Jose Pedro VERDE-RODRIGUEZ, Petitioner v. ATTORNEY GENERAL UNITED STATES of America Transferred from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (No. 2-11-cv-01475), pursuant to the Real ID Act of 2005 as a Petition for Review of a Decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (A 092 839 637)
No. 12-1620
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Argued: May 14, 2013. Filed: Aug. 15, 2013.
B. Political Question Doctrine
GenOn argues in the alternative that the Class‘s claims should be barred by the political question doctrine based on the existence of the Clean Air Act. “The political question doctrine excludes from judicial review those controversies which revolve around policy choices and value determinations constitutionally committed for resolution to the halls of Congress or the confines of the Executive Branch.” Japan Whaling Ass‘n v. Am. Cetacean Soc., 478 U.S. 221, 230, 106 S.Ct. 2860, 92 L.Ed.2d 166 (1986). No court has ever held that such a constitutional commitment of authority regarding the redress of individual property rights for pollution exists in the legislative branch. Indeed, if such a commitment did exist, the Supreme Court would not have decided Ouellette in the first place. Accordingly, we reject this argument.
IV. CONCLUSION
“In all pre-emption cases ... we start with the assumption that the ... powers of the States were not to be superseded by the Federal Act unless that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress.” Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 485, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996). We see nothing in the Clean Air Act to indicate that Congress intended to preempt source state common law tort claims. If Congress intended to eliminate such private causes of action, “its failure even to hint аt” this result would be “spectacularly odd.” Id. at 491, 116 S.Ct. 2240. The Supreme Court‘s decision in Ouellette confirms this reading of the statute. Accordingly, we hold that the Class‘s claims are not preempted. We will reverse the decision of the District Court and remand this case for further proceedings.
Stuart F. Delery, Esq. Principal Dep. Assistant, Attorney General, Civil Division, Michelle G. Latour, Esq. Deputy Director, Papu Sandhu, Esq. Senior Litigation Counsel [Argued], United States Department of Justice, Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, Washington, DC, for Respondent/Appellee.
Before: SMITH, FISHER, and CHAGARES, Circuit Judges.
OPINION
CHAGARES, Circuit Judge.
In November 2011, Jose Pedro Verde-Rodriguez (“Verde“) filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania challenging his removal from the United States. The District Court concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the petition and transferred the case to this Court. We will dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction.
I.
According to his habeas petition, Verde is a nativе of Mexico and became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 1991. After several convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol (the “DUI convictions“), Verde was sentenced to two years and four months in state prison. In October 1998, Verde was charged with removability based on his status as an “aggravated felon” due to the DUI convictions. He appeared before an Immigration Judge (“IJ“) with seven other Mexican nationals, and the IJ ordered Verde‘s removal on Octоber 28, 1998. Verde returned to the United States, but was removed to Mexico for a second time in 2000. He was found in the United States once again in October 2011. Verde was served with a “Notice of Intent/Decision to Reinstate Prior Order” on October 24, 2011, reinstating his 1998 removal order. This time, he was also charged with illegal reentry under
Verde filed a habeas petition seeking to be reinstated to his status as a U.S. permanent resident or to be granted cancellation of removal. His principal argument was that his initial removal was a gross miscarriage of justice because of procedural shortcomings that occurred during his 1998 removal hearing. He also asserted that because the Supreme Court later decided that a DUI conviction was not an aggravated felony, his conviction was nоt a valid basis for his original removal.
II.
We first consider whether we have jurisdiction. Application of the REAL ID Act,
A.
The parties first dispute whether the thirty-day time limit is altered by
[n]othing in subparagraph (B) оr (C), or in any other provision of this chapter (other than this section) which limits or eliminates judicial review, shall be construed as precluding review of constitutional claims or questions of law raised upon a petition for review filed with an appropriate court of appeals in accordance with this section.
Verde essentially argues that this is a freestanding grant of jurisdiction that eliminates the thirty-day time limit for constitutional claims or questions of law. But as the Government points out,
B.
Verde next asserts that his petition was timely because he filed it within thirty days of the 2011 reinstatеment of his removal order. He argues that under Debeato v. Attorney General, 505 F.3d 231 (3d Cir.2007), an alien who has been removed may challenge a reinstated removal order in the same manner he would challenge the original order. In Debeato, the petitioner came to the United States in 1988 and was arrested on drug charges two years later. After serving prison time, she was deported because an IJ and the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA“) agreed that she was an aggravated felon. Id. at 233. She left the United States in 1998, but was found in the country again in 2000. She pled guilty to illegal reentry and went to prison again; while in prison, her original deportation order was reinstated. In 2003, Debeato filed a habeas petition arguing that the IJ erred in her original deportation proceedings by determining that she was ineligible for a waiver of deportation. In determining our jurisdiction, we reviewed the REAL ID Act, citing Papageorgiou for the proposition that
While Debeato makes clear that
The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit answered the question we face today in Cordova-Soto v. Holder, 659 F.3d 1029 (10th Cir.2011). There, an alien was removed in 2005, but DHS issued a reinstated removal order when she was found in the United States again in 2010. The petitioner made the same argument Verde makes here: that
We agree with the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and hold that filing a petition for review within thirty days of a reinstated order of removal does not fulfill the requirements of
[t]he contrary conclusion would create a new and wholly unwarranted incentive for aliens who have рreviously been removed to reenter the country illegally in order to take advantage of this self-help remedy. It would also make a mockery of aliens who do respect our laws and wait patiently outside our borders seeking lawful admission.
As a result, Verde‘s filing of his appeal within thirty days after reinstatement of his removal order does not render his petition timely.
C.
The District Court‘s opinion explained that the case should be transferred to this Court in part because it “harbor[ed] serious сoncerns regarding whether [the REAL ID Act] should be construed as eliminating collateral review of deportation orders which were entered prior to the enactment of the REAL ID Act], but which could not have been challenged by petition for a writ of habeas corpus until the detention of a petitioner years later.” App. 9. Its decision was based principally on Kolkevich, 501 F.3d 323.
In Kolkevich, a Russian national who was a lawful permanent resident was convicted and incarcerated on charges of robbery and assault. Kolkevich conceded removability, but sought relief under the Convention Against Torture. An IJ grant-
We began our analysis with a discussion of the Suspension Clause, which provides that the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless necessary for public safety.
The District Court appears to have relied on Kolkevich to determine that we have jurisdiction because it believed that otherwise Verde would have been precluded from obtaining any review of the 1998 removal order. Yet neither thе District Court nor Verde has explained why Verde could not have filed a petition for review within the thirty days following the enactment of the REAL ID Act.4 Like Kolkevich, Verde failed to file suit within the thirty-day window after the REAL ID Act‘s enactment, and consequently, just as in Kolkevich, we conclude that the Suspension Clause does not necessitate exercising jurisdiction here.5
* * * * * *
Because Verde did not comply with the thirty-day deadline, we have no jurisdiction to review his petition under
III.
Verde argues that even if we conclude thаt we have no jurisdiction under
Because we have held that
In Nnadika v. Attorney General, 484 F.3d 626, 633 (3d Cir.2007), we held that the REAL ID Act did not apply when the petitioner challenged the Government‘s adjudication and rules concerning asylee relative petitions even though the denial of relief would result in deportation. While the facts in Nnadika make it easily distinguishable from the instant case, our dis-
cussion in that case is relevant to the question we face today. The Nnadika Court made several references to Haider v. Gonzales, 438 F.3d 902, 910 (8th Cir.2006), a case in which the petitioner was ordered removed in absentia. Haider filed a habеas petition in district court claiming that his due process rights were violated because he was not served with a valid notice to appear prior to his removal hearing. Id. at 905. The district court transferred the case to the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit because the petition “challenged a final order of removal.” Id. at 906. The Court of Appeals consolidated the habeas petition with a preexisting petition for review and agreed with the district court, concluding that “Haider‘s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus does nothing more than attack the IJ‘s removal order.” Id. at 910. After recounting the holding in Haider, the Nnadika Court expressed its approval by explaining that “only challenges that directly implicate the order of removal, such as the challenge to the notice of the removal hearing in Haider, are properly the subject of transfer under the REAL ID Act.” 484 F.3d at 632; see also Singh v. Gonzales, 499 F.3d 969, 979 (9th Cir.2007) (holding that term “order of removal” does not include alien‘s ineffective assistance of counsel claim concerning attorney‘s аctions taken after order of removal becomes final).
While this Court has not previously addressed Verde‘s argument, our decision in Bonhometre v. Gonzales, 414 F.3d 442 (3d Cir.2005), treated a procedural due process
Our conclusion in Bonhometre is in accord with Supreme Court cases that have afforded a broаd definition to terms similar to “order of removal.” In Foti v. Immigration & Naturalization Service, 375 U.S. 217, 221, 84 S.Ct. 306, 11 L.Ed.2d 281 (1963), the Court held that the term “final orders of deportation” included denials of suspension of deportation. The Court explained that “all determinations made during and incident to the administrative proceeding ... reviewable together by the Board of Immigration Appeals, such as orders denying voluntary departure pursuant to § 244(e) [
The Court came to a similar conclusion in Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919, 103 S.Ct. 2764, 77 L.Ed.2d 317 (1983). In that case, the petitioner‘s deportation was suspended by an IJ, but the House of Representatives passed a resolution stating that the deportation should not be suspended. Id. at 926, 103 S.Ct. 2764. An IJ then reopened the proceedings to implement the resolution, and Chadha sought a ruling that the provision of the law allowing the House resolution was unconstitutional. Id. at 928, 103 S.Ct. 2764. Chadha filed a petition for review with the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which “held that the House was without constitutional authority to order Chadha‘s deportation.” Id.
The jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals was limited to review “of all final orders of deportation.” Id. at 937, 103 S.Ct. 2764 (quotation marks omitted). The Supreme Court held that the term encompassed Chadha‘s situation and that “the term ‘final orders’ in § 106(a) [
The decisions in Chadha, Foti, Nnadika, and Bonhometre persuade us to conclude that the term “order of removal” as used in
IV.
For the foregoing reasons, we will dismiss Verde‘s petition for lack of jurisdiction.
