Matter of Mario A. FAJARDO ESPINOZA, Respondent
U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review, Board of Immigration Appeals
Decided June 8, 2015
26 I&N Dec. 603 (BIA 2015)
Interim Decision #3840
FOR RESPONDENT: Martin Zaehringer, Esquire, Ventura, California
BEFORE: Board Panel: PAULEY and GREER, Board Members; O‘HERRON, Temporary Board Member.
PAULEY, Board Member:
In a decision dated May 7, 2013, an Immigration Judge found the respondent removable under section 237(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The respondent is a native and citizen of Mexico who entered the United States without inspection in 1996. On November 13, 2002, while he was in the United States, the respondent was granted Family Unity Program (“FUP“) benefits. His status was later adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident on April 25, 2005.
On September 4, 2012, the respondent was convicted of possession of a controlled substance in violation section 11377(a) of the California Health and Safety Code, based on a guilty plea to the charge that he committed the offense on June 14, 2011. As a result, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS“) issued a notice to appear on March 11, 2013, charging
The Immigration Judge determined that the respondent was removable based on the conviction documents included in the record. He also concluded that the respondent was ineligible for cancellation of removal because, at the time he committed the removable offense, he had not accrued 7 years of continuous residence in the United States “after having been admitted in any status,” as required by section 240A(a)(2) of the Act,
The respondent contends that he is not removable as charged because the conviction documents do not establish that he was convicted of a controlled substance violation. He also argues that his grant of FUP benefits in 2002 should constitute an “admission” and that he therefore accrued the requisite continuous residence to establish eligibility for cancellation of removal under section 240A(a)(2) of the Act. Finally, the respondent challenges the Immigration Judge‘s denial of his request for voluntary departure.
II. ANALYSIS
A. Removability
The respondent‘s conviction record includes a minute order and felony complaint, which establish that he pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a federally controlled substance, in violation of section 11377(a) of the California Health and Safety Code. The Immigration Judge concluded that this record supported a finding that the respondent is removable under section 237(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Act as an alien convicted of a controlled substance violation. We agree. See Coronado v. Holder, 759 F.3d 977, 984-86 (9th Cir. 2014) (holding that section 11377(a) is divisible and that “[w]here the minute order or other equally reliable document specifies that a defendant pleaded guilty to a particular count of a criminal complaint, the court may consider the facts alleged in the complaint“).
B. Cancellation of Removal
To be eligible for cancellation of removal, the respondent must establish, inter alia, that he “resided in the United States continuously for 7 years after having been admitted in any status.” Section 240A(a)(2) of the Act. According to section 240A(d)(1) of the Act, continuous residence is deemed to end when an alien has committed a certain type of
Although the respondent was present in the United States in 2002, the Immigration Judge determined that his continuous residence did not commence at that time because the grant of FUP benefits does not constitute an “admission” as defined in section 101(a)(13)(A) of the Act,
Prior to Matter of Reza, the Ninth Circuit held that a grant of FUP benefits constitutes being “admitted in any status” for purposes of establishing eligibility for cancellation of removal. Garcia-Quintero v. Gonzales, 455 F.3d at 1018-20. The focus of the court‘s decision, which was rendered without the benefit of our reasoning in Reza, was more on the question whether a grant of FUP benefits conferred a “status” than on whether it constitutes an “admission.” We do not dispute that an alien who was granted FUP benefits has a “status” for immigration purposes. See Matter of Blancas, 23 I&N Dec. 458, 460 (BIA 2002) (describing the broad definition of the phrase “in any status,” as used in section 240A(a)(2) of the Act). However, we also do not consider the court‘s finding regarding the term “admission” to have been dictated by the plain or unambiguous language of the statute. See Garcia-Quintero v. Gonzales, 455 F.3d at 1018-19.
We respectfully believe that our subsequent precedent decision in Reza is reasonable and therefore entitled to deference under Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). See Nat‘l Cable & Telecomms. Ass‘n v. Brand X Internet Servs., 545 U.S. 967, 982-83 (2005) (“A court‘s prior judicial construction of a statute trumps an agency construction otherwise entitled to Chevron deference only if the prior court decision holds that its construction follows from the unambiguous terms of the statute and thus leaves no room for agency discretion.“).
In certain circumstances, we have determined that the statutory scheme as a whole requires that the otherwise clear and unambiguous definition of the terms “admitted” and “admission” in section 101(a)(13)(A) of the Act must yield, specifically where absurd or bizarre results would otherwise ensue. See Matter of Chavez-Alvarez, 26 I&N Dec. 274, 276-77 (BIA 2014), rev‘d on other grounds, Chavez-Alvarez v. Att‘y Gen. of U.S., 783 F.3d 478 (3d Cir. 2015). The Ninth Circuit has taken a similar approach. See, e.g., United States v. Hernandez-Arias, 757 F.3d 874, 880 (9th Cir. 2014); Vasquez de Alcantar v. Holder, 645 F.3d 1097, 1100-01 (9th Cir. 2014) (stating that the definition of the term “admitted” is “clear and unambiguous,” but examining “alternative methods” for interpreting the phrase “admitted in any status“). We must decide whether, in order to avoid absurd results, an alien granted FUP benefits should be deemed to have been “admitted in any status,” notwithstanding the otherwise clear statutory definition of the term “admitted.”
In Garcia-Quintero, the Ninth Circuit concluded that being granted FUP benefits constitutes being “admitted in any status.”2 Garcia-Quintero v. Gonzales, 455 F.3d at 1020. Although the court expressly considered the “plain meaning” of the phrase “admitted in any status,” it did so in conjunction with other factors, including the legislative history of the statute and both our precedent decisions and its own case law, rather than concluding that the plain meaning alone was unambiguous. Id. at 1018-19.
Subsequently, in Garcia v. Holder, 659 F.3d 1261, 1270 (9th Cir. 2011), a case involving a Special Immigrant Juvenile parolee, the court summarized the factors it considered in Garcia-Quintero when determining that an alien‘s grant of FUP benefits constitutes being “admitted in any status.” These factors included that (1) FUP participants are accorded
Significantly, the Ninth Circuit explained in Garcia that a Special Immigrant Juvenile parolee, like an alien granted FUP benefits, was not “admitted” under the clear and unambiguous definition of that term in section 101(a)(13)(A) of the Act. Id. at 1267. However, the court applied its own jurisprudence interpreting the phrase “admitted in any status” in section 240A(a)(2) of the Act, taking into consideration the court‘s view of congressional intent within the broader statutory scheme of the Act. Id. at 1269-72.
We agree with the Ninth Circuit that the “clear and unambiguous” definition of the terms “admitted” and “admission” in the Act must yield in certain circumstances. However, we have only so construed these terms in the context of adjustment of status and then only to avoid absurd or bizarre results. Matter of Reza, 25 I&N Dec. at 299-300; see also, e.g., Matter of Chavez-Alvarez, 26 I&N Dec. at 276-77 (holding that an alien‘s adjustment of status constitutes an “admission” for purposes of removability for having been convicted of an aggravated felony after admission). For example, consistent with this narrow tailoring, we have found that a grant of asylum status does not constitute an admission. Matter of V-X-, 26 I&N Dec. 147, 150-52 (BIA 2013).
For all of these reasons, we respectfully disagree with the Ninth Circuit‘s conclusion that the phrase “admitted in any status” includes a grant of FUP benefits. Therefore, in the interest of uniformity, we will apply our holding in Matter of Reza nationwide.
Likewise, for the reasons stated in Matter of Reza and Matter of V-X-, we also disagree with the respondent‘s alternative contentions that, notwithstanding the statutory requirements of section 101(a)(13)(A) of the Act, other applications or procedures should qualify as admissions, including the filing of a visa petition or the submission of a biometric information form in conjunction with an application for FUP benefits. See also Guevara v. Holder, 649 F.3d 1086, 1091 (9th Cir. 2011) (holding that a grant of employment authorization pending adjustment of status does not constitute “admission in any status“); Vasquez de Alcantar v. Holder, 645 F.3d at 1102 (holding that approval of a visa petition does not constitute “admission in any status“). As our published decisions demonstrate, adjustment of status may qualify as an “admission” without satisfying the definition in section 101(a)(13)(A) because of the bizarre and
C. Voluntary Departure
The Immigration Judge denied the respondent‘s request for voluntary departure as a matter of discretion. Therefore the respondent‘s argument regarding his statutory eligibility for voluntary departure does not meaningfully challenge the Immigration Judge‘s decision. In any case, the respondent‘s 2012 controlled substance conviction renders him ineligible for voluntary departure under section 240B(b)(1)(B) of the Act,
Accordingly, the respondent‘s appeal will be dismissed.
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.