G.S. v. Holder, Jr.

373 F. App'x 836
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedApril 15, 2010
Docket09-9526
StatusUnpublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 373 F. App'x 836 (G.S. v. Holder, Jr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
G.S. v. Holder, Jr., 373 F. App'x 836 (10th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

JOHN C. PORFILIO, Circuit Judge.

Petitioner G.S., a citizen of Mexico, seeks review of a Final Administrative Re *839 moval Order issued by the Department of Homeland Security. For the reasons that follow, we take jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a), and we deny the petition.

I. Background

Petitioner entered the United States in 1991 without inspection. In 1993 he was convicted in California state court for Possession/Purchase of a Controlled Substance for Sale, which was cocaine, and sentenced to 150 days in jail and two years’ probation. After his release, petitioner continued to live in the United States illegally. He was arrested in 2009 on a concealed-weapons charge and eventually released into the custody of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On March 25, 2009, while in ICE custody, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) served him with a Notice of Intent to Issue a Final Administrative Removal Order (NOI). In the NOI, DHS claimed that petitioner’s 1993 cocaine conviction was an “aggravated felony” as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B): “illicit trafficking in a controlled substance (as defined in section 802 of Title 21), including a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 924(c) of Title 18).” Accordingly, DHS alleged petitioner was removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a) (2) (A) (iii), which provides that “[a]ny alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission is deportable.” 1

The NOI was issued pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1228(b). As relevant to petitioner, § 1228(b) provides that, in the case of an alien who “was not lawfully admitted for permanent residence” when § 1228(b) proceedings commenced, and who has been convicted of an aggravated felony, “[t]he Attorney General may ... determine [his] deportability ... under section 1227(a) (2) (A) (iii) ... and issue an order of removal pursuant to the procedures set forth in this subsection or [8 U.S.C. § ] 1229a.” 8 U.S.C. § 1228(b). There are a number of distinctions between the removal procedures under § 1228(b) and § 1229a, two of which are relevant here. First, proceedings under § 1228 involve an expedited determination of removability by an immigration service officer, see generally 8 C.F.R. § 238.1, whereas an immigration judge (IJ) conducts removal proceedings under § 1229a, see 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(a)(l). Second, an alien in § 1228(b) proceedings is not eligible for any discretionary relief from removal. See 8 U.S.C. § 1228(b)(5).

In signing the NOI’s certificate of service, petitioner marked a box requesting withholding or deferral of removal under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(b)(3) (hereafter referred to as “restriction on removal”) and under the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT). As permitted by 8 C.F.R. § 238.1(c), he filed a timely response to the NOI on April 2, 2009, 2 requesting the evidence against him, including the charging document from the 1993 cocaine conviction, *840 in order to determine whether to challenge DHS’s position that the conviction falls within the statutory definition of an aggravated felony. He also reiterated his intent to seek restriction on removal and CAT relief, and he objected to his detention.

On April 13, 2009, ICE served petitioner with a copy of the Final Administrative Removal Order (FARO), which ordered him removed to Mexico. Three days later, petitioner filed an emergency motion to rescind the FARO on the grounds that the government had not responded to his request for the evidence against him and that an examination of the record of conviction was necessary in order to( challenge whether his 1993 conviction was an aggravated felony. He also requested to be placed in removal proceedings under § 1229a instead of § 1228(b), on the ground that he was not an alien described under § 1228(b). Petitioner claims that on the same day, ICE sent the evidence against him. The record contains no ruling on the motion to rescind.

On May 12, 2009, twenty-nine days after issuance of the FARO, petitioner filed the present petition for review. Also on that date, he received a reasonable-fear hearing before an asylum officer based on his expressed fear of persecution or torture if he were removed to Mexico. See generally 8 C.F.R. § 208.31 (establishing reasonable-fear hearing procedure for aliens ordered removed under, inter alia, § 1228(b)). The asylum officer determined that petitioner established a reasonable fear of torture and referred the matter to an IJ pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 208.31(e) for full consideration of petitioner’s request for relief from removal. That regulation permits an IJ to consider a § 1228(b) alien’s request for restriction on removal and CAT relief, but not the validity of the underlying FARO. On December 7, 2009, after a hearing, the IJ denied relief. Petitioner waived review of the IJ’s decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board) that is available under 8 C.F.R. § 208.31(e), and on December 10, 2009, he was removed to Mexico.

II. Discussion

In his petition for review and supporting briefs, petitioner challenged his placement in § 1228(b) expedited removal proceedings on the ground that he is not an alien described in § 1228(b). He also claimed he was denied due process when DHS issued the FARO without providing him an opportunity to challenge whether his 1993 conviction qualifies as an aggravated felony. He further contested his detention.

In a response brief, respondent claimed we lack jurisdiction over the FARO, arguing that petitioner’s pursuit of administrative relief from removal through the reasonable-fear hearing process rendered the FARO a nonfinal order of removal.

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373 F. App'x 836, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gs-v-holder-jr-ca10-2010.