the defendant and his counsel had reviewed the PSR, which contained the special conditions. The court orally adopted the PSR and its appendix, imposed the recommended conditions, and provided the defendant an opportunity to object. The defendant’s counsel objected only to the relationship between the federal and state offenses, not to the special conditions. The written judgment included all the conditions from the PSR. The defendant appealed, arguing that the written judgment conflicted with the oral pronouncement regarding the special conditions of supervised release.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case for plain error, as the defendant had notice and an opportunity to object at sentencing but did not do so. The court held that the district court satisfied the oral-pronouncement requirement by adopting the PSR and providing notice and opportunity to object. Therefore, there was no conflict between the written judgment and the oral pronouncement, and the judgment of the district court was affirmed. View "USA v. Quezada-Atayde" on Justia Law

Ismael Adan Ortiz-Rodriguez, a non-citizen, was removed from the United States in 2017 following expedited removal proceedings initiated by DHS. In 2023, he was convicted of illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Before trial, Ortiz-Rodriguez moved to dismiss his indictment by collaterally attacking his 2017 deportation order under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d), arguing that his expedited removal involved an unknowing and involuntary waiver of judicial review and violated his due process rights. The district court denied his motion.The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas found Ortiz-Rodriguez guilty and sentenced him to fifty-one months of imprisonment. He appealed the decision, arguing that his 2017 expedited removal proceedings were fundamentally unfair and deprived him of judicial review. The district court also revoked his supervised release from a prior § 1326 prosecution, sentencing him to an additional fourteen months of imprisonment.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court’s judgment. The court held that Ortiz-Rodriguez did not satisfy the requirements of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(d) because he failed to show that the 2017 expedited removal proceedings deprived him of the opportunity for judicial review or that the entry of the order was fundamentally unfair. The court noted that Ortiz-Rodriguez had the right to appeal his expedited removal but did not do so, and his waiver of the right to appeal was considered and intelligent. Additionally, the court found that changes in substantive law after his removal did not render the proceedings fundamentally unfair or procedurally deficient. View "United States v. Ortiz-Rodriguez" on Justia Law

Rodrigo Linares-Rivas, a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States in 1996. In 2016, he was placed in removal proceedings while in state custody for driving without a license with prior convictions. Linares-Rivas conceded removability and applied for cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(b)(1), claiming his removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his two U.S. citizen sons. His initial counsel submitted untimely evidence, which the immigration judge considered. At a hearing in April 2018, Linares-Rivas appeared with new counsel who requested a continuance to file additional evidence, blaming previous counsel for missed deadlines. The immigration judge denied the continuance but admitted the previously submitted evidence.The immigration judge denied Linares-Rivas’s application for cancellation of removal, citing negative factors such as his two DWI convictions, frequent driving without a license, and lack of evidence of tax payments. Linares-Rivas appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), raising issues including ineffective assistance of counsel and the denied continuance. The BIA remanded the case to the immigration judge to provide a complete decision. In September 2019, the immigration judge again denied the application, finding Linares-Rivas statutorily ineligible and denying relief as a matter of discretion. The BIA affirmed the decision in March 2024.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case. The court dismissed the petition in part for lack of jurisdiction to review the agency’s discretionary denial of cancellation of removal. The court also denied the petition in part regarding the ineffective assistance of counsel claim, as it was not initially raised before the BIA. The court concluded that Linares-Rivas’s arguments did not raise a colorable legal question about the agency’s discretionary denial. View "Linares-Rivas v. Bondi" on Justia Law

Erick Jose Sandoval Argueta, a Salvadoran national, was lawfully present in the United States when he solicited sex over the internet from someone he believed to be a thirteen-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover police officer. He was convicted in Texas of online solicitation of a minor. Based on this conviction, an immigration judge (IJ) ordered him removed for committing a "crime of child abuse." The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed this decision.Sandoval Argueta filed two petitions for review. In the first, he challenged the BIA's determination of his removability and its denial of his motion to reconsider. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case. The court noted that Sandoval Argueta had been convicted of multiple crimes, including property theft, drug trafficking, and online solicitation of a minor. The government initially charged him with removability based on the solicitation conviction but later added charges related to his drug trafficking conviction. After the drug trafficking conviction was vacated, the government reasserted the "crime of child abuse" charge.The Fifth Circuit held that the best reading of "crime of child abuse" under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i) includes convictions for online solicitation of a minor, even if no actual child was involved. The court reasoned that the statute's broad language encompasses offenses that create a high risk of harm to a child, including attempt offenses. Therefore, Sandoval Argueta's conviction under Texas Penal Code § 33.021(c) categorically met the definition of a "crime of child abuse."In his second petition, Sandoval Argueta argued that the BIA erred by not considering his equitable tolling argument when denying his motion to reconsider. The Fifth Circuit found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion, as it was procedurally barred by statutory limits on the number of motions to reconsider and the prohibition on reconsidering a decision on a prior motion to reconsider.The Fifth Circuit denied both petitions for review. View "Argueta v. Bondi" on Justia Law

Peter Mosoko Ikome, a native and citizen of Cameroon, entered the United States in 1989 as a nonimmigrant visitor but overstayed his visa. Over the years, he engaged in various proceedings with U.S. immigration authorities regarding his status and removability. Ikome married a U.S. citizen in 1992, who filed an I-130 petition for him, but they divorced in 1998 before the petition was adjudicated. In 1991, Ikome was arrested for rape and later pled guilty to attempted rape and attempted sexual assault. His convictions were overturned in 2002, and his deportation proceedings were terminated in 2006. He was again charged with removability in 2009 and conceded removability in 2011. He married another U.S. citizen, Melissa Senior, who filed an I-130 petition for him, which was approved in 2014. However, due to marital issues, Ikome's daughter filed an I-130 petition for him in 2019.The Immigration Judge (IJ) denied Ikome's motion for a continuance to allow for the adjudication of his daughter's I-130 petition, citing a lack of good cause. The IJ also denied his application for cancellation of removal, finding that he did not demonstrate that his children would suffer "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" if he were removed. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed the IJ's decisions and denied Ikome's motion to remand the case to the IJ to pursue adjustment of status based on his daughter's approved I-130 petition, citing a lack of due diligence.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA's affirmance of the IJ's denial of Ikome's motion for a continuance, as such determinations are discretionary and not subject to judicial review. The court also found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Ikome's motion to remand, as he failed to show due diligence in pursuing adjustment of status through his daughter's petition. Consequently, the court dismissed Ikome's petition in part and denied it in part. View "Ikome v. Bondi" on Justia Law

Edgard Ernesto Aguilar-Quintanilla, a native and citizen of El Salvador, was removed from the United States in 2009 and unlawfully reentered in 2022. After being apprehended, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice of reinstatement of his prior removal order. However, due to the inadvertent disclosure of his personal information, DHS dismissed the withholding-only proceedings and placed him in removal proceedings. Aguilar-Quintanilla admitted to being removable and applied for asylum, statutory withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), claiming that he would be tortured by the Salvadoran government as a suspected gang member due to his tattoos and criminal record.The Immigration Judge (IJ) denied all relief, finding Aguilar-Quintanilla's testimony not credible and determining that general country conditions evidence alone did not entitle him to CAT protection. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) upheld the IJ's decision, and Aguilar-Quintanilla filed a petition for review, challenging only the denial of deferral of removal under the CAT.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case. The court found that Aguilar-Quintanilla's removal did not moot his appeal because ICE could facilitate his return to the United States if his petition were granted. The court held that the BIA and IJ failed to consider critical evidence, including affidavits describing a 2023 incident where police searched for Aguilar-Quintanilla at his father's home, in their likelihood-of-torture assessment. The court granted Aguilar-Quintanilla's petition for review and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. View "Aguilar-Quintanilla v. McHenry" on Justia Law

The case involves a challenge to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by several states, led by Texas. DACA, established in 2012, allows certain undocumented immigrants who arrived as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for work authorization. The plaintiffs argue that DACA is procedurally and substantively unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas initially ruled in 2021 that Texas had standing to challenge DACA and that the program was unlawful. The court vacated the program but stayed the vacatur for existing DACA recipients. In 2022, the Fifth Circuit affirmed in part and remanded the case, noting that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had issued a Final Rule to address procedural defects. On remand, the district court found the Final Rule substantively unlawful and vacated it, maintaining the stay for existing recipients.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that Texas has standing to challenge DACA based on the financial burden imposed by the presence of DACA recipients. The court also found that the Final Rule is substantively unlawful as it conflicts with the INA. The court affirmed the district court's judgment but modified the remedial order to limit the injunction to Texas and to sever the forbearance provisions from the work authorization provisions of the Final Rule. The court also maintained the stay for existing DACA recipients pending further appeal. View "Texas v. United States" on Justia Law

House Bill 11 added a new basis of liability while limiting a Texas statute's, Tex. Penal Code 20.05, reach to those who smuggle persons with "the intent to obtain a pecuniary benefit." Two of the plaintiffs in this case rent residential property to persons regardless of immigration status. Two other plaintiffs provide social services to low-income individuals. Plaintiffs filed suit claiming that provisions of House Bill 11 are preempted by federal immigration law and violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. The district court dismissed the Fourteenth Amendment claims but granted a preliminary injunction on the ground that plaintiffs' preemption arguments were likely to succeed on the merits. The court concluded that plaintiffs lack Article III standing because they cannot demonstrate a credible threat of prosecution where they have not hampered authorities from finding any of the illegal aliens they rent to or serve, nor have they taken steps to help the aliens evade "detection" by the authorities. Therefore, the court reversed the injunction and rendered a judgment of dismissal for want of jurisdiction, because there was no reasonable interpretation by which merely renting housing or providing social services to an illegal alien constitutes harboring that person from detection. View "Cruz v. Abbott" on Justia Law

USCIS denied plaintiff's application for naturalization based on her conviction of conspiracy to commit false or altered lottery tickets. USCIS reasoned that plaintiff's conviction, an aggravated felony, permanently prevented her from demonstrating good moral character and thus from being naturalized. Plaintiff argues that the Louisiana statute implementing the first-offender pardon demonstrates that this is a full pardon such that it falls within the regulation. Given that Louisiana does not consider the automatic first-offender pardon to restore "a status of innocence," as does a gubernatorial pardon, the court concluded that USCIS's interpretation that an automatic first-offender pardon is not a "full and unconditional executive pardon" is permissible. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment. View "Nguyen v. USCIS" on Justia Law

Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for illegal reentry after deportation, arguing that the district court erred in determining that his prior New Jersey conviction for endangering the welfare of a child is a crime of violence (COV). The court concluded that even if his conviction was not for sexual abuse of a minor and does not qualify as an aggravated felony, he has also been convicted of illegal reentry and that conviction qualifies as an aggravated felony. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "United States v. Solano-Hernandez" on Justia Law