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(2) An alien who is transferred from expedited removal proceedings to full removal proceedings after establishing a credible fear of persecution or torture is ineligible for release on bond. Such an alien must be detained until his removal proceedings conclude, unless he is granted parole.
BEFORE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
The Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA” or “Act“) provides for several types of removal proceedings, including “full” proceedings conducted by immigration judges and “expedited” proceedings conducted by the front-line immigration enforcement officers of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS“). Lara-Aguilar v. Sessions, 889 F.3d 134, 137-38 (4th Cir. 2018);
In Matter of X-K-, the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board“) held that only some aliens transferred after establishing a credible fear are subject to mandatory detention. 23 I&N Dec. 731, 736 (BIA 2005). Specifically, the
Matter of X-K- was wrongly decided. The Act provides that, if an alien in expedited proceedings establishes a credible fear, he “shall be detained for further consideration of the application for asylum.”
The respondent here was transferred from expedited to full proceedings after establishing a credible fear, and an immigration judge ordered his release on bond. Because the respondent is ineligible for bond under the Act, I reverse the immigration judge‘s decision. I order that, unless DHS paroles the respondent under
I.
A.
Under
For an alien originally placed in expedited proceedings, the removal process varies depending upon whether the alien indicates either “an intention to apply for asylum” or “a fear of persecution or torture.”
B.
Against that statutory and regulatory backdrop, the Board held in Matter of X-K- that, except for arriving aliens, all aliens transferred from expedited to full proceedings after establishing a credible fear are eligible for bond. 23 I&N at 736. The Board assumed that the respondent there was covered by the Secretary‘s 2004 Designation and had been placed in expedited removal. Id. at 733 & n.3. After the respondent established a credible fear, DHS had transferred him to full proceedings for further consideration of his asylum claim, and determined that the respondent would be detained for the duration of those proceedings. The respondent appealed that custody determination to an immigration judge, who ordered that the respondent be released on bond. On appeal, DHS argued that aliens originally placed in expedited proceedings were not eligible for bond, even if they were later transferred to full proceedings.
The Board rejected DHS‘s argument. The Board observed that, with respect to aliens in expedited removal, “[t]he Act provides for . . . mandatory detention . . . ‘pending a final determination of credible fear.‘” Id. at 734 (quoting
The Board then turned to the Act‘s implementing regulations. Those regulations, the Board noted, impose a “requirement that aliens who had initially been screened for expedited removal” and then had a “positive credible fear determination” be “placed in full section 240 removal
C.
The respondent here is a citizen of India. He traveled to Mexico and crossed illegally into the United States. He was apprehended within hours about 50 miles north of the border. DHS placed him in expedited removal proceedings.
After the respondent claimed a fear of persecution in India, DHS referred him for an asylum interview. The asylum officer determined that the respondent lacked a credible fear, but, at the respondent‘s request, DHS reconsidered and reversed its determination. DHS then transferred the respondent to full proceedings. Upon his transfer, DHS issued the respondent a Notice to Appear (DHS Form I-862) and a Notice of Custody Determination (DHS Form I-286), the latter of which informed the respondent that, “pending a final administrative determination in your case, you will be . . . [d]etained by the Department of Homeland Security.”
The respondent requested that an immigration judge review that custody determination. Without mentioning
While that appeal was pending, the respondent again requested immigration-judge review of his custody, as permitted by regulation. See
II.
The question presented is whether aliens who are originally placed in expedited proceedings and then transferred to full proceedings after establishing a credible fear become eligible for bond upon transfer. I conclude that such aliens remain ineligible for bond, whether they are arriving at the border or are apprehended in the United States.
The text of the Act mandates that conclusion.
Several amici would read
The conclusion that
In light of that express exception to mandatory detention, the Act cannot be read to contain an implicit exception for bond. Under the negative-implication canon, “expressing one item of [an] associated group or series excludes another left unmentioned.” NLRB v. SW Gen., Inc., 137 S. Ct. 929, 940 (2017) (alteration in original).
The Supreme Court recently interpreted the Act in the exact same way. In Jennings v. Rodriguez, a class of aliens in removal proceedings—including aliens transferred from expedited to full proceedings after establishing a credible fear—argued that the Act did not permit their “prolonged detention in the absence of . . . individualized bond hearing[s].” 138 S. Ct. at 839 (internal quotation marks omitted). The class acknowledged that
Although Rodriguez did not address the Act‘s implementing regulations, those regulations support the conclusion that transferred aliens are ineligible for bond. First,
In Matter of X-K-, the Board drew a negative inference based upon
In conclusion, the statutory text, the implementing regulations, and the Supreme Court‘s decision in Rodriguez all lead to the same conclusion: that
III.
Here, despite the respondent being bond ineligible, the second immigration judge ordered DHS to release him on a bond of $27,000. The respondent posted that bond in September 2018, and was released from custody. I reverse the order granting bond to the respondent. I order that, unless DHS paroles the respondent under