Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-07-01595/USCOURTS-ca8-07-01595-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Jose Domingo Garcia-Aguillon
Petitioner
Michael B. Mukasey
Respondent

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 07-1595

___________

Jose Domingo Garcia-Aguillon, *

*

Petitioner, *

* Petition for Review 

v. * of an Order of the

* Board of Immigration Appeals.

Michael B. Mukasey, Attorney *

General of the United States, *

*

Respondent. *

___________

Submitted: January 17, 2008

Filed: May 5, 2008

___________

Before WOLLMAN, BRIGHT, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

___________

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

Jose Domingo Garcia-Aguillon, a citizen and native of Mexico, seeks review

of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that summarily affirmed and

adopted the decision of an immigration judge (IJ) denying Garcia-Aguillon’s request

for voluntary departure and ordering his removal to Mexico. We dismiss the petition

for review for lack of jurisdiction.

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I.

Garcia-Aguillon entered the United States without inspection on at least four

occasions within a one-month time period. On the first three occasions, dated

September 9, 17, and 19, 2002, immigration officials intercepted Garcia-Aguillon and

allowed him to depart voluntarily without removal proceedings. Garcia-Aguillon’s

October 1, 2002, entry evaded an encounter with authorities, however, and he

remained in the United States illegally.

The government initiated removal proceedings against Garcia-Aguillon on July

6, 2005, after he was arrested for driving without a license and admitted that he lacked

immigration documentation. Garcia-Aguillon’s master calendar hearing was

continued to allow his counsel time for preparation. At the resumed hearing before

the IJ on October 18, 2005, Garcia-Aguillon admitted all of the allegations against

him, conceded inadmissibility, and requested a voluntary departure. The IJ reset the

merits hearing date to November 18, 2005, to permit Garcia-Aguillon and his counsel

to review his immigration record (Form I-213) in preparation for the hearing. At the

merits hearing, the government did not contest that Garcia-Aguillon was statutorily

eligible for voluntary departure, but the IJ denied Garcia-Aguillon’s request as a

matter of discretion and ordered his removal to Mexico, finding that his repeated

illegal entries evinced “absolutely no respect for the immigration laws of the United

States.”

II.

Although we generally have jurisdiction to review final orders of removal, 8

U.S.C. § 1252, we lack jurisdiction to review the discretionary denial of voluntary

departure under 8 U.S.C. § 1229c. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(B)(i). Thus, we must

dismiss Garcia-Aguillon’s petition for lack of jurisdiction unless a colorable

constitutional claim or question of law is raised therein, keeping in mind that a

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petitioner may not create jurisdiction by “‘cloaking an abuse of discretion argument

in constitutional [or legal] garb.’” Sabhari v. Mukasey, No. 06-3483, 2008 WL

961167, at *2 (8th Cir. Apr. 10, 2008) (per curiam) (quoting Torres-Aguilar v. INS,

246 F.3d 1267, 1271 (9th Cir. 2001)); 8 U.S.C. § (a)(2)(D); see also Barco-Sandoval

v. Gonzales, 516 F.3d 35, 40-41 n.6 (2d Cir. 2008). To be colorable, a claim must

have “‘some possible validity.’” Sabhari, 2008 WL 961167, at *2 (quoting TorresAguilar, 246 F.3d at 1271); see also Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 513 n.10

(2006) (“A claim invoking federal-question jurisdiction . . . may be dismissed for want

of subject-matter jurisdiction if it is not colorable, i.e., if it is immaterial and made

solely for the purpose of obtaining jurisdiction or is wholly insubstantial and

frivolous.” (internal quotations omitted)); Finch v. Hughes Aircraft Co., 926 F.2d

1574, 1578-80 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (listing various formulations of frivolous appellate

claims).

In his petition for review, Garcia-Aguillon argues that the IJ incorrectly applied

the statutory standards in denying his request for voluntary departure and that his due

process rights were violated because he lacked notice at the time of his previous

returns that they could be used to deny him voluntary departure in the future. We

conclude that we lack jurisdiction to review Garcia-Aguillon’s petition because his

arguments therein fail to present a colorable constitutional claim or question of law.

Garcia-Aguillon’s first argument fails to state a colorable legal claim because

it amounts to nothing more than a challenge to the IJ’s discretionary and fact-finding

exercises cloaked as a question of law. Specifically, Garcia-Aguillon argues that the

IJ’s consideration of the repeated illegal entries listed on his Form I-213 amounts to

the application of the statutory standard for aliens who apply for voluntary departure

at the end of removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1229c(b), which requires a

showing of five years of good moral character, rather than the standard for those who

apply before the end of proceedings under 8 U.S.C. § 1229c(a), which does not.

Garcia-Aguillon’s statutory eligibility for voluntary departure was conceded, however,

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and thus was not at issue during the merits hearing. The single issue to be decided

was whether Garcia-Aguillon merited voluntary departure as a matter of discretion.

The consideration of an alien’s “additional violations of the immigration laws . . . and

other evidence of bad character or the undesirability of the applicant as a permanent

resident” is clearly part of the IJ’s discretionary exercise with respect to voluntary

departure and does not pertain to the different standards found in sections 1229c(a)

and (b). Arguelles-Campos, 22 I. & N. Dec. 811, 817 (BIA 1999) (citing Gamboa, 14

I. & N. 244 (BIA 1972)).

Garcia-Aguillon’s due process argument fails to state a colorable constitutional

claim because he clearly does not possess a constitutionally protected interest in

discretionary relief under existing law and does not provide a reasoned argument for

changing or distinguishing the law. Garcia-Mateo v. Keisler, 503 F.3d 698, 700 (8th

Cir. 2007) (citing Nativi-Gomez v. Ashcroft, 344 F.3d 805, 808 (8th Cir. 2003) (no

constitutionally protected interest in discretionary relief from removal)); De Araujo

v. Gonzales, 457 F.3d 146, 153-55 (1st Cir. 2006) (no colorable due process claim

when alien fails to state a protected liberty or property interest).

The petition for review is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

______________________________

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