Djie v. Garland, 39 F.4th 280

Background

Ek Hong Djie and Yohana Dewi Mulyani (Indonesian-born, ethnically Chinese, Christian) entered the U.S. in 1998 on nonimmigrant authorization and overstayed.
In 2000 DHS issued NTAs charging removability; the NTAs lacked hearing date/time but counsel was later informed; petitioners failed to appear and an IJ ordered removal in absentia.
Petitioners sought reopening in 2007 (denied) and again in 2018 directly to the BIA, seeking asylum and cancellation of removal and invoking changed country conditions in Indonesia to avoid the 90-day time bar.
The BIA denied reopening: it found petitioners had not shown materially changed country conditions (so the timeliness exception did not apply), alternatively found no prima facie asylum entitlement, and held any NTA defect was cured by government notice.
Petitioners challenged the BIA, arguing the BIA ignored evidence of changed conditions and that 8 C.F.R. §1003.2(c)(3) creates an exception to the statutory one-motion (number) bar; the government defended the BIA decision.
The Fifth Circuit held petitioners’ motion was barred by the statutory number limit (one motion to reopen), invalidated the regulation to the extent it created a number-bar exception, rejected Chevron deference, and denied the petition (also refusing remand under Niz-Chavez because of the number bar).

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether BIA abused discretion by denying reopening based on changed country conditions (timeliness exception)	Djie: submitted evidence showing country conditions in Indonesia materially changed since 2000, satisfying the changed-country-conditions time-bar exception	Garland: BIA reasonably found evidence did not show material change; alternative finding of no prima facie asylum	Denied — motion is number-barred; BIA’s changed-conditions finding upheld in the alternative (timeliness exception not met)
Validity of 8 C.F.R. §1003.2(c)(3) (does it create an exception to the statutory number bar?)	Djie: regulation validly waives both time and numerical limits for changed-country asylum motions	Garland: regulation conflicts with Congress’s one-motion statutory rule and is invalid	Held invalid — regulation is manifestly contrary to the statute and cannot override the statutory number bar
Whether Chevron deference requires upholding the regulation/BIA interpretation	Djie: agency interpretation merits deference under Chevron	Garland: statute’s text controls; regulation conflicts with statute so no deference	No Chevron deference — regulation is contrary to clear statutory text; BIA decisions construing the regulation (e.g., Matter of J-G-) do not salvage it
Whether case should be remanded post Niz-Chavez for NTA/cancellation-of-removal reconsideration	Djie: Niz-Chavez rendered the NTA deficient; remand needed to consider cancellation relief	Garland: statutory number bar and limits on review (including no jurisdiction over sua sponte denials) bar relief and foreclose remand	Remand denied — petitioners remain number-barred; court cannot circumvent statutory limitations (affirm and deny petition)

Key Cases Cited

INS v. Abudu, 485 U.S. 94 (1988) (framework and standards for motions to reopen)
Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc., 535 U.S. 81 (2002) (regulation cannot be manifestly contrary to statute)
Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984) (agency deference framework)
Christensen v. Harris Cnty., 529 U.S. 576 (2000) (expressio unius canon and limits on statutory interpretation)
Scialabba v. Cuellar De Osorio, 573 U.S. 41 (2014) (statutory text controls over competing agency interpretations)
Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021) (requirements for adequate NTAs)
Reyes Mata v. Lynch, 576 U.S. 143 (2015) (affirm where statutory text precludes relief; denial of remand appropriate)
Huawei Techs. USA, Inc. v. FCC, 2 F.4th 421 (5th Cir. 2021) (standards for reviewing agency regulations)
Qorane v. Barr, 919 F.3d 904 (5th Cir. 2019) (no judicial review of BIA denial of sua sponte reopening)