IMMIGRATION LAW CASES

• Alsamhouri v. Gonzales
• Raza v. Gonzales
• Elkimya v. Dep't of Homeland Sec.
• Wang v. Dep't of Homeland Sec.
• Galvez-Vergara v. Gonzales
• US v. Sanchez
• US v. Hernandez-Martinez
• Sarr v. Gonzales
• Doe v. Gonzales
• Alvarado v. Gonzales

U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, April 19, 2007
Alsamhouri v. Gonzales, No. 05-2800
Petition for review of a final order of removal is denied where the denial of a request for a continuance to give petitioner additional time to file an application for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) was not an abuse of discretion given the IJ's amply supported findings that petitioner understood the filing deadline but failed to diligently proceed with the application. Read more...

U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, April 19, 2007
Raza v. Gonzales, No. 06-1672
Petition for review of a BIA decision denying petitioner's motion to reopen a removal proceeding is denied where the BIA's ruling that the motion was numerically and temporally barred contained no abuse of discretion or error of any kind. Read more...

U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, April 16, 2007
Elkimya v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 05-2984
Motion for bail pending petition for review of BIA's decision affirming IJ's order of removal is denied as petitioner has failed to demonstrate the requisite "extraordinary circumstances" under Mapp v. Reno, 241 F.3d 221 (2d Cir. 2001). Read more...

U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, April 19, 2007
Wang v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., No. 06-3298
Habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. section 2241 challenging final order of removal, and filed more than a year after section 106 of the REAL ID Act of 2005 foreclosed the use of habeas corpus to review removal orders, is dismissed as: 1) transfer to the court of appeals was not available under the REAL ID Act because the petition was not pending when the Act became effective; 2) transfer was impermissible since the petition was untimely; 3) petitioner has alleged no facts that would make dismissal constitutionally suspect; and 4) since district courts may no longer review removal orders via habeas corpus, the case cannot be transferred back to the district court. Read more...

U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 16, 2007
Galvez-Vergara v. Gonzales, No. 04-60729
Petitions for review of a denial of petitioner's motion to reopen his removal proceedings after he was ordered removed in absentia is granted where the BIA abused its discretion in failing to address applicable precedent on a claim that the advice of an attorney not to appear at an immigration proceeding constituted an exceptional circumstance beyond the alien's control. Read more...

U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 17, 2007
US v. Sanchez, No. 06-20193
A sentence for conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens within the U.S. is vacated pursuant to the government's claim of error where the sentence unreasonably failed to reflect the statutory sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. section 3553(a). Read more...

U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 18, 2007
US v. Hernandez-Martinez, No. 06-40271
A revocation sentence is affirmed over a claim that defendant was impermissibly sentenced for an uncharged illegal reentry rather than for his underlying drug offense. Under plain error review, defendant could not establish that the district court used an improper sentencing consideration. Read more...

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 19, 2007
Sarr v. Gonzales, No. 05-4558
Petition for review of a denial of petitioner's requests for asylum, withholding of removal, and related relief is denied over claims that: 1) he proved by sufficient evidence that he had suffered past persecution in Senegal and that country conditions have not changed sufficiently to alleviate the threat of future persecution if he were to be returned there; and 2) he was denied due process by an IJ's adverse credibility finding and by the BIA's refusal to adjudicate certain of his requests for relief. Read more...

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 17, 2007
Doe v. Gonzales, No. 03-3671
Petition for review of the denial of a former El Salvadoran soldier's asylum application is granted and the denial vacated and remanded where: 1) petitioner's mere presence during an act of persecution did not constitute assistance in the act; 2) petitioner's attempts to cover-up the persecution did not amount to participation in the persecution; 3) the legitimacy of petitioner's conviction for the persecution could be reviewed in his immigration proceeding since the trial that produced the conviction was a travesty of justice; and 4) the immigration judge disregarded all evidence of petitioner's fear of persecution upon return to El Salvador. Read more...

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, April 17, 2007
Alvarado v. Gonzales, No. 06-1034
A petition for review of a decision finding petitioner removable and statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal is denied as he was convicted of possession of firearms and ammunition by an unlawful user of a controlled substance under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(3), and thus, he was an aggravated felon for purposes of removal and cancellation of removal, despite the alleged sporting purpose of the guns at issue. Read more...