Singh v. Ashcroft

121 F. App'x 471
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedFebruary 8, 2005
DocketNos. 02-4620, 03-3719
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 121 F. App'x 471 (Singh v. Ashcroft) 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
Singh v. Ashcroft, 121 F. App'x 471 (3d Cir. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

SCIRICA, Chief Judge.

Petitioner Jasbir Singh seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeal’s (“BIA”) order affirming without opinion the order of an immigration judge (“IJ”) denying his waiver of inadmissibility. In addition, we review Singh’s appeal of the District Court’s order denying his petition for habeas corpus relief.

I.

A. Factual Background

Jasbir Singh is a native and citizen of India who was admitted as a lawful permanent resident on January 9, 1983. Singh is married to a United States citizen with whom he has two children. Singh’s mother, father, and one brother are U.S. citizens and his other brother is a lawful permanent resident. They all reside in California. Singh has lived primarily in New York where he worked for a construction company.

In February 1993, Singh accompanied his boss to Pakistan. Upon his return, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)1 officials detained him because Singh did not have proper documentation. At that time, Singh signed a sworn statement that he had been involved in an alien smuggling ring. Subsequently, INS [473]*473placed him in exclusion proceedings under § 212(a)(6)(E)(I), which forbids assisting an alien from illegally entering the U.S. In September 1993, Singh failed to appear for his exclusion hearing. The IJ ordered in absentia that Singh be deported.

In January 1995, Singh was arrested for armed robbery. He pled guilty and received a three year jail sentence. INS deported Singh to India in October 1998, six days after an IJ granted Singh’s stay of deportation and motion to reopen. Singh remained in India for three years before INS brought him back to the United States for a hearing in September 2001. Because of Singh’s intervening conviction for armed robbery, the INS filed an amendment to the charges against Singh to include inadmissibility under INA § 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I), which denies admission to aliens who have committed crimes of moral turpitude.

Singh sought an INA § 212(c)2 waiver of inadmissibility. After a hearing, the IJ denied Singh’s application in May 2002. Singh appealed to the BIA, which affirmed without opinion the IJ’s order. Singh filed Motions to Reopen/Reconsider and a request for a Stay of Deportation, all of which the BIA denied. Subsequently, Singh filed a Petition for Review with this court on December 30, 2002.

Singh was deported to India on January 27, 2003. The day of Singh’s deportation to India, he filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The District Court assumed jurisdiction but dismissed Singh’s petition.

II. Petition for Review of BIA Decision without Opinion

A. Standard of Review

Although we generally review orders of the BIA, Abdulai v. Ashcroft, 239 F.3d 542, 548-49 (3d Cir.2001), we also review IJ orders if the BIA affirms without opinion. See Dia v. Ashcroft, 353 F.3d 228, 245 (3d Cir.2003) (en banc). We review factual findings under a substantial evidence standard. See 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(B) (codifying INS v. Elias-Zacarias, 502 U.S. 478, 483-84, 112 S.Ct. 812, 117 L.Ed.2d 38 (1992)). We exercise jurisdiction to review a decision of the BIA under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1). See Smriko v. Ashcroft, 387 F.3d 279, 282 (3d Cir.2004). Legal determinations are reviewed de novo. Id. (quoting Wang v. Ashcroft, 368 F.3d 347, 349 (3d Cir.2004)).

B. BIA Affirmance without Opinion

In Dia, we upheld the streamlining regulations permitting BIA’s to affirm without opinion in order to facilitate the efficient handling of the exponentially increasing immigration caseload. Dia, 353 F.3d at 235. We held that “nothing in the INA specifically requires the BIA to explain its decisions.” Dia, 353 F.3d at 236 (quoting Abdulai, 239 F.3d at 555). Additionally, we stated that “[njeither the Constitution nor Congress guarantees a de novo review by the BIA, nor do they guarantee a right to a fully reasoned opinion by the BIA.” Dia, 353 F.3d at 243 (internal citations omitted). When a single BIA member affirms an IJ’s decision in a single sentence without an opinion, this signifies that he or she has reviewed the IJ’s opinion [474]*474and concluded the outcome is free from reversible error. See Dia, 353 F.3d at 235-36. A single member of the BIA properly affirms an IJ’s decision where: he or she deems the result appropriate, the issue on appeal accords with established BIA or federal court precedent and does not require applying precedent to a unique fact scenario, and where the factual and legal issues raised on appeal are insignificant and do not require a three-member review. See 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(e)(4)(i)(2005). We review such a decision under an arbitrary and capricious standard. Smirko, 387 F.3d at 292-94.

In this case, the BIA’s decision to affirm without opinion was not arbitrary or capricious. Under the standards articulated in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(e)(4), the record does not compel a conclusion that the IJ erred in his decision to deny Singh’s waiver. Also, Singh does not present any novel issues and the facts were not so substantial as to require a three-panel review.

C. IJ’s Denial of the 212(c) Waiver of Inadmissibility

We next consider the denial of Singh’s INA § 212(c) waiver of inadmissibility. The IJ issued a final order denying Singh’s petition for a § 212(c) waiver of exclusion after October 30, 1996. As such, the transitional rules of IIRIRA § 309(c)(4)(E) that govern judicial review expressly eliminated appeals of discretionary decisions under § 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. See Kalaw v. INS, 133 F.3d 1147, 1151 (9th Cir.1997).

We review § 212(c), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(c) waivers of inadmissibility under an abuse of discretion standard. Foti v. INS, 375 U.S. 217, 228 n. 15, 84 S.Ct. 306, 11 L.Ed.2d 281 (1963).

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