Crooks-Richards v. Attorney General United States

666 F. App'x 169
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedDecember 21, 2016
Docket16-2388
StatusUnpublished

This text of 666 F. App'x 169 (Crooks-Richards v. Attorney General United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crooks-Richards v. Attorney General United States, 666 F. App'x 169 (3d Cir. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION *

CHAGARES, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner Erik Anthony Crooks-Richards seeks reversal of an April 18, 2016 final removal order by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissing his appeal of an Immigration Judge’s (the “IJ’s”) denial of his application for cancellation of removal. For the reasons that follow, the petition for review will be dismissed.

I.

Because we write exclusively for the parties, we set forth only those facts necessary to our disposition. Crooks-Richards is a 41-year-old native and citizen of Costa Rica. He was admitted to. the United States as a lawful permanent resident in 1989 at the age of 14. Since his entry to the United States, he has only returned to Costa Rica once, in 1997, for a two-week period of time. He is a high-school graduate who is employed at a moving company. He is also married and has four U.S. citizen children. He is the sole provider for his wife and children. His mother is a naturalized U.S. citizen and lives in the United States. She is a state licensed childcare worker.

On January 26, 2005, Crooks-Richards was convicted of manslaughter. He was in prison from 2005 to 2008. J.A. 18. Between 2009 and 2014, he was convicted three times for driving under the influence (“DUI”). He was sentenced to six months of imprisonment for the third DUI conviction. J.A. 18. On February 23, 2015, he was convicted of theft by deception. J.A. 18. Thereafter, he was placed in removal pro *171 ceedings and charged as removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii) on the ground that since his admission to the United States he had “been convicted of two crimes involving moral turpitude not arising out of a single scheme of criminal misconduct.” Joint Appendix (“J.A.”) 4. On August 6, 2015, Crooks-Richards conceded the underlying factual allegations and also conceded that he was removable under the statute. J.A. 15. He sought relief in the form of cancellation of removal under 8 U.S.C. §• 1229b(a). On January 6, 2016, the IJ held a hearing on the merits of Crooks-Richards’s application, at which both Crooks-Richards and his mother testified.

On January 22, 2016, the IJ denied Crooks-Richards’s application for cancellation of removal. It was not disputed that Crooks-Richards was eligible for cancellation of removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). J.A. 17. However, the IJ declined to exercise her discretionary authority and grant his application. In reaching this decision, the IJ considered Crooks-Richards’s positive equities—“his family and the long duration in the United States”—and weighed them against the adverse factors in his case—his criminal convictions. J.A. 18-20. The IJ concluded, “[Crooks-Richards] has not established that he warrants a waiver as a matter of discretion. The positive equities in this particular case do not outweigh the adverse factor of his criminal record.” J.A. 20. Crooks-Richards appealed the IJ’s decision.

The BIA reviewed the IJ’s factual findings and conducted its own discretionary analysis. It found no clear errors in the factual findings. In performing its discretionary analysis, the BIA balanced “the adverse factors evidencing [Crooks-Richards’s] undesirability as "a permanent resident with the social and humane considerations presented on his ... behalf.” J.A. 2. The BIA found that Crooks-Richards’s “negative factors outweigh[ed] his equities” and, thus, “affirm[ed] the conclusion that a grant of cancellation of removal [was] not in the best interests of the United States.” J.A. 3. The BIA accordingly dismissed Crooks-Richards’s appeal on April 18, 2016. Crooks-Richards timely filed this petition for review.

II.

The BIA had jurisdiction over Crooks-Richards’s appeal under 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.1(b)(3) and 1240.15. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a), we generally have jurisdiction to review final orders of removal. However, § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i) strips us of jurisdiction to review discretionary decisions regarding cancellation of removal, unless a petitioner raises colorable “constitutional claims or question of law.” 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i) and (a)(2)(D); see also Mendez-Reyes v. Att’y Gen., 428 F.3d 187, 189 (3d Cir. 2005); Mendez-Moranchel v. Ashcroft, 338 F.3d 176, 178 (3d Cir. 2003). When, as here, the BIA issues a separate opinion, as opposed to summarily affirming the IJ, “we review the BIA’s disposition and look to the IJ’s ruling only insofar as the BIA defers to it.” Huang v. Att’y Gen., 620 F.3d 372, 379 (3d Cir. 2010). We exercise de novo review over the BIA’s conclusions of law. Mendez-Reyes, 428 F.3d at 191.

III.

Crooks-Richards submitted an application for cancellation of removal pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). An applicant for cancellation of removal pursuant to § 1229b(a) must show that he has been admitted for permanent residence for at least five years, that he has resided in the United States continuously for seven years, and that he has not been convicted of an aggravated felony. 8 U.S.C. § 1229b(a). In addi *172 tion, he must establish that he warrants relief as a matter of discretion. Matter of C-V-T, 21 I&N Dec. 7, 10 (BIA 1998). In exercising her discretion, an IJ “must balance the adverse factors evidencing the alien’s undesirability as a permanent resident with the social and humane considerations presented in his (or her) behalf to determine whether the granting of ,. relief appears in the best interest of this country.” Id. at 11 (quoting Matter of Marin, 16 I&N Dec. 581, 584-85 (BIA 1978) (alterations in original)).

On appeal to this court, Crooks-Richards argues that (1) “[t]he Immigration Judge’s finding that [he] does not qualify for cancellation of removal under INA § 240(A)(c) is not supported by substantial evidence,” Crooks-Richards Br. 9 (capitalizations removed), and (2) “[t]he Board of Immigration Appeals erred in affirming the decision of the Immigration Judge when the results were incorrect,” Crooks-Richards Br. 16 (capitalizations removed).

With respect to his challenge to the IJ’s decision, Crooks-Richards argues that “[the IJ] erroneously concluded that [he] does not warrant a favorable exercise of discretion and a subsequent grant of Cancellation of Removal because his positive equities do not outweigh the adverse factors of his criminal record.” Crooks-Richards Br. 12.

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Related

Mendez-Moranchel v. Ashcroft
338 F.3d 176 (Third Circuit, 2003)
Cospito v. Attorney General of the United States
539 F.3d 166 (Third Circuit, 2008)
Emokah v. Mukasey
523 F.3d 110 (Second Circuit, 2008)
MARIN
16 I. & N. Dec. 581 (Board of Immigration Appeals, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
666 F. App'x 169, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crooks-richards-v-attorney-general-united-states-ca3-2016.