Miller v. Mukasey

539 F.3d 159, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 17838, 2008 WL 3863476
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit·Decided August 21, 2008·No. Docket 06-1680-ag·Published·Cited by 14 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Anthony Alexander Miller petitions for review of an order of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) that reinstated a 1989 order of removal entered against Miller for illegal entry into the United States. He argues that the administrative reinstatement procedure (1) is not authorized by statute and (2) deprived him of due process of law. Miller’s first contention is foreclosed by our recent holding in Garcior-Villeda v. Mukasey, 531 F.3d 141 (2d Cir.2008) (Feinberg, J.). His constitutional challenge to the reinstatement procedure is also without merit because (a) he refused to avail himself of the administrative procedures that provided an opportunity to challenge the findings that led to the reinstatement of his prior order of removal, and (b) he is statutorily barred from collaterally attacking a prior order of removal in reinstatement proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Miller, a citizen of Jamaica, entered the United States in 1985 through Miami, Florida. By Order to Show Cause dated November 10, 1989, the government — • through the Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) 1 — charged Miller with entering the country without proper documentation and commenced removal proceedings against him. Miller requested voluntary departure, and, following a hearing before an Immigration Judge (“IJ”) in which Miller was found deportable, Miller’s request was granted in an order dated November 22, 1989 (“Order” or “removal order” or “deportation order”). The IJ’s Order further provided that Miller *162 would be deported to Jamaica if he failed to voluntarily depart by January 22, 1990 and noted that both the government and Miller waived appeal. Miller did not, however, voluntarily depart the United States, and, on June 15, 1990, he was deported. Ten years later, Miller allegedly reentered the United States illegally, again through Miami, Florida.

Pursuant to a Form 1-871 Notice of Intent/Decision to Reinstate Prior Order dated February 28, 2006 (the “Decision”) prepared by an immigration officer, the INS notified Miller that “the Attorney General intends to reinstate the order of [d]eportation, entered against you.” The Decision made the following factual findings: (1) Miller was “subject to a prior order of deportation” entered on November 22, 1989; (2) Miller had been deported pursuant to that Order; and (3) Miller had illegally reentered the United States in 2000. It then informed Miller:

In accordance with Section 241(a)(5) of the [Immigration and Nationality] Act [8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(5)], you are removable as an alien who has illegally reentered the United States after having been previously removed ... and are therefore subject to removal by reinstatement of the prior order. You may contest this determination by making a writ[t]en or oral statement to an immigration officer. You do not have a right to a hearing before an immigration judge.

Miller did not contest the agency’s determination by making any statement to the immigration officer, and a note on the “Acknowledgment and Response” section of the Decision indicated that “subject [Miller] refuses to sign.” On March 10, 2006, a second immigration officer approved the Decision and reinstated the prior deportation order.

Miller subsequently filed this petition for review of the agency’s Decision. His petition does not challenge the factual findings made in the Decision — namely that he is an alien who has reentered the United States illegally after having been removed.

DISCUSSION

Miller challenges the procedures by which his prior order of removal was reinstated. He contends that (1) the Attorney General exceeded his authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(5) (the “reinstatement of removal statute”) 2 by promulgating 8 C.F.R. § 241.8 (the “reinstatement regulations”), which permit immigration officers to reinstate prior removal orders without a hearing before an IJ; 3 and (2) the rein *163 statement regulations violate his due process rights because they (a) fail to provide for an adequate appellate record and (b) do not permit a collateral attack on the underlying order of removal.

A. Miller’s Challenge to the Validity of the Reinstatement Regulations Is Foreclosed by This Court’s Holding in Garcia-Villeda v. Mukasey.

Miller argues that the regulations permitting an immigration officer to reinstate a prior order of removal without any involvement of an IJ constitute an impermissible construction of the requirement set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) that “[a]n immigration judge shall conduct proceedings for deciding the inadmissibility or deportability of an alien.” 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(a)(l). Addressing an identical challenge to these regulations, we recently upheld the reinstatement regulations pursuant to the standard of review established by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842-43, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984). See Garcia-Villeda, 531 F.3d at 146-49. We determined that “the reinstatement of removal statute [8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(5)] was introduced as an alternative to the otherwise applicable procedure mandated by INA § 240 [8 U.S.C. § 1229a(a)(l)] for first instance determinations of removability,” and therefore “INA § 240’s requirement of a comprehensive hearing before an immigration judge does not apply to illegal reentrants.” Id. at 147. . Turning to the question of whether the reinstatement regulations; which were promulgated by the Attorney General of the United States, were a reasonable construction of the reinstatement of removal statute, we held that they were:

The summary procedure set forth in 8 C.F.R. § 241.8 is, therefore, quite appropriate when the only issues tó be determined are those establishing the agency’s right to proceed under INA § 241(a)(5) — the alien’s identity, the existence of a prior removal order, and whether the alien has unlawfully reentered. This bare investigation can be performed like any other ministerial enforcement action by an immigration officer, in lieu of an immigration judge.

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Miller v. Mukasey, 539 F.3d 159, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 17838, 2008 WL 3863476 (2d Cir. 2008).

539 F.3d 159 (Miller v. Mukasey) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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